NEWS ASME INTERNATIONAL BIOENGINEERING DIVISION DIVISON SPRING 2007 BIOENGINEERING BIOENGINEERING MESSAGE FROM PAST CHAIR SPRING NEWS 2007 It has been both a take this opportunity to share some of MESSAGE FROM 2 CHAIR pleasure and an the highlights with you. honor to serve the H.R LISSNER 5 MEDAL Bioengineering Divi- Our flagship event has become the sion as Chair in VAN C. MOW 6 Summer Bioengineering Conference MEDAL 2005-2006. The (SBC) which is now held annually Y.C. FUNG AWARD 7 pleasure has been in (2006 was the first “even” year for this working closely with meeting). The conference, led by STUDENT PAPER 8 COMPETITIONS BED colleagues in a Vijay Goel (Conference Chair) and collaborative atmos- Sohi Rastegar (Program Chair), along PROMOTION TO 12 phere and to enhance FELLOW with the other organizing committee Louis Soslowsky the reputation of the members developed an exciting pro- NEWS FROM THE 14 Division, not only COMMITTEES gram in a beautiful and enjoyable within ASME but also nationally within the venue. We thoroughly appreciate the JOURNAL OF 18 bioengineering community At present, the BIOMECHANICAL feedback obtained from many of you ENGINEERING BED represents an extremely exciting, ener- and we look for more as we strive to getic, and thriving group. The honor has better serve our membership. Based JMED 20 been to provide leadership for such an im- on this feedback, the BED Executive AIMBEE FEDERAL 21 pressive group. My year as chair was an SYMPOSIUM Committee has decided to continue the exciting one for BED, and I would like to (Continued on page 15) NOTE—KEVIN 22 GRANATA UPCOMING EVENTS EDITOR’S MESSAGE 2007 Summer Bioengineering Conference Keystone, CO I have the distinct honor of bring- thank all of those individuals who June 20-24, 2007 ing you the first newsletter of have contributed to the news bulle- 2007. The Bioengineering Division tin and welcome input for future has been quite active during the issues. past year and the 2006 Summer Bioengineering Conference was successful with its new format. Please send your comments to: In this issue, we have reports from Richard E. Debski See Page 19 for Additional Details our technical committees, honors Editor, BED Newsletter committees and the Journal of Bio- Musculoskeletal Research Center mechanical Engineering, as well as 405 Center for Bioengineering 2008 Summer Bioengineering Conference articles on the division’s major 300 Technology Drive Marco Island, FL Pittsburgh, PA 15219 June 25-29, 2008 accomplishments. I would like to or email: [email protected] ASME INTERNATIONAL BIOENGINEERING DIVISION Page 2 MESSAGE FROM CURRENT CHAIR This has been secutive meeting years; when ne- delays in the preparation of the a memorable cessitated, increases have been program and the timely notifica- year for the kept as low as possible. tion of authors on the status of Bioengineer- their submission. ASME has of- ing Division As most of you know, the amount fered to perform this review for a of ASME. of volunteer effort devoted by the fee, but the BED leadership has Our division membership to the organization of been concerned about the in- continues to the SBC is simply tremendous. creased cost that would have to be thrive, in no From abstract submission and re- passed along to the conference reg- small part due view to local arrangements, from istration fee. Over the years, the to the success the management of the student Executive Committee has battled Gerard Ateshian of our annual competitions to the finances of the the ASME Publications committee Summer Bio- division, every aspect of these ef- over this matter but we have been engineering Conference. The en- forts is the result of countless countered by legal arguments that thusiasm and support of our mem- hours committed by our members we have not been able to over- bers has been a tremendous asset toward the benefit of our bioengi- come. However, I assure you that and ensures that our division will neering community. On behalf of we will continue to wrestle with continue to be a thriving and lead- the leadership of the division, I this matter to make sure that ing organization in the bioengi- would like to thank you all for ASME understands the concerns of neering community. your dedication and contributions. its membership and adapts to mod- Thanks to the efforts of the confer- ern times by creating an electronic After a small dip in attendance fol- ence chairs over the past years, we copyright form. lowing the transition from a bian- have also been very fortunate to nual to an annual meeting, the receive funding from the Whitaker To accommodate the increasing Summer Bioengineering Confer- Foundation, the National Science interest and member participation ence attendance is rising again in Foundation, and the National Insti- in the BED, the Executive Com- 2007. Over the years, you have tutes of Health. The Bioengineer- mittee was expanded this year to expressed an interest in keeping ing Division has been held up as a include two new members, bring- the size of the conference under notable success story within our ing the total membership to ten control in order to promote greater larger ASME society. voting members. These are the interactions among attendants. Member in Charge of Student Af- You have also expressed concerns I realize that a few nagging issues fairs and the Member at Large. about rising costs of the confer- continue to plague us, most nota- Furthermore, the position of Secre- ence, particularly for students. bly, the requirement for submitting tary Elect has been changed to a Conference organizers and the Ex- a signed and scanned copyright voting membership. In addition to ecutive Committee of the division form at the time of abstract sub- providing greater oversight of the have given high priority to these mission. This submission is a legal various activities of the division, concerns and efforts are made requirement imposed upon us by this expansion also allows a larger every year to make the SBC af- ASME. It causes untold head- number of members to assume po- fordable to everyone. This re- aches, not only for corresponding sitions of leadership, thus enrich- quires a delicate balance between authors who have to scramble to ing the division and providing bet- finding agreeable venues for the collect signatures from their co- ter continuity over the years. The meeting, including as many meals authors under the pressure of a division has also created a Student as possible as part of the registra- deadline, but also for conference Paper Competition committee to tion fee, and reducing audiovisual organizers who have to review the formalize these student-related and publication costs. Whenever completeness of the forms and re- activities. possible, we have maintained the quest revisions when necessary. registration fee constant over con- This process causes hardships and NEWS Page 3 MESSAGE FROM CURRENT CHAIR (CONT) I am also very pleased to announce tenure the impact factor of the lier this year. Kevin is remem- that the Executive Committee has journal increased from 1.37 to bered by his friends and colleagues selected a new Technical Editor for 1.75; the number of submitted pa- as an outstanding biomechanics the ASME Journal of Biomechani- pers increased from 162 to 401 per researcher, specializing in dynam- cal Engineering, to succeed Dr. year; the journal has become more ics and controls, a great teacher Frank P. Yin whose term ends in selective, decreasing its acceptance and mentor, a devoted husband and June 2007. Dr. Michael S. Sacks, rate from 50% to less than 33%; father, and a fantastic colleague William Kepler Whiteford Profes- the time from submission to publi- and friend. sor of Bioengineering at the Uni- cation has decreased from 16.4 to versity of Pittsburgh, will be as- 8.8 months; and the international I have been honored to serve as suming the editorship of JBME profile of the journal has been Chair of the Bioengineering Divi- from July 2007 to June 2012. Dr. raised substantially, with increas- sion over this past year. This Sacks is a preeminent researcher in ing submissions from overseas and unique opportunity has been an the field of quantification and greater international representation enriching experience and I have modeling of the structure- among Associate Editors. On be- been especially touched by the mechanical properties of native half of the Bioengineering Divi- dedication and commitment of all and engineered soft tissues, with a sion, I would like to express our the division members toward the focus on tissues of the cardiovas- deep gratitude to Dr. Yin for his good of our community. It is with cular and urological systems. He excellent achievements. great expectation that I pass the is an upstanding member of the baton to Professor James E. Moore Bioengineering Division, having Last but not least, while I have re- of the University of Texas A&M, served in several leadership posi- flected mostly on the positive who will be assuming this position tions. I am very pleased that he events and activities of this past in July 2007. has agreed to serve in this ex- year, it is with great sadness that tremely important role for BED, we mourn the loss of a BED mem- Gerard A. Ateshian and look forward to his tenure. ber, Kevin Granata, who was a Professor of Engineering Science I would like to thank Dr. Yin for & Mechanics at Virginia Tech, and his excellent leadership and contri- was a victim of the senseless trag- butions to the journal. During his edy that befell this institution ear- ASME INTERNATIONAL BIOENGINEERING DIVISION Page 4 HONORS COMMITTEE The Honors Committee is respon- were presented to the following gineering; Skalak Best Paper sible for administering the awards individuals: H.R.