Texas A&M Engineering News

Students work around the clock to design a more inclusive campus during the 2018 Diversity Hackathon

Wed, 07 Feb 2018 00:00:00 CST

With only 24 hours on the clock, students came together to design and develop ideas to help make the Texas A&M University campus more inclusive.

The 2018 Diversity Hackathon brought students from many disciplines at Texas A&M to the Langford Architecture Center on Feb. 2-3, where they worked overnight to help turn spaces on campus into more welcoming environments for all people.

Cecilia Giusti, associate dean for outreach and diversity in the College of Architecture and head of the Diversity Council, launched the Diversity Hackathon four years ago. The inaugural hackathon featured a partnership with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and the College of Engineering continues to play an important role in the event with a majority of the participants being engineering students.

“For 24 hours they talk about what it means to be diverse, what is an inclusive approach, and how to talk better about inclusion and diversity,” Giusti said. “[And] they actually create or produce something. Even if they don’t win anything, the whole exercise is fantastic—it’s magic.”

One team of general engineering freshmen worked to develop a tool to help the visually impaired better navigate campus. Team members prototyped a device that could slip onto the back of a pair of glasses and connect to a phone, which could then use the campus Wi-Fi to pinpoint the wearer’s location. The device would then communicate information through vibrations against the bone in the back of the ear.

“It would notify you of different obstacles around campus and different buildings or streets so that a person who was visually impaired would be aware of their surroundings and know which way to go without needing to look at a map,” said Jaxon Tucker.

There were six challenges teams could choose from provided by different programs across campus. The College of Engineering asked students to focus on the Zachry Engineering Education Complex and how to make it more accessible for students with hearing, visual or physical impairments.

“It’s going to be a world-class, state-of-the-art building, and I was hoping that students might come up with some concepts to ensure that all of our students are welcome and can participate at the same level,” said Debra Dandridge, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and engineering accessibility coordinator.

To help with the creation process, students had access to several resources, including 3-D printers and other tools provided by the College of Architecture. One team took up the challenge to create an open space for communication by developing an interactive screen to help people share concerns and ideas in a more accessible way.

“We’re going to have an interface for people to share their ideas through texts,” said junior computer science engineering student Muin Momin. “We have a phone number set up and people can text complaints or something they like about the space that they’re in, and that will display as a word cloud on the screen so everyone can see what’s going on and the owners of that space can get ideas on how to improve it.”

Being a part of the hackathon may also help students after graduation. Dr. J. Michael Moore, an instructional assistant professor in the computer science and engineering department, said industry is showing more interest in accessibility and expects graduates to be prepared to create these universally designed, accessible products.

“This hackathon is a fantastic opportunity for our students in engineering to not only try and do inventive ideas in a short period of time but also to be creative and innovative, and be ready and thinking that way, before they go out in industry,” Moore said.

Texas A&M Engineering and Alamo Colleges District co-enrollment program to begin offering classes fall 2018

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 CST

Texas A&M University, Chevron and Alamo Colleges District will enroll the first cohort of students for the Texas A&M-Chevron Engineering Academy at Alamo Colleges District in fall 2018. This innovative co-enrollment partnership was developed to address the state’s growing need for engineers. Qualified students will be admitted to the Texas A&M College of Engineering, complete the first two years of coursework at an Alamo Colleges District college and finish their engineering degrees in College Station, Texas. The program will begin accepting student applications March 1.

The Texas A&M-Chevron Engineering Academy at Alamo Colleges District allows students to remain close to home for their first two years while pursuing one of 19 majors within the College of Engineering at Texas A&M. This program is generously supported by Chevron.

“We are pleased to offer students in the Alamo Colleges District a unique pathway toward a first-rate degree from an engineering college ranked among the top 10 in the world,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp. “Our goal is to attract the very best students to Texas A&M Engineering, even if circumstances require them to stay close to home for the first two years of college. These students will be Aggies in San Antonio from day one.”

“We are always eager to offer our students new opportunities for continuing their education once they graduate from one of the colleges of the Alamo Colleges District,” said Alamo Colleges District Chancellor Dr. Bruce Leslie. “Our latest partnership with Texas A&M University and Chevron will offer our students a pathway to a bachelor’s degree in a field with excellent job growth and high salaries, benefiting not only the students, but the state’s economy as well,” he added.

In Texas, the projected need for engineers in the workforce is 53,000 by 2024. To meet this need, universities and two-year colleges will need to work together to bridge the gap and attract and retain students who are interested in STEM fields. Engineering students in the Engineering Academy program enroll in math, science and core curriculum courses through Alamo Colleges District and have the unique opportunity to enroll in Texas A&M engineering courses taught by Texas A&M faculty at Northeast Lakeview College, part of Alamo Colleges District.

“Northeast Lakeview College is proud to be home for this program,” said Dr. Veronica Garcia, Northeast Lakeview College president. “This new program will help address the need for more programming in high-demand STEM fields and provide an opportunity for more students, in San Antonio and surrounding areas, to pursue engineering coursework.”

Chevron has donated $5 million to support Texas A&M-Chevron Engineering Academies across the state at Austin Community College; Houston Community College, Spring Branch in Houston; Texas Southmost College in Brownsville; El Centro and Richland Colleges in Dallas; and Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio.

“Chevron is committed to increasing access to, and the quality of, education around the world. We are proud to partner with Texas A&M on this important initiative to help ensure an educated and skilled workforce,” said Shariq Yosufzai, Chevron vice president of ombuds, diversity and inclusion and university and association relations.

“Our longstanding relationship with Texas A&M, through support of the Engineering Academy initiative, will help provide opportunities in the field of engineering for many underrepresented and first-generation college students,” Yosufzai said. “Partnering with Texas A&M, a top source of engineering hires for Chevron, to help provide opportunities in the field of engineering will support our efforts to help build the diverse workforce of tomorrow that will be required to meet the energy needs of the future."

Texas A&M Engineering Vice Chancellor and Dean Dr. M. Katherine Banks said the academies have the potential to reach beyond the typical pathways for access to a top-ranked engineering program.

“The academies, through our partnership with Chevron and the two-year colleges, provide new pathways to a first-rate engineering education,” Banks said. “Through this co-enrollment program, students can live at home for the first two years of college without postponing their participation in an engineering program that is highly regarded by employers across the country.”

For more information about how to apply and other details, visit /academies or email engineeringacademies@tamu.edu.

Texas A&M biomedical engineering professor delivers lecture in Poland

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:00:00 CST

Dr. Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) research professor and professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University was selected to deliver the inaugural lecture of the newly convened Interdisciplinary Science Seminar Series at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology (WUST), Wroclaw, Poland.

The WUST Interdisciplinary Scientific Seminar series are open technical meetings with world-famous speakers delivered to all academic staff and students at all levels, but also all those interested in deepening their knowledge of exact sciences. Dr. Andrzej Trochimczuk, vice rector for scientific research and international affairs of WUST, is the originator of the seminars.

“The development of international cooperation is one of key priorities for Wrocław University of Science and Technology” said Trochimczuk. Such cooperation encompasses many areas covered by the “Programme of Tertiary Education Internationalisation” announced by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education on June 18, 2015. This includes participation by international visitors in the academic life of the university. Guiseppi-Elie is a well-travelled and highly sought after international reviewer and speaker with broad scientific, engineering and translational interests reflective of the many disciplines embraced here at WUST. It is fitting that he should open our seminar series.

Guiseppi-Elie spoke on “Engineering the Future of Medicine,” and provided a survey of his ongoing work on minimally invasive biochips for guided resuscitation during hemorrhage, biologically responsive drug delivery systems to address chronic wounds, and academic programs that blend preparation in medicine and engineering.

Founded in 1945, WUST is one of Poland’s top technical universities with several academic programs offered in English. WUST has established inter-university and inter-departmental cooperation agreements with over 120 tertiary institutes from 36 countries, and has exchange agreements and dual degree agreements with several institutions.

Gaharwar wins Biomedical Engineering Society Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering Rising Star Award

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 00:00:00 CST

Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar was selected to receive the 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Rising Star Award at the 2018 CMBE Annual Conference--Discovering the Keys: Transformative and Translational Mechanobiology, which was held Jan. 2-6, 2018 in Key Largo, Florida.

The BMES-CMBE Special Interest Group brings together researchers with diverse scientific and clinical interests with a common goal of understanding and engineering molecules, cells, their interactions and microenvironments in the pursuit of controlling biological processes and improving the practice of medicine. In 2018, the conference theme focused on addressing key challenges in mechanobiology and how to advance the study of pathophysiology and improve human health.

Gaharwar is one of eight awardees selected internationally for the Rising Star award, which is given to exceptional junior principal investigators. The awardees are invited to give a podium presentation at the conference. Gaharwar’s talk titled “Widespread changes in transcriptome profile of human mesenchymal stem cells by two-dimensional (2-D) nanosilicates,” focused on understanding how nanomaterials interact with human stem cells.

For additional information visit the BMES-CMBE Conference website or Gaharwar’s lab website.

Hwang uncovers new details about the ‘vehicles’ inside the body

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 00:00:00 CST

Similar to roadways across the country, every cell in our body has a network of paths, and a professor at Texas A&M University has zoomed in to the molecular level to research the proteins that travel along this transportation system.

Dr. Wonmuk Hwang, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, researches motor proteins, which act as vehicles to carry cargo inside a cell in the body. His latest research has been focused on kinesin, the smallest protein in the human body that can walk with two “legs” and carry material throughout the body on intracellular filaments called microtubules.

His findings have been recently published in a paper in the journal eLife. The goal of the research was to study how kinesins process fuel to generate that walking motion.

“If you compare this with the macroscopic gasoline engine, you burn the gas, you generate the heat and you power the car,” Hwang said. “This is a molecular motor (in the human body), so the energy source is not just burning the fuel but actually, when fuel binds to this kinesin motor, there is binding energy associated and burning. After burning you have to exhaust the product.”

Hwang said each step in the energy binding, burning and exhausting processes plays a role in the movement of the kinesin in specific phases of its walking pattern. The energy for the movement comes from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules, which Hwang said are the main fuel of the body.

“When you eat something, the end product of the energy you take in is converted into ATP to be used in the cell,” he said.

According to Hwang, one surprise from his research findings was how the kinesins obtain the ATP. Instead of the ATP binding to the protein in random encounters, Hwang said the kinesins have loops on their surfaces that capture nearby fuel and then assist in the burning and discarding of the pieces.

Kinesins play a vital role in many cellular processes, and understanding how they function can have multiple biomedical applications. Hwang said his research served dual purposes — laying the foundation for applications down the road and the advancement of knowledge.

Hwang said one of the future applications of the research is in anti-cancer drugs. A subset of kinesins are key players in cell division, and knowledge about their movement can help scientists and engineers develop drugs that will inhibit the kinesins from walking and dividing cancer cells.

“If you know where to target then people can start to screen for drugs that particularly bind to those domains to modify or control those motors,” Hwang said.

While the protein and their distinct bipedal walking motion were discovered in the mid-1980s, how the motor worked remained a mystery.

“Compared to the engine of a vehicle, whose working principles are understood well enough to improve its design to fit its purpose, the lack of knowledge about how kinesins walk makes it difficult to utilize these nanoscale machines for biotechnology applications,” Hwang said.

Hwang has worked since 2008 on the project and collaborated with researchers at Harvard University and Vanderbilt University to carry out computer simulations that were unprecedented in scale, and discovered how the fuel processing steps are achieved.

Looking forward, Hwang said he would like to further characterize properties of kinesins and find how the “legs” communicate with each other to facilitate the bipedal motion.

“It’s not like our legs where there’s a nervous system and so forth — it’s just molecules,” Hwang said. “People don’t know how communication between the ‘feet’ happens, because you have to make them coordinated. How does the protein know when it’s making a step? There must be some communication.”

Department of biomedical engineering hosting annual showcase in February 2018

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 CST

The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University will host its annual showcase on Feb. 12, 2018. The all-day event includes a career fair, student/company luncheon and other engagement opportunities among students, faculty and industry representatives.

Biomedical engineering students will have the opportunity to meet with participating companies about openings for co-ops, internships and full-time positions. Ultimately, the showcase allows students to network with industry to obtain information about career paths and the transition into a job after graduating from Texas A&M.

Companies involved in the showcase have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with biomedical engineering students. At a typical career fair, companies may only spend 30 to 60 seconds interacting with each student; in comparison, the biomedical engineering showcase allows for longer conversations with multiple students.

Interactions are an important aspect for companies as well as students to learn about the different aspects each party has to offer. Students learn valuable skills that cannot be taught within a classroom, leading Texas A&M biomedical engineering students to stand apart from their competition.

“As one of the founders of this event, I had first-hand experience on collaborating with the department and the department’s student organizations. Without everyone working together, the first showcase would not have been a success,” said Ashley Tucker, former president of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the biomedical engineering honors society. “This event has shown me how much the department and student organizations really care about their students and how they want to see them succeed after graduating.”

This year’s showcase will be comprised of four components: a career fair, a student/company luncheon, a senior design poster session and tours of the department’s research facilities. These activities are designed to show companies that students in biomedical engineering at Texas A&M are excelling and effectively conveying information both in and out of the classroom setting.

More than 20 company participants are anticipated for the 2018 showcase, which is double what the 2017 showcase hosted. In addition, the luncheon is being expanded to include any biomedical engineering senior interested in a full-time position, for more targeted networking between students and industry. The new atmosphere will hopefully lead to more engaging conversations and a better return on investment for everyone involved.

Aggies upgrade noninvasive medical imaging technique used to diagnose diseases

Wed, 29 Nov 2017 00:00:00 CST

Doctors use a wide variety of imaging techniques to diagnose diseases. One such technique includes optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is a noninvasive medical imaging tool that has helped doctors accurately diagnose pathologies in cardiology, optometry and ophthalmology. The OCT technology was first introduced in 1991, and Texas A&M University researchers are set to give it a major upgrade.

Graduate students Amir Tofighi Zavareh and Oscar Barajas, along with Dr. Sebastian Hoyos, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have developed a new generation of OCT processing technology that will help doctors perform OCT tests faster and make a more accurate diagnosis. Low-complexity Asynchronous Re-sampler (LASR), their proprietary OCT processing technique, has an increased processing speed which helps doctors make clinical decisions based on high-resolution, real-time visualization.

“OCT is a noninvasive imaging technique capable of generating cross-sectional images of tissue architecture with high resolution,” said Tofighi Zavereh, the technical lead on the project. “The biggest challenge in current OCT technology was its slow scan speed, which gave an unsatisfactory image resolution. Doctors such as ophthalmologists need high-quality visualization for clinical decision making.”

The global OCT market is set to reach $1.6 billion in 2023 from just $140 million a year ago. Tofighi Zavareh and Barajas identified and addressed the needs of the fast-growing OCT market with their graduate research. The National Science Foundation’s I-Corp program awarded them a $50,000 grant to explore the commercial potential of their innovation with ophthalmology as a specific area of focus.

LASR will be implemented as a modular electronic device to integrate with an existing OCT instrument. The technology allows ophthalmologists to look at more eye tissues all in one scan.

“The LASR technology will help ophthalmologist better diagnose conditions of the eye, scan faster and potentially reduce the number of clinic visits,” said Barajas, the entrepreneurial lead. “All of these benefits will potentially help improve the vision of thousands of Americans in dire need of better diagnosis technologiesdirectly lower medical costs.”

The students, who are in the Analog and Mixed Signal Interfaces Laboratory in the electrical and computer engineering department, said their technology is based on a family of novel signal processing algorithms that significantly improve the accuracy and speed required for the medical images.

Tofighi Zavareh and Barajas’ I-Corps project, “Low-complexity Asynchronous Re-sampler for Optical Coherence Tomography,” has been three years in the making. They are collaborating with Dr. Xiaomin Yang, senior licensing manager in Texas A&M Office of Technology Commercialization and industry mentor, who helped them develop a business plan and get a provisional patent. They are also working with their co-industry mentor Dr. Saurabh Biswas, associate professor of practice in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Entrepreneur-in-Residence in TEES Division of Commercialization and Entrepreneurship and the McFerrin Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship in the Mays Business School to further develop their venture.

Learn more about their research here.

Engineering students and donors recognized at awards banquet

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00:00 CST

Engineering students were honored and donors recognized at the Texas A&M University College of Engineering Student Awards banquet Oct. 26.

The Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Award is the most prestigious honor bestowed on a graduating senior in the College of Engineering. The award is based on outstanding scholastic achievement, leadership and character.

Established in 2012, the Outstanding Graduate Student Award recognizes one master’s student and one doctoral student who have demonstrated excellence above and beyond usual levels of achievement.

The Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Award winners

Willie D. Caraway

Huntsville, Alabama

Mechanical Engineering

Caraway has a strong love of learning and loves synergizing disparate knowledge to create new solutions. Being named a University Scholar provided him with the opportunity to regularly interact with other highly motivated individuals to sharpen their skills in analytical thinking and synthesizing knowledge. He also had the opportunity to perform research with Dr. Henry Everitt at the Army Material Research, Development and Engineering Center, and Dr. Patrick Shamberger in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M. Caraway also participated in the Zachry Leadership Program, which helped him improve his leadership skills and business knowledge. He is also involved in many student organizations, including the Jordan Institute, Pi Tau Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi and the American Society of Engineers.

Kendal Ezell

Tomball, Texas

Biomedical Engineering

With the passion to help people with neurological diseases, Ezell has shown great promise to accomplish the goals she has set for herself. Through her undergraduate research in biomedical engineering and neuropsychology, involvement in extracurricular activities and coursework, she has excelled, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while in the engineering honors program. Not only has she represented Texas A&M in the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program, but she has also received Phi Kappa Phi’s Outstanding Junior Award and the Peter Chaplinsky Memorial Scholarship. Most recently Ezell participated in the National Institute of Health’s 2017 National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship. Through her research she hopes to serve as an example to women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and encourage them to break barriers.

Kanika Gakhar

Katy, Texas

Aerospace Engineering

Gakhar’s passion for science and engineering have defined her outstanding academic career at Texas A&M. She regularly searches for opportunities in which she can build upon and strengthen her leadership and creativity. With these skills, she has helped design autonomous vehicles and build radio controlled aircrafts with heavy lifting capabilities. Gakhar aspires to create the next generation of bioinspired flying vehicles. She has presented conference papers at the 2017 American Helicopter Society Forum and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics student conference. In various leadership roles, she advocates for undergraduate research by helping her fellow Aggies find research opportunities that interest them. As a University Fellow, she has launched a workshop-based project aimed to empower the underprivileged and H.U.B., an initiative to reform entrepreneurship on the Texas A&M campus.

Jonah Haefner

Roswell, New Mexico

Nuclear Engineering

Haefner is a dedicated and passionate leader in all aspects of his life. He is a member of the Corps of Cadets, and has spent the past year serving as first sergeant where he oversaw the day-to-day operations of 50 other cadets. He actively engages with faculty members and has worked in a thermal hydraulics laboratory for the past two years. Through the O.R. Simpson Honor Society, he helped freshman engineering students succeed in their first semesters at Texas A&M through mentorship and tutoring to prepare them for continued success. Over the last two summers, he split his time between shadowing naval officers on active duty warships and working at Los Alamos National Laboratory on projects for the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Carson Muscat

Seabrook, Texas

Petroleum Engineering

Muscat has a passion for engineering and a great enthusiasm for making a lasting impression on the local community and Texas A&M. He has revamped programs to help more than 3,500 engineering freshmen make informed decisions for their academic futures and aided in extending the reach to the Engineering Academies. He has served as an engineering student ambassador for three years and has talked to hundreds of prospective students about Texas A&M. Most recently, Muscat was the student leader for the Engineering Career Fair, the largest student-run fair in the nation. He has been awarded many academic honors, including the Dr. Dan Turner Engineering Leadership Award, the Academic Excellence Award, and being named a President’s Endowed Scholar and BP Student Scholar.

Dakota Plesa

Arlington, Texas

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Plesa is a first-generation college student who has made the most of his time at Texas A&M by not only focusing on academics, but also by forging lasting relationships with his fellow Aggies. He applied the skills he learned in the classroom to solving problems on campus, such as implementing a new organizational structure for the Memorial Student Center (MSC), and in international case competitions, such as at McGill University. Plesa was among the first non-business students to participate in the Mays Business Fellows Program, where he proved himself to be a highly effective member of his Fellows team and invested considerable time in developing relationships with his peers. He participated in the Jordan Institute, and served as vice president of programs and executive vice president of programs in the MSC.

Melissa Potts

Austin, Texas

Chemical Engineering

Potts attributes her success at Texas A&M to hard work. She balances membership in numerous activities and organizations with her studies. That dedication and persistence led her to success in Dr. Mark Holtzapple’s class— which at the time, she was the only freshman in the class. Through her determination and hard work, Potts was one of the few students who continued to work on a paper that would later be submitted to the Odebrecht Award for Sustainability. She continued working with Holtzapple the next year, spending about nine hours a week in the research lab on the MixAlco process, a technology that transforms waste biomass into fuels and industrial chemicals. Potts also shared her knowledge with her fellow Aggies, serving as a teaching assistant.

Kyle Wiggs

Weatherford, Texas

Mechanical Engineering

For Wiggs, engagement has been the key to his experience at Texas A&M. During his first year at Texas A&M, he was an active member in the Aggie Band, as well as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has spent the last two years of his college career in leadership. As first sergeant of the 0.R. Simpson Honor Society, he created new events, such as “Dinner with your Major,” where cadets were instructed to eat dinner with other cadets within their major to encourage engagement between students of the same departments. Within ASME and his Corps unit, he has served as a mentor to other students, helping them find leadership opportunities and experiences.

2017 College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Award

Joshua Harris

M.S. Candidate

Aerospace Engineering

Harris has proven himself to be an outstanding scholar and researcher. He is a master’s student in aerospace engineering, and works in the Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory at Texas A&M. His master’s research investigates a new theory and approach for intelligent control and integrated health management of complex systems, both manned and unmanned. Harris was awarded the 2017 Federal Aviation Administration PEGASAS General Aviation Center of Excellence Outstanding Student Researcher. He was also one of only 10 recipients of the National Defense Science Engineering Graduate Fellowships in 2014, in addition to the 2013 NASA Aeronautics Scholarship. Only 20 students nationally from all majors receive this NASA honor. Harris has authored or co-authored two conference papers and two journal papers.

Jonathan Gigax

Ph.D. Candidate

Nuclear Engineering

Gigax is a well-rounded scholar: intellectually curious, hardworking and supportive of his colleagues and fellow Aggies. Over the past five years, Gigax has published 26 journal papers, while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average. He has made significant contributions in radiation materials science toward materials development for high-performance nuclear reactors. He established standard procedures in accelerator testing, which significantly influenced other labs. Due to his findings, other labs (including University of Michigan, University of Tennessee and University of Wisconsin in Madison) have changed their testing procedures to follow the Texas A&M method. Gigax has also made significant contributions in developing radiation tolerant materials having nanoscale features and inclusions, including nanograined materials, multilayered composite materials and nanoprecipitate alloys.

The College of Engineering also recognized the following newly endowed scholarships:

Angela and James Hambrick ’78 Endowed Scholarship in the College of Engineering

Carolyn and A. Damon Gowan ‘58 Endowed Scholarship

Dana and James R. Heinze ‘83 Scholarship Elsie and Vance Fairchild ’89 Endowed Scholarship

ExxonMobil Aggies Engineering Endowed Scholarship

Jimmie and Geoffrey Pope Endowed Scholarship

Jo and Mike Hunn ’59 Scholarship

Marilyn ’99 and Stewart ’99 Robinson Scholarship

Michelle ’88 and Todd Steudtner ’87 Scholarship

Richard W. Burr ’62 and Charity B. Burr Scholarship

Shah Smith & Associates Scholarship

Sue Nobles and Elmer Eldridge Goins Engineering Scholarship

Terri and Keith Hawkins ’79 Scholarship

Biomedical engineering graduate student experiences life outside of US through summer programs

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 00:00:00 CST

A graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University has recently been able to travel the world, thanks to her successes here at Texas A&M. Madeleine Durkee, research assistant and doctoral candidate, was selected to participate in multiple events over the summer.

Durkee began her doctoral program at Texas A&M in the fall of 2013. Currently, she works under the direction of Dr. Kristen Maitland, associate professor in the biomedical engineering department at Texas A&M. Within Maitland’s Biomedical Optics lab, Durkee is working to understand and detect harmful bacteria within live animals through the use of an optical imaging system. She uses simulations of the system and physiology to improve the optical system to detect bacteria.

As a graduate teaching fellow, Durkee had funding that afforded her the opportunity to teach biomedical engineering courses in Germany. Durkee notes that her teaching experience was very important because she had not taught on such a personal basis prior to her studies abroad. Durkee taught to a small group of students, which is quite the opposite of the 130 students that are enrolled in a standard introduction level course.

In addition to teaching in Germany, Durkee also worked for a startup company called enmodes GmbH based out of Aachen, Germany. The company was an industry partner for a design project associated with one of the courses Durkee was teaching.

“Working with enmodes was my first experience working with a company. All of my experience before that point was strictly in research and it was great to see the inner workings of a company,” said Durkee. “That kind of exposure will absolutely make me a better professor. It helped shaped my understanding of the field and market for biomedical devices.”

In addition to teaching in Germany, Durkee travelled to the island of Ven in Sweden to attend a graduate summer school on biophotonics and gave an oral presentation at the European Conference for Biomedical Optics (ECBO) in Munich, Germany.

“The biophotonics summer school was one of the best technical and best networking events I have ever attended,” said Durkee. “The top names in the field were presenting on both fundamental and cutting edge research.”

Gaharwar awarded NIH Director’s New Innovator Award

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 00:00:00 CST

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award to Dr. Akhilesh Gaharwar, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, to develop mineral-based technology for regenerative therapies.

The award is part of the NIH Common Fund High-Risk, High-Reward research program, and this is the first time that an award from that program has been received by a researcher in the Texas A&M College of Engineering.

By understanding how human stem cells interact with specific minerals, Gaharwar hopes to engineer therapeutics to regulate and direct the stem cell differentiation.

“We know, for example, that calcium, magnesium and zinc help to promote bone health, but how? What happens to the bone forming cells when they are subjected to these minerals? How can the minerals be used to direct healing of broken bones?” Gaharwar said.

Established in 2007, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award supports unusually innovative research from early career investigators who are within 10 years of their final degree or clinical residency and have not yet received a research project grant or equivalent NIH grant.

“I continually point to this program as an example of the creative and revolutionary research NIH supports,” said NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins. “The quality of the investigators and the impact their research has on the biomedical field is extraordinary.”

Gaharwar said the reason he was awarded this grant was because of a unique bottom-up approach to develop regenerative therapeutics.

Currently, it’s possible to introduce growth factors, a group of proteins that stimulates growth of specific tissues, into the body, but there are a range of complications including uncontrolled tissue formation, inflammation and even formation of tumors.

Gaharwar’s research looks to reduce or eliminate use of growth factors by introducing minerals. A better understanding of how stem cells interact with minerals would help to design mineral-based nanocapsules that could stimulate repair and regeneration of damaged tissues.

“Imagine a nanocapsule that could specifically target knee cartilage,” he said. “Right now the only treatment we have for severe osteoarthritis in the knee is replacing the entire knee, which is expensive and has a plethora of complications. What if we could regrow knee cartilage with a mineral nanocapsule?”

Gaharwar’s research will combine computational genomics, stem cell biology, materials science and microfabrication into what he calls ‘mineralomics,’ or the large-scale understanding of the effects of minerals on cells.

“The goal of this specific award is to gain novel insight into what’s happening at a molecular level when cells uptake minerals and its effect on different cellular processes including cell differentiation,” he said.

Gaharwar also recently received an award from the National Science Foundation to design next generation inks for 3-D bioprinting complex tissue structure.

Both projects further the goal of his lab, the Inspired Nanomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, to develop nanoengineered strategies to regulate stem cell behavior for the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues.