Anand Wadurkar’s journey in biomedical and chemical engineering is a testament to his resilience, passion, and relentless pursuit of knowledge. His interest in science and engineering began at a young age, when, at just 15, he started exploring various STEM projects. From enhancing soil fertility by utilizing biodegradable waste to excelling in robotics competitions, Anand’s passion for science and engineering grew stronger, eventually gaining him recognition in his graduate school journey.
Hailing from Mumbai, India, he received his bachelor of technology in biotechnology and began his professional career at the bioprocess company, BiOZEEN. However, the desire to continue pursuing his education bubbled within him, which made him apply to Syracuse University’s Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering.
“As soon as I started the program, I had a co-op opportunity with the Center for Advanced Science and Engineering (CASE) for about 5-6 months at Triton Bio,” says Wadurkar.
Computational work was another aspect of biotechnology he found most interesting, and this eventually became his primary pursuit. He discovered this passion during the graduate student orientation at the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and was captivated as Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Shikha Nangia presented her computational research on the blood-brain barrier.
He then became a research assistant in Professor Nangia’s lab, where he explored his interests in molecular modeling and simulation. This computational process simulates and analyzes the properties of biological molecules. One project he is working on is enhancing small molecules to destroy bacteria or viruses. This molecule can prevent infections in biomedical devices, such as knee or hip implants, by forming a protective layer using biomaterials like microgel or hydrogel.
Wadurkar has also co-authored two research papers, one paper which involved predicting the clustering of devised small molecules. The paper was a huge breakthrough in small molecule research, and he even won a Master’s Thesis Prize. “The small molecules I work with are not naturally found in the body, but it can open great pathways to understand what’s in our body like proteins, cell membranes, and other things,” he says.
He also attended the Foundations of Molecular Modeling and Simulation (FOMMS) 2024 and International Community for the Advancement of Peptoids (ICAP) conferences in Berkeley, California where professionals worldwide gather and discuss their research and the latest developments in the field.
Under the guidance of Professor Nangia, who also serves as Interim Department Chair, he seeks to continue making breakthroughs in research. “It’s amazing,” he says when asked about collaborating with his advisor. “She empowers us to make our own decisions and, even if we don’t always succeed, she is understanding and supportive, providing us with additional opportunities to grow. Despite serving as the interim department head, she remains committed to ensuring that we stay on track and receive the guidance we need.”
The annual BioInspired Institute Symposium hosts students, postdocs, and faculty from Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry as well as other partners from the community and the region. Research topics presented include but are not limited to cancer, developmental disorders, aging, medical device-related infection, drug delivery and toxicity screening, and many aspects of the most fundamental processes involved in how the material world around us works.
Congratulations to all the winners from the Fall 2024 BioInspired Symposium!
Overall Poster Awards
Yuming Jiang, Physics (PI: Liviu Movileanu)
Anna Hinman, Cell and Developmental Biology, SUNY Upstate (PI: Jeff Amack)
Tyler Hain, Physics (PI: Lisa Manning)
Stevenson Biomaterials Poster Awards
Thalma Orado, Biomedical & Chemical Engineering (PI: Mary Beth Monroe)
Catalytic materials are defined as substances that speed up a chemical reaction without being changed in the process and many products that exist today are only possible because of catalysts. In fact, hundreds of catalytic materials are discovered or created each year, yet only a small number of them are commercialized. This is because many catalytic materials aren’t stable and break down over time, making them difficult to study and use.
The stability of catalytic materials is what motivates Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Theodore Walker and his research team’s work. In his lab, they’re attempting to create new, stable catalysts for renewable energy products.
“Catalytic materials need to last for two to three years minimum without being replaced. The timescales we can readily access in the lab are about 24 hours or weeks at most,” says Walker. “That makes probing catalyst deactivation behavior and exploring all the physical processes that govern that deactivation difficult. Our goal is to test the activity and stability of catalytic materials to transform raw materials into products and leverage these insights to invent more robust and stable catalytic processes.”
One project Walker and his research group are working on is changing the molecular structures of molecules taken from biomass, organic materials made from plants and animals. Using acid catalysts, they can create entirely new substances from these molecules. For example, the molecule hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is created from fructose, or plant sugar, can be turned into bio-degradable plastics when its molecular structure is changed.
However, the process of making HMF from fructose isn’t efficient. Once the acid catalyst creates an HMF molecule from fructose, the same acid quickly degrades HMF into other molecules. Walker and his team will conduct research to change the molecular structure of biomass molecules and stabilize these catalysts. “In my lab, we’re decorating catalysts with polymers to protect them from deactivation or steer them to selectivity towards the products we want,” he says.
Another project Walker and his team are working on involves pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is the process of heating an organic material without oxygen to initiate a chemical change. This process can be used to create eco-friendly biofuels that are similar to gasoline. Though this biofuel has promising potential, it runs into the same problems as HMF: catalyst instability. Biomass contains calcium, potassium, and other metals that cause catalyst instability, so Walker and his team are exploring ways to make more stable catalysts for biomass pyrolysis.
“The catalyst deactivates in the presence of alkaline metals like calcium and potassium which crude oil has none of, but biomass has plenty of it,” says Walker. “We’re exploring strategies to prevent the alkali metal poisons from entering the pore structure or render them in a form where poison can be easily recovered.”
The Walker lab’s third project involves electrochemistry, a process where chemical reactions are driven by electricity rather than high temperatures. Walker’s team is working on creating stable electrodes, or electrical conductors, to produce renewable electricity and hydrogen fuel through water splitting, which involves breaking water down into oxygen and hydrogen gas.
“If you apply a voltage of greater than one volt across two platinum electrodes in an alkali aqueous solution, it will split the water apart into hydrogen and oxygen, which is zero-carbon fuel, and you can harvest electricity from this process as well,” says Walker. “But platinum is expensive. It would be great to use cheaper materials like iron, tin, or cobalt. However, the iron electrode rusts when placed in an alkali solution and oxidation occurs. We want to make electrodes more stable and use the same electrode formulations to oxidize molecules into carboxylic acids, a high-value molecule.”
By studying catalytic materials, Walker and his team hope that their research will have a massive impact on renewable energy resources. “Catalyst deactivation represents a real bottleneck in our technology-development pipeline. I can name a handful of promising technologies that, if broadly implemented, could be transformative; yet they haven’t because conventional catalysts aren’t stable,” Walker says. “If we could learn something new about what governs the catalyst degradation processes, that could be very impactful.”
Angela Au G’05 G’11 has loved science as far back as she can remember. Completing both her master’s and Ph.D studies in the biomedical program at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, she now works as the Associate Director of Manufacturing Technology at LOTTE BIOLOGICS. In this one-on-one interview, Au gives insight into her career path, her current role at Lotte Biologics and how she discovered her passion for her field.
What sparked your interest in Syracuse’s biomedical engineering program?
I completed both my M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering through the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University, taking a break in between the program. My Ph.D. was completed part-time at SU via a non-traditional scenario while working full-time as a Research and Development manager at Nutramax Laboratories, Inc. down in Baltimore, MD after completing my M.S.
My journey to SU followed completion of my undergraduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) where I majored in Biomedical Engineering and double majored in Mathematical Science, with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Management. As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in the JHU Department of Orthopedic Surgery laboratory where my biomedical-based research was largely focused on biomaterials. There, I was involved with evaluation of toxicity from wear particles from hip implants. My second project involved evaluation of thermo-reversible polymers for cartilage repair. Through immersion of these projects at Hopkins focused on understanding the impact of the cellular environment and stimuli on the cellular milieu, I discovered this was a field that I wanted to learn more about and dive more into. I applied to several different graduate programs which had strong biomaterials programs, of which SU had a long-standing Bioengineering program with some phenomenal faculty with diverse research interest. SU also had a biomaterials program with a focus on both hard and soft biomaterials, including polymer research.
My decision to attend SU was based on a chance encounter at the Society for Biomaterials conference, where I met Dr. Julie Hasenwinkel and a few of her graduate students working in her laboratory and the Biomaterials group with Dr. Jeremy Gilbert. The enthusiasm and passion they had for the program, SU, and the innovative research into orthopedic materials including hip implants and bone cement, as well as materials for spinal cord regeneration solidified my decision to attend SU over other programs.
Did you always want to be an engineer?
I think I’ve always had an engineering mindset and it was a natural choice for a career. According to my parents, even as a toddler, I have always gravitated to and enjoyed tinkering with puzzles, solving math problems, and had a curiosity for understanding how things worked around me. I have always loved science, particularly biology, chemistry, and physics and my favorite course even in high school was Calculus. I’m a quintessential nerd and lean into that being who I am. I actively participated in Odyssey of the Mind starting in middle school and was President of the Science Olympiad club in high school, where I enjoyed competing the most in areas involving solving problems, building contraptions, and designing and building weight-bearing balsa wood towers and bridges.
I was first introduced to Biomedical Engineering by my 11th grade Biology AP teacher. I knew I wanted to make a difference in a medical-related field but did not want to go directly into medicine as a practitioner. He suggested biomedical engineering as an option, where I could combine my love of solving problems by generating innovative solutions, while still focusing on the life sciences to bridge my passion to help others via an indirect route.
What is your role at LOTTE BIOLOGICS?
I currently wear many hats as the Associate Director of Manufacturing Technology/Manufacturing Science and Technology. There is a technical component, a strategic component, and a leadership component. In order to be proficient in my typical day, all three components are needed. Generally, my current role involves serving as a product steward across the process and analytical lifecycle. This includes working with clients and supporting our business development teams to support technical discussions. Having worked in multiple roles across process development, later process stages, through commercialization, as well as Quality Control, this has established a great foundation across multiple areas pivotal to the biopharma lifecycle. Currently, my role is to provide leadership and guidance for those working directly in Process Development, Process Characterization, and managing the technology transfer of processes from client programs from laboratory-scale to manufacturing-scale.
The role includes developing technical strategies, along with supporting growth and development of the organization. The breadth of activities and deliverables on a given day keeps things exciting. This could involve developing a new process once provided with a new cell line (research cell bank), developing and optimizing the operating and process parameters, evaluating and optimizing media formulation, screening resins, establishing statistical Design of Experiment (DoE) studies to support robust design spaces, and executing process validation. The team also executes feasibility runs with client processes to ensure minimal impact as part of the transfer between scales and from the client and also support Toxicology, Clinical, and Commercial batches. Once a process is ready for transfer to the manufacturing scales, the team supports troubleshooting via routine trending of process performance and quality attributes, providing technical guidance for forward processing, spending time on the manufacturing floor, and also completes deviations and root cause analysis investigations, while implementing robust corrective and preventive action, as appropriate to ensure robustness of the client material.
Other aspects include evaluation materials and consumables as part of the process stream, performing risk assessments to ensure safety of the product and ultimately, efficacy of the biopharmaceutical product. The team works to also trend and analyze data from multiple systems, building and leveraging data analytics programs and visualizations to facilitate real-time data evaluation between laboratory-, pilot-, and manufacturing-scales. As part of supporting GMP operations, we also lead and complete deviations and root cause analysis investigations where we leverage our sleuthing skills and technical expertise to drill down to the source of a deviation or issue. As scientist and engineers, we work across teams to also develop solutions for corrective actions and preventive actions for process, equipment, and analytical robustness.
Beyond the technical and strategic side, which I really enjoy, I am most fulfilled by my role on being able to support and influence others. This is associated with supporting others through direct mentoring and coaching others, or through building other’s confidence and technical acumen, whether they are on my own team, as well as those from other functional teams. This enables growth within the organization to support learning new skills and also developing new people leaders, whether direct people leaders or those leading cross-functional teams.
What projects are LOTTE BIOLOGICS currently working on?
LOTTE BIOLOGICS continues to provide biopharmaceuticals for our clients. Additionally, LOTTE BIOLOGICS has invested in building an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) facility at our Syracuse Bio Campus, which also includes QC laboratory, and process and analytical development laboratories. This has been a huge endeavor over the last year and a half to bring this newer modality to the site to harness the protein/antibody via bioconjugation using specific types of chemistry to better deliver the potent compound such as a chemotherapeutic agent (therapeutic drug payload) to the cancer cell. At a high level sample scenario, the antibody serves as the missile to deliver the conjugated linked drug specifically to a targeted cancer cell for destruction. This reduced the side effects typically seen with general systemic administration of the drug since the ADC is a more targeted approach for the patient to attenuate the response. We plan to have the ADC facility ready for manufacturing in early 2025. This is in addition to our current manufacturing capability here in Syracuse of 5,000 Liter scales.
We are also in the process of implementing a new laboratory to support the Sartorius AMBR 250 high-throughput automated system to facilitate process development through later process characterization studies. The system will enable use of these smaller scales and volumes to enable process scale-up to larger bioreactor scales. Leveraging process engineering principles, we can design and execute experiments to build process understanding while coupling this with our larger laboratory-scale bioreactors.
Additionally, as part of the business expansion and capabilities in the CDMO space, LOTTE BIOLOGICS recently had the groundbreaking in building a Songdo Bio Campus in Songdo, Korea which will house even larger scale production bioreactors at the 15,000 Liter scales to facilitate our ability to provide increased bioreactors for multiple clients at multiple scales. This will include 3 different plants to supplement and further increase the capabilities at the Syracuse Bio Campus. It has been great to collaborate with our colleagues in Korea on new endeavors as the business continues to expand.
What do you love most about your role?
I love that I am able to work with great people every day to solve scientific and technical problems. There is innovation all around me daily as we face new challenges in terms of how we scale-up a process to how we work around a deviation in our manufacturing facility. This requires both inside the box, as well as outside-the-box thinking. The people I work with is also key to my role. I work with phenomenal scientists, engineers, bioprocess associates on the manufacturing floor, as well as folks across other organizations in non-science-based fields that allow me to keep growing as an individual, while also supporting my personal journey for lifelong learning in finance such as budgeting, business development, to supply chain and logistics, to name a few.
What future do you see for Lotte Biologics?
LOTTE BIOLOGICS strives to be a top 10 contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) in a very competitive market and field of biopharmaceuticals. As there are so many medicines that need to be brought to patients quickly and with a high degree of quality, LOTTE strives to help other companies in their journey to achieve this goal.
What advice do you have for students who may want to pursue similar careers to yours?
First, engineering can be hard. The coursework is rigorous, and at times, it can be discouraging. Use this time to learn and really take in the basics. These courses help build the foundation where you continue to add on new layers over time and you can always go back to the foundations. You don’t need to know everything.
Second, I would suggest taking opportunities as they arise even if they may not seem to align with your original career path or ideal job for what you thought you would be doing after graduation. Although I had started my education believing I wanted to work primarily on soft biomaterials, I took the chance to work in an industry very different from a typical biomedical device company. There, I was able to leverage my understanding of materials and cell-based knowledge to engineer in vitro models to understand if specific agents would reduce inflammation and oxidative stress on different cell types. This provided me with a foundation and ability to learn the intricacies of how industry worked, while also continuing to build my leadership capabilities and network. I also never considered working in the biopharmaceutical industry, but 13 years later, I still love being able to develop new bioprocesses in bioreactor tanks and purifying these through different materials. When opportunities came up, I took the leap although I wasn’t the expert and have worked in different areas including leading a Quality Control bioanalytical team to continue expanding my personal capabilities through developing strategies for team execution while not being the subject matter expert.
Third, I suggest identifying a great mentor. I was fortunate enough to have a phenomenal undergraduate research advisor, who continues to be a mentor to this day, who actively supported her student’s growth and development. She was an advocate for her students by sending students to present their work at conferences and publishing in research journals. She provided career advice, as well as personal advice. Throughout my career, I have also had additional mentors to support me in different stages of what I needed in my career in how to navigate the complexities.
What do you like to do for fun?
My husband is a retired Air National Guardsman who grew up in Syracuse, NY, so he’s quite an adventurist who loves the outdoors. For fun, he has pulled this southerner (Houstonian) into a plethora of outdoor activities. In the winter, we enjoy downhill skiing and in the summer, we enjoy boating on Oneida Lake and are fortunate is only a few miles from our house. We are also only a short drive away from the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes where we frequent wineries, breweries, and get out on the boat. More recently, I have started golf lessons to dive into a new sport. Aside from spending time outdoors, I read a lot of non-fiction books on leadership and also scientific articles to stay up to date on industry trends.
Managed by the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), the Bernard D. and Louise C. Rostker IVMF Dissertation Research Fund recently provided more than $40,000 to four students who are at varying stages of their dissertation pursuits. The Rostker IVMF Dissertation Research Fund operates annually for a span of five years. This marks the second cycle of funding dedicated to supporting Ph.D. candidates conducting dissertation research on topics related to and in support of veterans and military families.
Paul Sagoe is a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical and chemical engineering. His research aims to develop a drug delivery system for treating post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) a painful joint condition common among veterans and military personnel.
Originally from Ghana, Sagoe came to Syracuse University after earning first class honors in biomedical engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He also served as a clinical engineer at a teaching hospital in Ghana, an experience that invigorated his passion for medical science and informed his decision to pursue research studies in a field dedicated to impacting human health, improving patient’s well-being and alleviating pain. “As a Rostker Fellow, I am thrilled by the honor of being supported financially to pursue my research goals to the fullest capacity,” says Sagoe.
Sagoe’s dissertation, “Synovial Macrophage Targeting Immunomodulatory Therapies for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis,” aims to design a disease-modifying intervention for PTOA by selectively targeting and eliminating inflammation-promoting synovial macrophages. The strategy aligns with mounting evidence highlighting the crucial involvement of synovial inflammation in PTOA progression, a problem that impacts more than 30 million Americans suffering from osteoarthritis following a joint injury.
Bernard Rostker G’66, G’70, and Louise Rostker G’68 have spent years of dedicated effort supporting military families. Bernard himself is a U.S. Army veteran, and Louise has a devoted history of supporting education for military children and expanding employment opportunities for military spouses. The pair met while pursuing their own advanced degrees at Syracuse University, and make the funding available to support those students who may face insurmountable barriers in their pursuit to obtain higher education just as they did in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“We both are so pleased with the program Syracuse University has established in our name,” says Bernard Rostker. “We know how demanding individual research can be, and we hoped that the support we could provide at a critical moment would have a positive impact. We look forward to the continued success of the program and the students it has helped.”
Davis Hood ’26, Carter Thompson ’26, Jennifer Mason ’26, and Matthew Pinto ’27 with Jim DaRin and professor and Invent@SU director, Alex Deyhim.
Former Syracuse University student Jim DaRin is one of many wheelchair users who rely on adapted vehicles to drive. These vehicles are equipped with a docking system designed to secure the wheelchairs in place while users focus on the road. However, even when the wheelchair is locked in, it’s not completely secure, causing DaRin to move back and forth while driving.
“The docking system moves and I’m rocking back and forth. I’m paralyzed from my waist down and have my hands on the steering wheel and throttle. It’s not secure or safe,” says DaRin. “The wheelchair’s pin also has a tendency to get caught on certain surfaces and the bolt drags on the pavement.”
DaRin is far from the first to complain about docking systems for adapted vehicles, but very few attempts have been made to fix these issues. That’s when he reached out to engineering students Davis Hood ’26 (electrical engineering), Jennifer Mason ’26 (mechanical engineering), Matthew Pinto ’27 (biomedical engineering), and Carter Thompson ’26 (aerospace engineering) to explore ways to improve his docking mechanism.
“I showed them the challenge I was having and the problems with my current docking system,” DaRin says.
Jennifer Mason ’26 and Carter Thompson ’26 measuring Jim DaRin’s docking system.
As part of Invent@SU, a six-week summer program where student teams prototype, design and pitch original devices to judges, Hood, Mason, Pinto and Thompson created MagniClaw, a device that securely locks wheelchairs in moving vehicles. Their device has a lightweight bar attachment on the back of the wheelchair and a docking mechanism that holds a clamping and electromagnet.
“We’ve gone through multiple different design iterations, and we are always trying to keep in mind Department of Transportation standards,” says Hood. “Our device is easy to use, has a universal design, and can go on a majority of manual wheelchairs.”
Matthew Pinto ’27, Jennifer Mason ’26, David Hood ’26, and Carter Thompson ’26 examining Jim DaRin’s adapted vehicle and docking system.
MagniClaw’s lightweight attachment can easily be connected to wheelchairs using two small clamps. Once attached, the user can connect to the docking frame. The attachment has a steel plate in the center that interacts with the electromagnet to securely hold the wheelchair in place.
“Our device has a clamping mechanism. With this, wheelchair users can back into clamps without any extra input from the control center and the clamp’s shape provides enough security for the electromagnet to turn on,” says Pinto.
The electromagnet, which holds the wheelchair in place, can pull up to 600 lbs. and is activated by a remote. The remote has a Bluetooth feature that can communicate whether the electromagnet is on or off.
“All wheelchair users have to do is back up and the system gets locked in, holding them in place until they press a button that activates the electromagnet. They’re held for the car ride, and when they’re done, they press a button to release the electromagnet and they can roll away freely,” says Mason.
MagniClaw’s hitch-less design and customizability not only set it apart from competitors but also provide more freedom and mobility for wheelchairs with an easier docking system. They showcased their original device at Invent@SU’s final presentations to a panel of 14 expert judges and guests, including faculty, staff, Dean Cole Smith, Syracuse University Life Trustee Bill Allyn, and program supporter Mike Lazar. The team tied for second place, winning a cash prize of $1,200.
“It was nice to have a broad spectrum of engineers in our group. It also feels great to help Jim out,” says Thompson.
“My previous docking system was not good. Their system is a hundred times better,” says DaRin. “It’s much more safe and secure. The potential for MagniClaw is huge.”
“Mr. Jim Darin, a former student of Syracuse University, approached me with a problem that he hoped an Invent@SU team could solve,” says Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurial Leadership Alex Deyhim. “It was amazing to watch the students work directly with Mr. Darin to design and prototype MagniClaw, a magnetic wheelchair docking system that could be helpful to the millions of Americans who use wheelchairs full-time. This project is a wonderful example of what our students can accomplish when they work across engineering disciplines.”
Carter Thompson ’26 examining Jim DaRin’s docking system.
Two students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science were selected for 2024- 2025 scholarships from the Fellowship Board of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society.
All Tau Beta Pi scholarships are awarded on the competitive criteria of high scholarship, campus leadership and service, and promise of future contributions to the engineering profession.
Chemical engineering student Hope Johnson ‘25 received a Stabile Scholarship. The Stabile Scholarships are named for Tau Beta Pi member Vincent A. Stabile.
Biomedical engineering student Kerrin A. O’Grady ’25 received a Record Scholarship. The Record Scholarships commemorate Tau Beta Pi member Leroy E. Record.
The ESTEEMED LEADERS program at Syracuse University recruits and trains the next generation of biomedical engineers. Made possible by the National Institute of Health, the program supports undergraduate students from historically underserved backgrounds.
The program began during the summer of 2023 with immersive research experiences in the labs of biomedical and chemical engineering faculty. It includes a six-week summer bridge to help students transition from high school to college, scholarships, research, mentorship, and professional development resources. Beginning in their third academic year, students will also be enrolled in the Renee Crown University Honors Program.
“In the ESTEEMED LEADERS program, we are focusing on developing our research skills and being exposed to lab environments to join a lab by our second semester. We’re also focused on developing skills such as calculus,” says biomedical engineering student Joshua Garcia ’28.
This year’s cohort worked with several biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) faculty, including Mary Beth Monroe, Shikha Nangia, Zhen Ma, Era Jain, and Yauying Wu. In Professor Monroe’s lab, students examined smart biomaterials for improved wound healing. In Professor Nangia’s lab, students received hands-on experience using computational tools to understand the physical structure and function of proteins, lipids, DNA, and RNA. In Professor Ma’s lab, students learned the significance and applications of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) in research with hands-on and computational training.
“I want to prioritize research in my future endeavors, and I believe this program is a great opportunity to do so,” says biomedical engineering student Aubrey Williams ’28.
While collaborating with faculty and other students in the program, ESTEEMED LEADERS will receive training, mentorship, and support to enhance their confidence in their academic abilities. They will also receive focused mentoring skill development and preparation for careers in biomedical engineering research.
“I’ve enjoyed interacting with other ESTEEMED LEADERS. We’ve been in different types of labs and spent a lot of time together working on projects and homework. Since I’m from New York City, it’s a new environment for me, but I’m glad I’ve grown a family here,” says biomedical engineering student Emily Gao ’28.
“We currently have 10 outstanding students in our program who are doing research in biomedical engineering, and we look forward to welcoming new cohorts of students in 2025 and 2026,” says Shikha Nangia, the Principal Investigator of the ESTEEMED LEADERS program and professor and interim chair of the BMCE department.
Nangia joined Syracuse University in 2012. Her current research focuses on developing computational approaches to examine molecular and structural biophysics. Her primary project is to explore treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases by examining the molecular architecture of the blood-brain barrier. Her work also includes multiscale modeling of integral membrane proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, protein hydropathy, lipid membranes, bacterial membranes, epigenetics, drug delivery, thermo-responsive biopolymers, and polymeric gels. Her work is a highly multidisciplinary research portfolio that interfaces with computer science, math, engineering, biology, chemistry, and medicine. She has multiple collaborations with experimental bioengineers, chemists, and physicists worldwide. Nangia has published as a leading author in various journals, including Biomacromolecules, Macromolecules, JACS, JBC, PLoS Pathogens, Soft Matter, etc. She is also an artist and has designed artistic renditions of her scientific discoveries featured on the cover of several journals (Biomacromolecules, Langmuir, JCTC, JPC, and ChemComm). She is currently an Associate Editor of ACS Applied Bio Materials.
Nangia’s research has received substantial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). These awards include NSF CAREER (2015), NIH R21 (2015), NSF CBET (2017), NIH R01 (2019), NSF BMAT (2021), NSF DMR REU (2018 and 2021), NSF MCB (2022), NIH NIBIB ESTEEMED grant (2022), and NSF GCR (2022). She has also received numerous honors for her research, including the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award (2016) and ACS WCC Rising Star Award (2022).
Nangia was awarded the College Technology Educator of the Year (2016), Meredith Teaching Recognition Award (2017), Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education (2017), the Chancellor’s Citation Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Experience and University Initiatives (2019) at Syracuse University, and Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award (2022). She is currently the director of the NSF Interactive Biomaterials REU site and NIH ESTEEMED programs.
Interim Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Lois Agnew today announced the appointment of two new associate provosts, who will join the Academic Affairs leadership team effective Aug. 1. Julie Hasenwinkel will serve as associate provost for academic programs, and Elisa Dekaney as associate provost for strategic initiatives.
“Syracuse University is so fortunate to count outstanding teachers, scholars and administrators like Julie and Elisa among its faculty members, and I am truly grateful for their willingness to serve in these important roles,” Agnew says. “Their past leadership experiences and fresh perspectives position them to make a positive impact not only on the Academic Affairs team, but also across the University and in the local community.”
Hasenwinkel, a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence, is currently chair of the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). She is also a faculty affiliate of the BioInspired Institute. She has served as ECS associate dean for academic and student affairs and senior associate dean.
Her professional and scholarly areas of expertise include faculty development in teaching and learning; engineering education and active learning pedagogies; student success initiatives; orthopedic biomaterials; and biomaterials for nerve regeneration. She holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, an M.S. in bioengineering from Clemson University and a B.S.E. in biomedical engineering from Duke University.
“I’m very excited to take on this role and to have the opportunity to work with colleagues across the University and the leadership team in Academic Affairs to enhance our academic programs, student success, experiential inquiry and teaching and learning excellence,” Hasenwinkel says. “I look forward to implementing the goals of the academic strategic plan and exploring innovative ways that we can meet the current and future needs of our students so they can thrive at Syracuse University and beyond.”
In the role of associate provost for strategic initiatives, Dekaney will work to strengthen the academic experience through strong connections with campus and community-based programs, particularly in the arts and humanities. In this role, she will oversee University-based cultural organizations like the Syracuse University Art Museum, La Casita Cultural Center and Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact, among others. Dekaney will also have oversight of the University’s study abroad and study away initiatives. She assumes the role from Marcelle Haddix, who was recently named dean of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dekaney, now the associate dean for research and global engagement and a professor of music education in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, is also a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence.
Her scholarly research focuses on aesthetic response to music, world music and cultures, International Phonetic Alphabet, Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian culture and clinical simulation applied to music education. She holds a Ph.D. in choral music education from Florida State University, a master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas, a bachelor’s degree in sacred music (piano) from the Seminário Teológico Batista do Sul do Brasil and a bachelor’s degree in communications from the Universidade Federal Fluminense.
“I am honored to join Interim Provost Lois Agnew and the entire Academic Affairs team. This role presents an incredible opportunity to collaborate with Syracuse University faculty, staff and students in driving innovative projects and fostering a culture of excellence in an environment welcoming to all,” Dekaney says. “I am committed to advancing our strategic goals with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. By ensuring that our initiatives reflect these core values, we can create a transformative educational experience that benefits all members of our community.”
Michael Blatchley’s broad experiences in biomedical engineering and interests in tissue formation made him the perfect fit for both the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the BioInspired Institute. Get to know Blatchley as he discusses his career path, advice to students, and his new role as an assistant professor.
Tell us about yourself and what brought you to Syracuse University. What sparked your interest in teaching here?
I’m originally from Indiana, went to Purdue in my hometown of West Lafayette, lived in Baltimore, Maryland for graduate school at Johns Hopkins, moved to Boulder, Colorado during my postdoc, and now, of course, I’m in Syracuse. I’ve been lucky to experience many different areas of the country and loved my experiences in each place, but Central New York fits my interest in the outdoors, and Syracuse itself has been a great fit for my family.
I was drawn to Syracuse University by my great interactions with faculty and students, the investment in junior faculty, and the collaborative nature of a lot of the current research on campus. I can envision numerous collaborations within biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) as well as across disciplines in other departments. I’m really looking forward to working as part of the BioInspired Institute because I of course love the science and engineering components, but I also love the arts and think the crossover between the arts and sciences can lead to interesting and innovative ideas.
What are your research interests?
Despite my earliest career aspirations to become an NBA All-Star, my genetics precluded me from success along that career trajectory, so I decided instead to pursue a career in academia.
I’m interested in understanding how tissues form, and how we can take what we learn from biology to build ever-improving models of human tissues in the lab. We can use these models to understand aspects of fundamental biology and tissue regeneration, but also to model disease and, perhaps someday, produce lab-grown tissues for transplantation.
What made you interested in this research?
I became interested in this type of work through a circuitous path spanning a few different fields. When I was an undergraduate, I chose to major in Biomedical Engineering because I had broad interests in all fields that made up the “fundamentals of engineering,” and I liked how those could be applied to solving problems in human health. I also knew I was interested in research, so I looked for a number of different summer research opportunities throughout my undergraduate years.
I first worked at a small startup/contract research company synthesizing and characterizing different biomaterials for medical applications. I then worked in plant biochemistry for a summer through a program funded by HHMI to merge statistics and biology, where I learned a lot of transferrable research skills and how genetically modified organisms can be used to study fundamental science toward real-world applications. Finally, I worked in a clinical research lab with a focus on pulmonology. These broad experiences, combined with my exposure to tissue engineering during a course in my senior year, laid a perfect foundation for me to pursue a PhD with a focus on tissue engineering.
I went into the PhD program with more of an interest in translational work but really developed a love for work in building fundamental in vitro models as well. Since then, my work has spanned the spectrum of tissue engineering, from projects focused on more fundamental modeling of regeneration to designing materials to better characterize in vitro organ models, to engineering dynamic materials to control how tissues form in a reproducible and predictable way. I am fascinated by learning how tissues grow so we can better grow them ourselves, and the field of tissue engineering is perfect to pursue research questions around this central premise.
What are you most excited about in your role as an assistant professor?
Something that really attracts me about academia is the intellectual freedom. Along those lines, I am looking forward to continuing my own work and following my research interests in new directions through collaboration and discovery. But what I’m looking forward to even more is helping guide and mentor students and other trainees toward finding what they are passionate about in research or in their chosen career paths.
What advice do you have for students?
Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and learn new things. My most memorable classes helped me broaden my interests rather than narrow my scope of study. The same goes for research. I worked in a wide range of fields that helped me refine my interests to pursue research I was passionate about.
Always ask a question if you have it (maybe ask it in your head one time before you ask it out loud to make sure it’s thoughtful and constructive, but don’t be afraid to ask it!).
What are some things you like to do for fun?
I love to spend time with my family outside, hiking, biking, running, skiing, etc. I’m also a film buff, but weirdly my 18-month-old daughter isn’t as interested in Lynchian horror and 80s schlock as I am. I like to cook and bake, as well. Reviews range from feigned interest to shocking surprise.
Chemical engineering senior Emily Fittante ’24 received the 2024 Allen J. Barduhn Award. This award acknowledges academic excellence with a commitment to service the chemical engineering profession.
Hometown:
Niagara Falls, NY
Activities you have been involved with:
AIChE, Research in Dr. Monroe’s Lab, Alpha Omega Epsilon
Favorite thing about Biomedical and Chemical Engineering:
That the class sizes and welcoming environment allowed for me to form close relationships with both my professors and classmates.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
That Syracuse offers plenty of organizations, activities, and opportunities to meet people from various backgrounds and with similar interests.
Plan after graduation:
To gain experience in process engineering through working in the industry and potentially returning to school to complete my Master’s.
Biomedical engineering senior Jade Carter has been selected by the Patrick P. Lee Foundation as the 2024 Distinguished Lee Scholar.
The Lee Foundation focuses on post-secondary scholarships for students studying engineering and technology and are well positioned to enter the workforce upon graduation with minimum debt. Each year, the Lee Foundation awards 100 scholarships to students at ten colleges and universities including Syracuse University.
The Distinguished Lee Scholar Award is given to “an exceptional Lee Scholar who has successfully integrated the Foundation’s values of integrity, leadership and service into their personal and academic endeavors. The Distinguished Lee Scholar is a leader in and out of the classroom, helps foster the community of Lee Scholars, and finds meaningful ways to give back to others.“
My favorite aspect of BMCE is its vibrant research environment, which is highlighted by the communal lab equipment and workspace. This setup fosters a collaborative atmosphere where one can readily seek assistance from colleagues during experimental roadblocks. Additionally, it facilitates a dynamic exchange of ideas and learning opportunities among undergraduate and graduate students, all within a friendly and supportive context.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
My favorite part about SU is the campus’s beauty, especially during the summer and winter seasons.
Plan after graduation:
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, where I am advancing research in medical biomaterials, particularly wound dressings.
Biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) students presented their senior capstone design projects at the National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC). The presentations consisted of seven biomedical engineering teams and three chemical engineering teams. Members of the BMCE Advisory Board, consisting of industrial and academic representatives, served as judges for the poster session. This senior design course challenges students to study real-world issues and develop a solution from concept to prototype.
Triple C+: An Adaptive Neck Orthotic
Develops a neck orthotic focused on comfort, adaptability, and safety for patients with neck muscle weakness.
Members: Colin Babick, Shaila Cuellar, Roxana Gomez, Brenna Henderson
Client: Sarah Seib
BiRed Breast Cancer Imaging Table
Aims to revolutionize breast cancer diagnosis by enhancing patient comfort and accessibility
Members: Jonathan Hernandez, AMathieu Barthelemy, Dominic Clinch, Jonathan Ngo, Alyssa Shelburne
Client: Dr. Satish Kandlikar, CEO of BiRed Imaging
Gait 2 Go: Gait Analysis Anytime Anywhere
Simplifies gait analysis for clinicians by eliminating the need for expensive labs and gait experts
Lab/ Center/ Institute affiliation or affiliation – BioInspired Institute
Areas of Expertise:
4D Biomaterials
Organoids
Vascularization
Extracellular Matrix
Tissue Morphogenesis
My lab’s research focuses on constructing benchtop models of human tissues. We’re really interested in understanding the “rules of life” for how tissues form, so we can use that knowledge to improve the biomimicry of our engineered tissue models to understand the biology of development and disease.
How we do it: We do this by first mining existing datasets and using advanced imaging tools to further our understanding of homeostatic or pathological characteristics of tissue-specific microenvironments. We then take that knowledge, decide what parameter(s) we want to investigate, and engineer inquiry-specific microenvironments using synthetic hydrogels. Some projects focus on how altered initial conditions (e.g., matrix stiffness or viscoelasticity, integrin binding, extracellular matrix composition, and cell composition) impact morphogenesis. Other projects focus on the role of spatiotemporal dynamics of the extracellular microenvironment in shaping growing tissues. For this work, we use light-tunable materials to alter the properties of our synthetic microenvironments, in order to guide morphogenesis.
Honors and Awards:
NIDDK K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (NIH)
American Institute of Chemists Postdoctoral Award (University of Colorado Boulder)
Young Investigator’s Day Paul Talalay Award (Johns Hopkins University)
Blatchley MR, Anseth KS. Middle-out methods for spatiotemporal tissue engineering of organoids. Nature Reviews Bioengineering, 1, 329-345, 2023. (link)
Yavitt FM, Kirkpatrick BE,Blatchley MR, Speckl KF, Mohagheghian E, Moldovan R, Wang N, Dempsey PJ, Anseth KS. In situ modulation of intestinal organoid epithelial curvature through photoinduced viscoelasticity directs crypt morphogenesis. Science Advances, 9 (3), eadd5668, 2023. (link)
Blatchley MR*, Günay KA*, Yavitt FM, Hawat EM, Dempsey PJ, Anseth KS. In situ super-resolution imaging of organoids and extracellular matrix interactions via photo-transfer by allyl sulfide exchange expansion microscopy (PhASE-ExM), Advanced Materials, 2109252, 2022. (link)
Blatchley MR, Hall F, Ntekoumes D, Cho H, Kailash V, Gerecht S. Discretizing 3D oxygen gradients in hydrogels to modulate and investigate cellular processes, Advanced Science, 2100190, 2021. (link)
Blatchley MR, Gerecht S. Re-constructing the vascular developmental milieu in vitro, Trends in Cell Biology, 30 (1), 15-31, 2020. Cover Feature. (link)
Blatchley MR, Hall F, Wang S, Pruitt HC, Gerecht S. Hypoxia and matrix viscoelasticity sequentially regulate endothelial progenitor cluster-based vasculogenesis, Science Advances, 5 (3), eaau7518, 2019. (link)
Cho H, Blatchley MR, Duh EJ, Gerecht S. Acellular and cellular approaches to improve diabetic wound healing, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 146, 267-288, 2018. (link)
Lewis DM*, Blatchley MR*, Park KM, Gerecht, S. O2-controllable hydrogels for studying cellular responses to hypoxic gradients in three dimensions in vitro and in vivo, Nature Protocols, 12 (8), 1620-1638, 2017. (link)
Undergraduate Researcher in the Bionics, Systems and Control Lab
Favorite thing about biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE):
My favorite thing about BMCE is the diverse selection of courses which have equipped me with fundamental skills that are essential for my journey towards becoming a Rehabilitation Engineer.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
My favorite thing about SU are the support programs for minority students including the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and the Our Time Has Come Program (OTHC). These programs actively supported me and provided invaluable resources and opportunities for my success.
Plans after graduation:
I plan to attend graduate school and earn my master’s in movement science.
Get to know the staff who keep the department of biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) running smoothly.
Name: David Stablein
Title: ESTEEMED LEADERS Program Coordinator
Tell us about your role at Engineering and Computer Science (ECS):
As program coordinator for the ESTEMED LEADERS Program, I work with our ESTEEMED LEADERS students as they prepare for a future as researchers in biomedical engineering fields. I coordinate all the services, events, and activities that directly support the ESTEEMED LEADERS students.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
The reception to my ideas is positive and supportive.
Name: Emilia Stojanovski
Title: Academic Operations Specialist
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I am responsible for graduate student processes, faculty/ post doc hiring, course scheduling, and curricula support in the department. I manage the processing of all graduate student forms including petitions, independent study proposals, degree certifications and OPT/CPT recommendations. I also handle the graduate admissions process for the department, research/teaching assistantship appointments, as well as the 4+1 program application and admission process.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
The staff and faculty within ECS are wonderful, and we all work together for the greater good of the students in our College. The students in ECS are amazing, as I’ve had opportunities to work with so many across the undergraduate and graduate levels during my time here. It’s exciting to see where their paths take them and knowing that I may have helped them in any way is extremely fulfilling!
Name: Amy Forbes
Title: Administrative Assistant
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I provide administrative support for BMCE through ordering materials for BMCE labs and courses, assisting with space reservation, key distribution, and card access, and assisting with the planning and coordination of department seminars, speaker visits, and faculty candidate interviews and visits.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering (BMCE) Department Chair Julie Hasenwinkel has been reappointed for a five year term through summer 2029. She has served as BMCE Department Chair since 2019 and has led continued growth within the department while emphasizing scholarship, research and innovation.
Hasenwinkel has been a BMCE faculty member since 1999 and was a founding member of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, where her research group has studied spinal cord injury using Raman spectroscopy and microindentation, and has developed polymeric biomaterials for nerve regeneration applications. Her group has also developed bone cements for fixation of total joint replacements and treatment of vertebral compression fractures. She holds five US patents.
Prior to becoming the BMCE department chair, Hasenwinkel was the College’s senior associate dean and previously the associate dean of student and academic affairs. She has led efforts to increase retention, graduation, and placement rates; and enhance undergraduate education through faculty development, the renovation of four state-of-the-art collaborative classrooms, and the development of several cohort-based scholars programs. She has also served on the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Promotion and Tenure, chaired the Academic Affairs Committee and the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee of the University Senate, and is the recipient of multiple honors, including the University’s Seinfeld Scholar Award and Teaching Recognition Award. In 2022 she was named as a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and participated in the ACC Academic Leaders Network.
“I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and privilege to lead this exceptional department and work daily with talented and supportive faculty, staff, and students,” said Hasenwinkel “The collaborative and collegial environment in BMCE is truly special and I am excited to continue to work towards enhancing and sustaining what we have built collectively, as we also help to lead the transformation of ECS.”
“Dr. Hasenwinkel’s leadership has been essential to the growth of BMCE and our College. Her work has long been impactful in student success for our College, especially over the past decade as she spearheaded our efforts to create and implement our three-tiered advising model,” said Dean J. Cole Smith. “Her research vision contributed to a slate of exceptional hires in BMCE during her first term, and has helped make her department an exceptionally welcoming and intellectually rich place to thrive. I am grateful for everything she does for ECS and for Syracuse University.”
Hasenwinkel earned her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, her master’s degree in bioengineering from Clemson University, and her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University.
Assistant professor in biomedical and chemical engineering Mary Beth Monroe has received the Young Investigator Award from the Society For Biomaterials. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievements in biomaterials research.
The Society For Biomaterials is a group of multidisciplinary professionals from various fields including academia, healthcare, government, and business. They aim to advance biomaterial science and education to improve professional standards for human health while promoting excellence in biomaterial science, engineering, and technology.
Monroe’s research is focused on engineering new biomaterials to address clinical needs in wound healing. Seeking to make significant strides in polymer chemistry to facilitate safer, more efficient medical devices, her biomaterials lab conducts basic and applied research to produce and analyze polymeric biomaterials that enhance healing outcomes.
“Dr. Monroe is off to a fantastic start as a junior faculty member, and she brings tremendous creativity, energy, and enthusiasm to her research lab, teaching, mentorship activities, and service efforts. We expect her to continue to lead in these areas and to excel as a biomaterials scholar as she inspires those around her to lead as well,” says the SFB BioInterfaces Special Interest Group Awards Committee, Ashley Brown, Benjamin Keselowsky, and Christopher Siedlecki.
“I have been engaged with SFB since my first semester of graduate school,” says Monroe. “It is a huge honor to be recognized by this scientific society that has had such a huge impact on my career by providing me with mentors, collaborators, and an outlet for scientific inquiry over the past 10+ years.”
Fast fashion may seem affordable, but its true cost goes beyond the price tags on clothing. The industry’s unsustainable, unethical practices have negatively impacted the environment and its current lack of government regulations has allowed these practices to run rampant around the globe. Despite the dominance of cheap, quick clothing production among modern retailers, Syracuse University biomedical engineering alumna Alexis Peña ’16, and her colleague, Lauren Blake, are determined to revolutionize the textile industry with their start-up, Good Fibes.
“Since summer 2022, Lauren and I have embarked on understanding the fashion industry ecosystem to provide innovative solutions for the current challenges,” says Peña. “At Good Fibes, we’re developing methods for biomanufacturing natural textile fibers using biological building blocks. Our mission is to enable a circular textile economy through material innovation.”
The biotech startup aims to produce lab-grown fibers through cellular agriculture and use engineered molecules to create renewable, biodegradable, and non-toxic fibers. They hope this will offer alternatives to synthetic fibers such as polyester, which currently make up over 50% of clothing material. Synthetic fibers can also take hundreds of years to degrade and shed microplastics and chemical pollutants into the environment.
Though fibers like cotton, silk, or wool are natural fibers, their production processes don’t align with sustainability goals or meet the industry’s needs. Cotton processing demands extensive amounts of water and silk production requires a considerable amount of energy. Wool products may also contain harsh chemicals and dyes that make them less biodegradable.
Natural materials can also be unpredictable in supply due to weather, humidity, animal diet, or plant soil, which can cause variations in harvest seasons and batch-to-batch quality. Additionally, the industry faces challenges related to performance criteria and variability in quality, which ultimately leads to a reliance on synthetic fibers.
Good Fibes’ bioengineered fibers solve these issues by providing environmentally conscious production and better-quality materials compared to current synthetic textiles.
“The lack of reliable alternatives to synthetic fibers is a major pain point in the textile industry. Our bioengineered fibers not only provide an alternative to petroleum-based fibers but also address limitations of cotton, silk, and wool by having year-round production and tunable properties such as elasticity, tensile strength, and dye affinity” says Peña.
Peña and Blake recently completed their Ph. Ds in May 2023 at Johns Hopkins University. The co-founders also taught a course called “Future Fashion Innovation” to material scientists and engineering undergraduates at Hopkins during intersession and adapted the course into a webinar for Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni during Earth Week in 2023.
Peña and Blake presenting their final pitch for Chain Reaction Innovations (Photo courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory)
Additionally, Good Fibes has been selected as a participant in a lab-embedded entrepreneurship program (LEEP), Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) program at Argonne National Laboratory. The CRI program is designed to support entrepreneurs and their innovative research with a focus on clean energy.
“Fashion should allow people to feel good about their clothing but also feel good about what happens to their clothing after they wear it,” says Peña. “We believe this can truly innovate the textile industry and bring a much-needed change to fashion’s monolithic infrastructure.”
Extracting oil from the Earth in ways that minimize environmental harm is a challenging task. Methods like hydraulic fracturing require the injection of fluids into rock formations to create pressure for oil and natural gas to flow out. However, this process often causes air pollution and water contamination due to the use of toxic chemicals.
As researchers continue finding new ways to extract oil, distinguished professor in biomedical and chemical engineering, Radhakrishna (Suresh) Sureshkumar has made significant progress in research involving fluid mechanics and soft materials. Supported by the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) from the American Chemical Society (ACS), he’s exploring the structure and flow behavior (rheology) of polymeric solutions that offer promise in efficient oil extraction.
“The ACS seeks to promote fundamental petroleum research and my research has received funding from the PRF in the past. They awarded me my very first grant during my tenure at Washington University and I’m looking forward to continuing research supported by the agency” says Sureshkumar.
With the fund, he and graduate student Senyuan Liu have been analyzing a group of molecules known as copolymers, which fall under the category of polymers, large molecules made of long, repeating chains of smaller molecules. Copolymers are made up of multiple polymers that possess different properties and are chemically bonded together. Most notably, copolymers consist of different blocks that have varying affinities to water. Some blocks are hydrophilic, meaning they like water and others are hydrophobic, which means they like oil.
Oil and water are known to not mix. However, there is a way they can be made compatible by using a substance called a surfactant. When a surfactant is added to water and oil, it creates an emulsion, the mixture of two or more liquids that don’t naturally mix. Using computational modeling, Sureshkumar and Liu are exploring the thermodynamic patterns underlying the assembly of copolymers in aqueous solutions. Further, they are investigating how molecular assemblies deform under flow conditions.
“Detergent is a good example of a surfactant. Dirt is oil-like material and when washing clothes, you add detergent to the washing machine because oil and water are not thermodynamically compatible,” Sureshkumar explains. “A surfactant has two parts to its molecular structure: one part is hydrophilic, the other is hydrophobic. So, when water, oil, and detergent are put together, it creates an emulsion allowing water and oil to mix.”
He and Liu have also been studying how copolymers self-assemble into various shapes such as spheres, cylinders, disks, and vesicles when they’re in water. Since copolymers possess different properties, some being hydrophilic and some hydrophobic, the oil-loving molecules avoid contact with water, leading to self-assembly and the formation of different shapes.
To further explore fluid dynamics, Sureshkumar and Liu have now developed technology that uses molecular dynamics simulations to study self-assembling molecules and their applications in oil extraction. They experiment with how these shapes self-assemble in different environments and have recently published a paper about their work.
“The molecular simulation we’ve created contains water and we can adjust the temperature and pressure as well. Adding individual polymer molecules, moving them around and tracking the process allows us to see how the invisible hand of thermodynamics causes them to self-assemble into various shapes,” Sureshkumar says. “We can see how these types of polymers will react in a natural environment, an engineered environment, or even the human body using this simulation.”
Studying how structures organize into different shapes and the thermodynamic mechanisms behind the creation of polymer structures is crucial, according to Sureshkumar. This research enables new ways to understand how to extract petroleum from the Earth and he believes the oil and natural gas industry can benefit from numerous applications of this research. It can also help unravel the mysteries of nature and answer questions regarding what causes polymers to self-assemble in the first place.
“Why would nature take a bunch of molecules and assemble them into a particular shape? This is a fundamental question,” he says. “Gaining an understanding of how nature creates nanostructures, we can engineer nanoscopic assemblies of molecules in a smart way and design better technologies to benefit society. The current grant from the Petroleum Research Fund helps us continue such fundamental explorations.”
The lack of access to clean drinking water impacts billions worldwide. With an estimated 46% of the global population affected, underdeveloped communities don’t have the means to efficient technology for water purification. As the percentage of those affected grows, associate professor Ian Hosein was recently awarded a patent that shows promise in addressing global water security and revolutionizing sustainability. To Professor Hosein, sustainability is more than just a solution to environmental issues – it’s a means of empowerment.
“There’s an enormous amount of energy out there at a time when the world needs it most,” Hosein said. “We’re taking energy from the sea which everyone has access to and providing a simple technology to be able to harness that energy.”
As an associate professor in biomedical and chemical engineering and a leader of a research group that develops sustainable technologies, Hosein is dedicated to clean energy efforts. Sparked by a student’s curiosity to investigate alternative energy sources, he began the journey to his patent by exploring the effectiveness of current filtration systems.
“We worked a lot with polymers and plastics, which were great for filtration down to the atomic scale. They’re also impermeable to salts and let certain things in and out,” Hosein said. “Since most filtrations are using plastics, former student Fu-Hao Chen G’19 discovered that if you have saltwater on one side of the plastic film, and no salt on the other, you’ve essentially created a battery. Saltwater has a lot of energy, so when you place it next to non-salty water, there’s diffusion.”
Taking this a step further, they discovered the potential of using other materials to regulate the high and low energy difference between salty and non-salty water and harness it as energy.
“If you put a barrier between salt water and non-salty water, you have all this stored energy on one side and low energy on the other. It’s like hydroelectricity in a dam and you can control the current or amount of electricity produced.”
Biomedical and Chemical Professor Ian Hosein
The ability to control the amount of electricity produced is what distinguishes Hosein’s patent from other patents. While many filtration systems rely on a plastic film similar to Hosein’s device, they’re passive, meaning they can’t control the amount of electricity produced. Hosein’s patented technology is active, which means it can apply additional voltage on both sides to amplify its efficiency. Other filtration systems may have inconsistent voltage depending on how much salt is in the water.
“Our planet is 96% saltwater and saltwater also doesn’t discriminate,” he said. “It’s accessible to everyone, and anyone can gain access to clean energy with this. This could change the world.”
While similar concepts had been explored, they were complex and relied on materials like molecular tubes. Hosein set out to find a simpler approach, which led him and Chen to develop this innovative way to purify water.
With help from Syracuse University’s Office of Technology Transfer, they obtained a patent for the device, which Hosein intends to utilize to power small residentials and sealines. If his patented technology is scaled up, it may even be able to power sea transportation, which currently relies heavily on carbon-based fuels. With this renewable technology, Hosein also hopes to level the playing field of sustainability.
“Sustainable energy is very empowering,” he said. “With this tech, people can empower themselves to generate their own energy and have access to clean energy. They may not have access to oil and coal, but they do have seawater. With this device, we’re closer to a world where everyone has access to clean water and more renewable energy.”
Accurate fluid replacement is one of the most important objectives in the initial treatment of burn patients. Giving a patient the incorrect volume can lead to serious complications and delay proper treatment. Fluid management and other treatment protocols are based on calculating what percentage of the patient’s total body surface area (%TBSA) is burned. The Burn Care Anywhere app aims to help emergency responders accurately estimate the %TBSA for fast and immediate treatment.
Burn Care Anywhere was developed as a 2022-2023 biomedical engineering capstone project by Jared Anderson ’23, Sara Leonardo ’23, Katie Southard ’23, and Alyssa Pape ’23 in partnership with the Clark Burn Center at Upstate Medical University.
The biomedical engineering capstone senior design course challenges students to study a real-world issue and develop a solution from concept to prototype. The experience gives students hands-on preparation to help them be successful after graduation.
Research projects with Dr. Ian Hosein and Dr. Viktor Cybulskis
Academic Excellence Workshop Facilitator (AEW)
ECS Dean’s Advisory Panel (DAP)
Tau Beta Pi (TBP) National Engineering Honors Society
Syracuse University Running Club (SURC)
Syracuse University Outing Club (SUOC)
Favorite thing about biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE):
The opportunities for research in BMCE are enormous. I had the chance to work in two different labs and got exposed to vastly different facets of chemical engineering. Overall I am leaving BMCE with a multitude of engineering experiences that I look forward to applying in the future.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
SU is such a strong knit community. I could have never imagined the amount of people I would form friendships with and the professional connections I would end up making as a student at SU. I know wherever I may end up in my engineering career, a big part of me will always bleed Orange.
Plans after graduation:
Post-graduation – Associate Safety Engineer at Naval Nuclear Laboratory
Further down the line – PhD in either chemical engineering or materials science
Dr. Monroe’s Biomaterials Lab, Outing Club, Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Engagement (3-time grant recipient), Engineering Ambassadors, Alpha Omega Epsilon, Engineering Excelerators, Engineering World Health, Independent Design Project
Favorite thing about Biomedical and Chemical Engineering:
I love how interdisciplinary the program is! I get to learn about topics ranging from electrical engineering to anatomy. Since I came in with lots of AP credits, I was able to add on an extra major in Neuroscience and take some coding and 3D design classes too.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
My favorite thing about SU is the Outing Club and the Barnes’ climbing wall and outdoor adventure trips. I love going outside, and SU has provided me with opportunities to go outside and expand my knowledge in outdoors’ safety, equipment, and activities.
Other than research and class work. During my spare time, I continue working on one of my oil paintings. I intend to have a collection of art pieces by the time I graduate [insta: @abitsketch]. I also enjoy visiting family and friends, watching movies, practicing the violin, and spending quality time outside.
Favorite thing about Biomedical and Chemical Engineering:
My favorite aspect of BMCE is the people that go/work here and their diverse backgrounds. On top of that, everyone is very kind, approachable, and willing to help if asked.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
My favorite thing about SU is the view and architecture. I admire the landscape and how beautiful and lively the campus can be on sunny warm days.
Plan after graduation:
I realized I am more comfortable in leadership and management roles because these positions better showcase my potential and skills. So, I am aiming for an industry career in engineering management, followed by obtaining my professional engineer license and possibly pursuing a minor academic position in the future.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science is proud to announce the students who received awards at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year from their academic department.
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering
The Bioengineering Founders Award
Grace Haas
Karen M. Hiiemae Outstanding Achievement Award in Bioengineering
Gabriel Khan
Oren Nagasako Award
Megan Perlman
Outstanding Achievement Award in Chemical Engineering
Adam Klinger
The Allen J. Barduhn Award
Jacob Shellhamer
Outstanding Graduate Student in Biomedical Engineering
Tackla Winston
Outstanding Graduate Student in Chemical Engineering
Robson Schuraca
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Outstanding Achievement Award in Environmental Engineering
Benjamin Cavarra
K.L. Lui Memorial Award
Aymeric Destrée
The John Burch McMorran ’22 Award
Adam Landry
Outstanding Graduate Student in Civil & Environmental Engineering
Joseph Wasswa
Dr. James A. Mandel Prize for Achievement in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Haben Legesse
Samuel P. Clemence Prize for Outstanding Senior Design
Nagdalina Baez
Masson Bruening
Benjamin Cavarra
Kate Kemnitz
Adam Landry
Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Awards
Kate Kemnitz
Paige Yamane
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
The Warren Semon Prize
Ryan M. May
Outstanding Achievement Award in Computer & Information Science
Matthew J. Cufari
Outstanding Achievement Award in Computer Engineering
Kyle D. Maiorana
The Outstanding Achievement Award in Electrical Engineering
Jared W. Welch
Outstanding Graduate Student in Computer Engineering
Sihao Ren
Outstanding Graduate Student in Computer Science
Sai Saran Macha
Outstanding Graduate Student in Electrical Engineering
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) – President
Engineering Ambassadors
Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Excelerators
Favorite thing about BMCE:
Dr. Cadwell. I undoubtedly learned the most in her courses and am forever grateful for her guidance and support.
Favorite thing about SU:
The school pride
Plan after graduation:
I plan to work at Airgas, a leading U.S. industrial and specialty gas supplier. I’ll specifically be participating in their two-year Chemical Engineering Rotational Program, where I’ll work in three different engineering departments in various locations across the United States.
Raj Subramaniam G’89 is the President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation. He has more than 30 years of industry experience at FedEx and is responsible for several recent transformational initiatives, including revitalizing the company’s operating strategy, profitably growing the e-commerce business, and harnessing the power of global supply chain data to drive the company’s digital transformation. In a conversation with Dean J. Cole Smith, he looked back at how his time at Syracuse University as a chemical engineering graduate student helped prepare him to lead FedEx and areas where future Syracuse University graduates can make an impact.
Dean Smith: What are some of your favorite memories from your time at Syracuse University?
Raj Subramaniam: Syracuse was my first point of entry in the United States. It holds a very special place because of that. I made so many friends in Syracuse and really got myself into the American culture. Starting with the first football game that I went to. I didn’t know what football was but I remember we had a game against Penn State and we beat them. We had a great unbeaten season the year I was there.
We formed a Syracuse cricket club and I was a captain. Syracuse University supported me and we hosted a ten team tournament in the last year I was there. My great memories of Syracuse were the friendships and the people I met and getting my first view of American culture.
Dean Smith: How did how your engineering education at Syracuse help prepare you for leadership roles?
Raj Subramaniam: One of the core aspects of engineering is the real discipline and rigor that goes with it. Engineering is about problem solving at the end of the day. You are taking structured and unstructured problems, looking at all the data and information that is available to you and then crafting a solution to solve that problem. You have to pay attention to the details. It is a disciplined approach: It is analytical in nature, and at the end of the day when you think about the strategic decisions that you are making in a company, the mental process that you go through to arrive at a particular decision point is similar. Especially in this day and age where there is so much dynamism in the world and so much information you have to process, you have to stay disciplined. The rigor with which you apply that that discipline is very important. I think my engineering background and the core skillsets I developed through six years of engineering has stayed with me.
Dean Smith: When I think of FedEx I think about a commitment to logistics, sustainability and reliability. How have you seen the need for engineering and computing skills change over the years and where should a student’s focus be if they want to make an impact?
Raj Subramaniam: Building a network and especially a physical network is a very hard thing to do. What FedEx has done over the past 50 years is diligently build networks connecting 220 countries around the world. The core idea of a network is that you can pick up one thing in any part of the world and get it to any other part of the world in a few days. That’s the network. For example, COVID-19 vaccine delivery – we were interested in the responsibility. We were one of only two networks that could actually deliver it. Within the United States you had to do it within 24 hours to keep the temperature stable. We have built a physical network over fifty years that is unmatched.
Associated with that is the digital network that underpins the physical network. Every day we transport millions of packages around the world and each of these packages is scanned multiple times. In other words, we have important insights on the global supply chain on a daily basis. Moving forward, as we innovate digitally, how do we empower the data on the insights that we have to create value for our customers? Supply chains are a big topic of conversations these days. As students at Syracuse look into this area, this is a very important piece of the puzzle. I think intelligent supply chains are going to be very important for success. Making customer supply chains smarter through technology is a really important thing. Providing visibility across supply chains to more efficiently manage that and to provide a sense of reliability and predictability using intelligence and data – this is an area where engineers and engineering students can play a massive role.
Dean Smith: There are some folks that are trying to use summary data to make inferences on reality and really the complexity of the situation is always more complicated than what a couple of pieces of data are going to give you. It’s the interactions, the models and understanding what’s really happening on the ground. The rigor of what they understand is very important but you’ve mentioned supply chain here a few times and engineers will think of that as one thing and maybe data scientists will think of it as something different and business majors might think of it as something a little different. I think from what you’re telling me it seems like a well-rounded engineer or computer scientist that’s familiar with the problems, the challenges, the languages and the industrial realities is the one that’s going to make the biggest impact.
Raj Subramaniam: That is a very good point that you mentioned about the complexity. A lot of conversations are starting to say “simplify it for me, simplify it for me, simplify it for me” but the reality is that the world is complex and when you oversimplify, you can lose the essence of the matter. In today’s world, to be able to deal with the complexity and to understand the complexity and don’t form the trap of oversimplification is important. The reason why a lot of engineers are now showing up in the c-suite of several corporations is because of their ability to deal with the complexity and to be able to understand the detail behind some of the issues and actually solve the problems. I think that’s very important. In terms of the different people who look at supply chains whether it’s business or computer science or engineering – this is a very holistic feel right now. The way I’m thinking about supply chain is about making sure our customers’ operations are streamlined, our operations are streamlined and, for the consumer, there’s visibility and predictability of what’s coming to them. This involves all the aspects that we just talked about.
Whether it’s a computer scientist, whether it’s an industrial engineer, whether it’s a business major: The person who can kind of put it all together will be a very valuable resource for any corporation.
Dean Smith: And what additional advice should we be giving to a modern engineering or computer science student?
Raj Subramaniam: One of the great things about what I’ve experienced over the last 35 years since I moved to the United States has been constant change. It’s almost as if someone was looking at me and saying “okay he’s getting comfortable, let’s move the comfort zone a little bit now.” It has always been about getting outside of my comfort zone and being comfortable there. I think the ability to adapt to changing circumstances while staying true to your core beliefs is a is a very important skill to have. For me, it is about moving either moving disciplines, moving geography or trying to take on different assignments. It has been a constant for me.
Dean Smith: That’s critical advice. I think it’s a healthy thing to be curious. And to be comfortably uncomfortable in the way that you’re referring to allows you to keep inventing yourself.
Raj Subramaniam: I’ve been a one-company person ever since I joined FedEx in 1991. I have stayed there for 31 years but within the company there has been such an element of change. I have taken different roles starting from a more analytical function to as I grew into more management roles and general management roles. It’s been a constant change and so whether you stay in one enterprise or change enterprises or change careers, you know you’ve got to be ready to change while always learning.
The starting salaries for graduates receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) has grown steadily for the last six years.
The average starting salary for the class of 2022 was $76,679. A total increase of $17,000 since 2016.
The placement rate for the class of 2022 was 93%. More than half of all graduates have started their careers and 33% are pursuing an advanced degree.
The ECS Career Services team provides students with support to reach their professional goals. They help students build their network with connections to industry leaders and alumni through information sessions, company tabling, career fairs, on-campus interviewing and more. Additional support through workshops, seminars, and drop-in advising ensures students have access to development opportunities that give them an edge in today’s job market.
Class of 2022 Top 25 Employers
Applied Materials
Boston Scientific
Brainlab
Bristol Myers Squibb
Burns & McDonnell
Carrier
Deloitte
General Dynamics, Electric Boat
IBM
Kimley-Horn
L3Harris Technologies
Lockheed Martin
Meta
Morningstar, Inc.
National Grid Pfizer, Inc.
Pratt & Whitney, a Raytheon Technologies Company (RTX)
Qualcomm
SRC, Inc
The Boeing Company
The Walt Disney Company
Turner Construction Company
Weston & Sampson
Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
WSP
Class of 2022 Graduate Schools
Boston University
Brown University
Clarkson University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Northwestern University
Princeton University
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Stony Brook
Syracuse University
University North Carolina, Wilmington
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Southern California
Data reflects information on 281 of 312 undergraduate degree recipients in 2022, representing a 90% knowledge rate.
The Einhorn Family Walk stretches out in front of the Hall of Languages on a autumn day.
In recognition of superior scholarship, the following students have been entered on the Engineering & Computer Science Dean’s List for Fall 2022.
To be eligible for Dean’s List recognition, the minimum semester grade point average must be 3.40 or higher, must have earned a minimum of 12 graded credits and must have no missing or incomplete grades.
The high demand for lithium-ion batteries has triggered significant research interest in finding alternative ion carriers. In a recent publication, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Ian Hosein’s research team showed how they produced high performance hard carbon from avocado peels using high temperature processing. Electrochemical measurements confirmed the use of avocado-derived hard carbon as electrode active materials, with high reversible capacities of 320 mAh g−1 over 50 cycles at 50 mA g−1, good rate performance of 86 mAh g−1 at 3500 mA g−1, and Coulombic efficiencies above 99.9% after 500 cycles.
“We see avocado carbon as a cost effective and abundant source that yields a promising anode material for high-rate performance sodium-ion batteries,” says Hosein.
The research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Doctoral students Francielli Silva Genier, Shreyas Pathreeker, Robson Luis Schuarca and Dr. Mohammad Islam collaborated with Hosein on the research and publication in the IOPscience journal.
Advancements in biomedical devices such as knee and hip implants, heart valves, pacemakers, dental implants, stents, and catheters have improved quality of life for patients worldwide. These devices, however, introduce foreign material into a patient and are prone to chronic infections. Through a new grant, a cross-disciplinary group of experts will collaborate to develop new approaches to prevent device-associated infections and enhance the use of these implants.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $3.6 million grant to a team of researchers from five universities in a project titled “Collaborative Research: Growing Convergence Research: Infection-Resisting Resorbable Scaffolds for Engineering Human Tissue.” Syracuse University researchers teamed up with partners at Stevens Institute of Technology, Binghamton University, City College of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School.
The project will address the development of healthy tissue and mitigate the risk of infection in implantable devices as new biomaterials are being developed to replace failed, damaged, or defective body parts.
The Syracuse University team is led by Shikha Nangia, Associate Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, and Dacheng Ren, Associate Dean of Research, College of Engineering and Computer Science and Stevenson Endowed Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering.
“The novelty of this project is the cross-disciplinary convergence of microbiology, polymer science, computational biochemistry, and biomaterials science,” said Nangia.
Another aspect of the project is to train the next generation in infection control.
“The Ph.D. and undergraduate students in the research labs will travel to partner institutions during summer and gain immersive research experience in a new lab to broaden their expertise,” Nangia added. “I am very excited about this opportunity.”
“This project team includes researchers from five institutions, who have been working together over the past several years. It is a great example of how researchers from different disciplines can work together to solve challenging problems through convergence science,” said Ren.
Senior Scientist, ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, Annandale, NJ, 2019-2022
Ph.D., Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2019
B.S., Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2015
Areas of Expertise:
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Reaction Kinetics and microkinetic analysis
Experimental Determination of Reaction Mechanisms
Advanced liquid- and solid-state NMR spectroscopy
Solvent Effects in Liquid-Phase Catalytic Processes
Biomass conversion to renewable energy and chemicals
Complex plastic waste recycling
The Walker lab studies the fundamental, mechanistic details underlying heterogeneously catalyzed reactions of biomass, waste plastics, and other sources of non-fossil-based organic carbon for renewable fuels and chemicals production. We leverage our group’s strengths in solvent effects, advanced spectroscopic methods, and materials synthesis to develop novel catalysts that enable atom-efficient conversion of renewable feedstocks into fungible products while resisting deactivation by poisons.
Our experimental approach combines catalyst synthesis, characterization, and reaction kinetics measurements. We collaborate extensively with theorists to combine our experimental measurements with quantum-chemical and/or molecular dynamics simulations, toward a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental bases by which catalysts transform raw materials into products. Current research topics include:
Alkali-metal-resistant, bi-functional metal and acid catalysts for hydropyrolysis of waste plastics and biomass
Grafting of polymer brushes onto support catalysts to direct selectivity and mitigate deactivation by poisons in liquid-phase processing of renewable oxygenates
Electrochemical production of renewable polymers precursors and other platform molecules
Selected Publications
Walker, Theodore W., et al. “Recycling of multilayer plastic packaging materials by solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation.” Science advances 6.47 (2020): eaba7599.
Walker, Theodore W., et al. “Solid-state NMR studies of solvent-mediated, acid-catalyzed woody biomass pretreatment for enzymatic conversion of residual cellulose.” ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering 8.16 (2020): 6551-6563.
Walker, Theodore W., et al. “Universal kinetic solvent effects in acid-catalyzed reactions of biomass-derived oxygenates.” Energy & Environmental Science 11.3 (2018): 617-628.
Walker, Theodore W., et al. “Fundamental catalytic challenges to design improved biomass conversion technologies.” Journal of Catalysis 369 (2019): 518-525.
Walker, Theodore W., et al. “Rational design of mixed solvent systems for acid-catalyzed biomass conversion processes using a combined experimental, molecular dynamics and machine learning approach.” Topics in Catalysis 63.7 (2020): 649-663.
Humans are made of over a million proteins that perform crucial functions to maintain life. These proteins, however, can bind to small molecules in our cells and perform various new functions.
Biomedical and chemical engineering professor Shikha Nangia and her research team have received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation to better understand how the modification of proteins effects human health. They will use computer modeling and simulations to study changes in protein structure due to the attachment of the small molecules.
“Our group has studied protein through computer simulations for more than eight years. This grant will allow us to focus on how modified proteins affect human health,” says Nangia. “The funding will allow us to investigate scientific questions that have not yet been answered.”
This multidisciplinary project provides an excellent opportunity to train graduate students with different academic backgrounds, such as engineering, chemistry, biology, and computer science. The project will provide scientific training to undergraduate students through a cohort-based approach that will engage a team of 5–6 undergraduates in a ten-week summer research project.
The project will focus on training a diverse community of students from underrepresented minority students for graduate school. Students will be equipped with research experiences, fundamental knowledge, and professional skills to transition to doctoral programs in STEM disciplines successfully.
The immune system is essential for many aspects of human health, such as, infections, autoimmune conditions, malignancies, and tissue regenerations. While the generations of immune responses are complicated processes that involves wide range of molecular and cellular interactions, many key aspects crucial for protective immune responses have been recently revealed, generating enormous opportunities for therapeutic interventions to greatly improve patient health. Various immune engineering strategies based on biomaterial platforms have shown promise in facilitating immunogenic materials trafficking, modulating cellular interactions, and more. My previous work has also demonstrated several approaches to engineer coordinated cellular and humoral immune responses for augmenting therapeutic responses. The research of our team at Syracuse is aimed at designing biomaterials strategies to delivering molecular stimuli in a temporal and spatial fashion for regulating immune functions. We are particularly interested in harnessing humoral immune responses for therapeutic purpose by regulating the cellular process involved.
Honors and Awards:
Duke Incubation Fund (Co-PI) 2019
American Chemical Society Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research Award 2014
• Wu Y, Kelly SH, Sanchez-Perez L, Sampson JH, Collier JH, Comparative study of α-helical and β-sheet self-assembled peptide nanofiber vaccine platforms: Influence of integrated T-cell epitopes, Biomaterial Science, 2020, 8, 3522
• Fries CN, Wu Y, Kelly SH, Wolf M, Votaw NL, Zauscher S, Collier JH, Controlled lengthwise assembly of helical peptide nanofibers to modulate CD8+ T cell responses, Advanced Materials, 2020, 32, 2003310
• Kelly SH, Wu Y, Varadhan AK, Curvino EJ, Chong AS, Collier JH, Enabling Sublingual Peptide Immunization Using Molecular Self-assemblies, Biomaterials, 2020, 241, 119903
• Nelson CE, Wu Y, Gemberling MP, Oliver ML, Waller MA, Bohning JD, Robinson-Hamm JN, Bulaklak K, Castellanos Rivera RM, Collier JH, Asokan A, Gersbach CA, Long-term Evaluation of AAV-CRISPR Genome Editing for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Nature Medicine, 2019, 25, 427
• Wu Y, Norberg PK, Reap EA, Congdon K, Fries C, Kelly SH, Sampson JH, Conticello VP, Collier JH, A supramolecular vaccine platform based on α-helical peptide nanofibers, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 2017, 3(12), 3128
• Wu Y, Smith AE, Reineke TM, Lipophilic polycation vehicles display high plasmid DNA delivery to multiple cell types, Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2017, 28, 2035
Embryonic development involves extensive lineage diversification, cell fate specification, tissue patterning and morphogenesis. Identification of the features that enable robust interpretation of developmental signaling using in vivo samples is a significant challenge. Recent studies of self-assembly processes of organ-like structures (organoids) from pluripotent stem cells in vitro have provided fresh insights into fundamental mechanisms underlying embryonic development. These stem cell-based in vitro models offer unparalleled opportunities for experimental control of key parameters, quantitative measurements, and mathematical modeling.
My lab sought to leverage sophisticated engineering approaches to achieve controllable in vitro platforms that could recapitulate sequential developmental events during human embryo development. These stem cell-based models will provide powerful experimental platforms to advance understanding of poorly understood embryonic disorders. With superior controllability and scalability, these platforms will also serve as effective tools for high-throughput drug and toxicity screening to facilitate diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of teratogenesis and birth defects.
Honors and Awards:
Robert M. Caddell Memorial Award, University of Michigan
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellowship
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) CREATE Scholarships, University of Toronto
Barbara and Frank Milligan Fellowships, University of Toronto
Selected Publications:
Zheng Y, Yan RZ, Kobayashi M, Xiang L, Yang R, Goedel A, Kang Y, Xue X, Esfahani SN, Liu Y, Resto Irizarry AM, Wu W, Li Y, Ji W, Niu Y, Chien KR, Li T, Shioda T, Fu J. Single-cell analysis of embryoids reveals lineage diversification roadmaps of early human development. Cell Stem Cell. 2022. In Press
Zheng Y, Xue X, Shao Y, Wang S, Esfahani SN, Li Z, Muncie JM, Lakins JN, Weaver VM, Gumucio DL, Fu J. Controlled modelling of human epiblast and amnion development using stem cells. Nature. 2019;573(7774):421-5.
Zheng Y, Sun Y, Yu X, Shao Y, Zhang P, Dai G, Fu J. Angiogenesis in Liquid Tumors: An In Vitro Assay for Leukemic-Cell-Induced Bone Marrow Angiogenesis. Advanced Healthcare Materials. 2016;5(9):1014-24.
Zheng Y, Chen J, Cui T, Shehata N, Wang C, Sun Y. Characterization of red blood cell deformability change during blood storage. Lab on a Chip. 2014;14(3):577-83.
Zheng Y, Shojaei-Baghini E, Wang C, Sun Y. Microfluidic characterization of specific membrane capacitance and cytoplasm conductivity of single cells. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2013;42:496-502.
In this video prepared for a recent National Science Foundation supported workshop for New York State Master Teachers, researchers in the BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University discuss how polymers are being used to study and improve human health.
When searching a burning building for people who may be trapped inside, smoke and debris can cause firefighters to work in zero visibility conditions. They are attached to ropes but it is easy for them to become disoriented. This makes it difficult to navigate their way back to safety.
Environmental engineering student Oliver Raycroft ’25 heard about the problem from a firefighter during his first year at the College of Engineering and Computer Science and started thinking about ideas.
“I thought the problem was interesting and there was a clear need,” said Raycroft. “I wanted to help and find a solution.”
At the beginning of the six week Invent@SU program, Raycroft presented the problem to his teammates biomedical engineering student Alejandra Lopez ’22 and computer science student Adya Parida ’25. Both were interested in seeing if they could use their science and engineering skills to design a practical solution that would help firefighters orient themselves during rescue operations.
“If we could solve this problem, we could save the lives of firefighters and billions in damages,” said Parida.
During Invent@SU, student teams design, prototype and pitch new inventions with help from engineering and communications faculty. Each student receives a $2200 stipend and teams have a $1000 budget for prototyping materials. Teams spend six weeks developing their ideas during summer session one and each week a panel of Syracuse University alumni and friends evaluate the progress of their five-minute pitches.
“It was a combination of experimentation and feedback. This program taught me skills I can apply anywhere,” said Parida.
“I got better and better at presenting and communicating what we were working on,” said Lopez.
“The fact firefighters liked it so much made it worth it,” said Parida.
On the final Thursday of the program, all seven teams in Invent@SU pitched their inventions to a panel of alumni judges. Raycroft, Lopez and Parida’s team named “Scale Sense” took first place and a $1500 prize.
Second place went to team “Wonder Walker” who designed a mobility assistance device for children with special needs.
Third place went to team “Silogix” – who designed a device to provide farmers with a way to prevent dangerous grain blockages in silos.
“It was a ride, it was fun, challenging and rewarding,” said Parida.
Several Invent@SU teams plan to work with the Blackstone Launchpad in Bird Library to explore business plans and patents.
Invent@SU was made possible by program sponsors Syracuse University Trustee Bill Allyn G’59 and Janet “Penny” Jones Allyn ’60 and Michael Lazar G’65. The 2022 team sponsors were Matthew Lyons ’86, Haden Land G’91 and Cathy Jo Land and Ralph Folz ’90. For more information on the program, visit invent.syr.edu.
In recognition of superior scholarship, the following students have been entered on the Engineering & Computer Science Dean’s List for Spring 2022.
To be eligible for Dean’s List recognition, the minimum semester grade point average must be 3.40 or higher, must have earned a minimum of 12 graded credits and must have no missing or incomplete grades.
Biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Mary Beth Monroe attended the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) 2022 meeting in Baltimore with Ph.D. students Anand Vakil, Henry Beaman, Changling Du, Maryam Ramezani, master’s student Natalie Petryk ’21, G’22 and undergraduate students Caitlyn Greene ‘22, Grace Haas ‘23, and Avery Gunderson ‘23. This national conference included over 850 presentations from all over the world. The Monroe lab’s research abstracts and presentations were recognized in several competitions that took place during the conference, highlighting the excellent biomaterials work at Syracuse University.
Henry Beaman Receives a Ph.D. Student Award for Outstanding Research
Student Award for Outstanding Research: This is the highest student award that SFB gives, recognizing student researchers who have shown outstanding achievement in biomaterials research. Henry Beaman, a 4th year Ph.D. student, was one of two students selected in the Ph.D. student category. He was recognized for his work on shape memory polymer hydrogel foams with cell-responsive degradation mechanisms for Crohn’s fistula filling. Natalie Petryk was selected in the master’s student category. She was recognized for her work on tuning the interconnectivity of shape memory polymer foams using off-the-shelf foaming agents. Published manuscripts from both projects are featured in a special issue of the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research.
Natalie Petryk Receives an Master’s Student Award for Outstanding Research
Student Travel Achievement Recognition (STAR) Award: STAR awardees are selected based on abstracts by each Special Interest Group (SIG) within SFB to recognize research excellence with an aim of developing future leaders within SFB. Out of >850 abstracts, there are 25 STAR awardees and 25 STAR honorable mentions. Maryam Ramezani, a 3rd year Ph.D. student, received a STAR award based on her research on bacteria-responsive shape memory polymers. Caitlyn Greene, a senior undergraduate, received honorable mention based on her work on incorporating antimicrobial phenolic acids into shape memory polymer hydrogels.
Dr. Rena Bizios Poster Award: This award program honors Rena Bizios, a founding and active member of the BIoInterfaces SIG. These awards recognize outstanding BioInterfaces research by graduate students. Anand Vakil, a 4th year Ph.D. student, received first place based on his work on temporally-controlled drug release from shape memory polymers. Natalie Petryk won second place in the competition based on her research on tuning foam interconnectivity.
Biomaterials Education Challenge: This competition involves presenting a poster with an educational module that is designed for middle school students. The objectives are to
Improve widespread understanding of biomaterials-related science and careers in the middle school population.
To encourage SFB student chapters to participate in K-8 outreach efforts.
Reward the communication skills and creativity of the next generation of biomaterials researchers and educators.
As representatives of the Syracuse University SFB student chapter, Maryam Ramezani and Anand Vakil earned 1st place in this competition for their presentation on using cakes to teach concepts about polymers and foam fabrication. This award provides $1,500 for our student chapter to use for further development of outreach activities.
Zhuoqi Tong is the 2022 Recipient of the Louis N. DeMartini Award for Outstanding Research.
Hometown:
Xuzhou, China
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
I have been an Academic Excellence Workshop Facilitator and the president of the BMES Chapter at SU. I’m also in the Math Club as well as serving as a student panelist on the Academic Integrity hearing panels. I also play bassoon in the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra.
Favorite thing about BMCE:
My favorite thing about BMCE is all of the support I’ve received from faculty and friends in the department.
Favorite thing about SU:
My favorite thing about SU is the vast range of opportunities that exist to enrich my academics.
Plan after graduation:
I will pursue my PhD in Biomedical Engineering at The Georgia Institute of Technology, likely specializing in the subfield of immunoengineering.
Bianca Andrada is the 2022 Recipient of the Bioengineering Founders Award.
Hometown:
New York City
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
Dr. Pranav Soman Research Lab
President of Engineering World Health
President of Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc.
3+ Resident Advisor for Engineering and Computer Science Living Learning Community
Honorable Mention Recipient for Invent@SU
TA for Invent@SU Summer 2022
Engineering Excelerators
Tau Beta Pi – The Engineering Honor Society
Mentor Biomedical Engineering Society
Food Recovery Network
Guest Services – Barnes Center at the Arch Recreation
Favorite thing about BMCE:
My favorite thing about BMCE are the faculty and staff. They have all been supportive of my interests, passions, and they ensured that my studies revolve around them. For instance, I expressed my curiosity in CAD Design to Dr. Yung. He was able to connect me with the Industrial and Interaction Design School so I can bridge together my interest in design and engineering.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
On the engineering side, I had the opportunity to be a part of a multitude of projects that provided opportunities to prove to individuals my depth, understanding, and skillset in biomedical engineering. On the social side, I love going to the Basketball Games with my friends.
Plan after graduation:
After graduation, I will be obtaining a Master of Science in Robotics and Autonomous System at Boston University. My focus will be in medical and soft robotics.
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering student Madeline Jones was selected as a College Marshall for the Class of 2023.
Hometown:
Bristow, Virginia
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
Tutoring in ECS 221 (statics) and MAT 296 (calculus 2), Biomedical Engineering Society, Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi honors society
Favorite thing about BMCE:
I love how biomedical engineering has a wide variety of career opportunities and you have the ability to change peoples lives.
Favorite thing about SU:
I love the community Syracuse has created. You can never go anywhere without seeing at least one person you know.
Plan after graduation:
Go to graduate school to pursue an MS/PhD so I can do bench-to-bedside biomedical engineering research as a medical scientist with a focus in regenerative medicine.
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student Francielli Silva Genier received a Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence in the category of Excellence in Student Research (Graduate).
The award seeks to recognize members of the University community who have made invaluable contributions through commitment to scholarship and research that fosters new understandings of the world and creative responses to its needs.
Genier’s research focuses on next-generation batteries. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar, highly demands efficient batteries that can be available when the conditions are not ideal for energy conversion. Her research with Professor Ian Hosein aims to improve batteries by substituting the solvents in traditional devices for polymer electrolytes, creating safer batteries with high energy density. They are also studying sodium-ion batteries due to sodium’s high availability compared to lithium’s and lower cost.
“The Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering is exceptionally proud of Fran,” said Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Department Chair Julie Hasenwinkel. “She is an outstanding choice for the Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence in Student Research. Fran’s work on next generation battery technology is highly innovative and has the potential for broad impact in the field of renewable energy.”
Kirthiga Reddy G’95 has many firsts to her credit. She was the first female investing partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, the first employee for Facebook in India & their Managing Director for Facebook India & South Asia. She is currently the president of Athena Technology II SPAC and a founding investment partner for f7 Ventures. She is on the Board of WeWork and Pear Therapeutics. Reddy received a master’s degree in Computer Engineering in 1995 and the College of Engineering and Computer Science is proud to announce she will be the keynote speaker at the College’s 2022 Convocation on May 14th.
Reddy brings over twenty years of experience leading technology-driven transformations. She is driven by the mantra “When businesses succeed, livelihoods flourish.”
Athena Technology II is an all-women-led SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) which brings talent and transaction experience to enable access to equity capital markets. The f7 Seed Fund’s mission is “Bold Women Investing in Bold Ventures.” Previously, Reddy was the Investment Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, manager of the $100B+ SoftBank Vision Fund where she led a portfolio of $5 Billion-plus. Her focus was fast evolving sectors like quantum computing, additive manufacturing, enterprise, health tech, gaming and crypto. She served on the investment committee of Softbank’s Emerge Program, a global accelerator to provide funding, tools and networks for top companies led by underrepresented founders.
Prior to SBIA, she was the Managing Director of Facebook India and South Asia for over six years, starting as their first employee in India. She started one of the global operations offices that now serves over 3.5B people. She grew the India business to several $100Ms of annual revenue and got investment buy-in for the vision of $1B. Her subsequent experiences at Facebook focused on emerging and high-growth markets including Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and the Middle East.
Reddy is a passionate supporter of Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. She has been an active member of the Dean’s Leadership Council since 2018 and is a member of SU’s Hill Society, a dedicated network of leadership annual donors who share a common goal of supporting Syracuse University’s highest priorities.
The newly established Kirthiga Reddy Graduate Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to ECS graduate students.
She holds an MBA from Stanford University, where she graduated with highest honors as an Arjay Miller Scholar and has served as Chair of the Stanford Business School Management Board. She acquired her B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering from Marathwada University, India. She has been recognized as Fortune India’s “Most Powerful Women” and as Fast Company’s “Most Creative People in Business” among other recognitions. Her upcoming book, The Opportunity Engine, is about building high-growth, sustainable businesses.
Maximillian Wilderman ’22 was the 2022 Recipient of the ECS Alumni Association Service Award.
Hometown:
Incline Village, NV
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
I’ve been involved with research in Dr. Soman’s lab, Engineering Ambassadors (current Program Coordinator), Biomedical Engineering Society, SUVO (current Vice President), and Excelerators.
Favorite thing about BMCE:
My favorite thing about BMCE is how accessible the department engages undergraduate students in research. I have gained so many out of class skills through research and have learned so much from my mentors.
Favorite thing about SU:
I would say the number of opportunities the university has to offer for its students. Ever since I stepped onto this campus, I wanted to take up every opportunity I could get and have learned something about myself after each one.
Plan after graduation:
After graduation, I will be returning to Syracuse for my masters in Bioengineering.
Biomedical Engineering student Lindy Melegari ’22 was named as a Syracuse University Scholar and received the Karen Hiiemae Outstanding Achievement Award.
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Doyle Research Lab
Manlius Fire Department EMT
Server at Texas Roadhouse
Crisis Textline Volunteer
First Year Players
The Mandarins
Phi Delta Epsilon
OttoTHON
Favorite thing about BMCE:
The staff has been one of the most incredible things about the BMCE department. I always felt so comfortable going to any of my professors for help, and they were always my biggest supporters if any of my endeavors.
Favorite thing about SU:
I have had the opportunity to take a multitude of diverse and interesting classes that I never in a million year would have thought I could have connected to my career. SU has enabled me to look at my professional endeavors with an open mind.
Plan after graduation:
I will be doing research in the Yale University School of Medicine in their Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.
Great ideas often disappear into a chasm that exists between inception and execution. To help bridge that gap, Grace Lanni ’88 has an innate ability to communicate with an array of stakeholders, help entrepreneurs find clarity in their ideas, and turn them into solutions that help people. Her fluency in a diverse set of subjects and ability to adapt was apparent from the start of her time as a student at Syracuse University.
Lanni entered college on a full Airforce ROTC scholarship and chose electrical engineering and biomedical engineering as part of a dual degree, along with a minor in music. Lanni found Syracuse University provided her with opportunities and resources to pursue her differing interests.
“The professors were very entrepreneurial, and I leaned into that. I was able to work with a physician at Upstate Medical Center as a lab assistant and I had other internship activities so I could apply the stuff I was learning,” said Lanni. “I also got to join the jazz band and be part of a community of musicians.”
After graduating, Lanni accepted a position where she quickly learned she was uniquely effective at communicating between two key departments.
“I would sit with the engineers in the morning and then spend the afternoon with the marketing people to explain what it was the engineers were building, and how to sell and implement the products,” said Lanni.
Lanni admits she had more fun spending time with the marketing team, and it opened her eyes to a side of business she had never experienced. This was the first of several significant shifts Lanni used to chart her career. In her next job, Lanni got a taste for selling. Then she moved to California where she took a position at a small networking hardware company and helped them grow to 35 employees within a year. The next move was to Austin, Texas and into software sales at a startup, but suddenly her momentum was stopped. After two months of being in the role, Lanni arrived at the office to find the doors chained shut. The company had gone out of business. Lanni had moved to Austin with her kids, she didn’t know many people, and did not have a job. After briefly considering retreating back to California, Lanni made some calls to colleagues and started looking for projects. Six months later she had her own company.
At the time, companies were just beginning to move servers off site to colocation centers, but the software they needed to manage the new server set up didn’t exist. Recognizing a sound opportunity, Lanni drafted a proposal and became one of only two women to score million-dollar money from a tier one venture capital firm that year. This was Lanni’s first time working with a venture group, and she says although it came with new challenges, the experience made her want to help women entrepreneurs.
“I really didn’t have any experience in the venture community. I had some support, some mentorship, but nothing like today,” said Lanni. “One of the things I love to do is support other women who want to go into the venture community and that is why. I didn’t have the support. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to manage the money. Those are skills I learned.”
Lanni broke away to work on a new startup in collaboration with Dell engineers to develop and sell an early version of the tablet PC. Lanni booked the first order, signed up the first partner and the first distributor, and after seven years she decided it was time for another move. Healthtech allowed Lanni to enjoy bioengineering and entrepreneurship, but by 2016, she went all-in on digital marketing. Lanni went to her team and asked what they thought she should focus on, and they said, “you’re a personal branding expert.” In response, Lanni launched a new business called All About That Brand to focus on helping entrepreneurs tell their stories to attract their ideal customers.
Lanni is a pioneer in the branding influencer space. All About That Brand helped bring personal brand influence into the spotlight and it took off. The platform includes an award-winning podcast, an award-winning book, and it positioned Lanni as an influencer in marketing, personal branding, and customer experience. In February of 2020, Lanni was searching for a new opportunity to innovate, and her reputation led to an invitation to appear on the cyberbullying episode of “4 Days to Save the World,” a reality show that challenges groups of entrepreneurs to develop solutions for global social problems.
The eruption of COVID-19 nearly derailed any further participation with the show because Lanni needed to focus on managing disruption facing All About That Brand. When she notified the showrunners that she wanted to step away, they countered by asking Lanni to stay on board in a new role, associate producer. It may sound like a strange role for an engineer, but both engineering and producing require a similar way of thinking.
“You have a problem in front of you almost every hour of every day. It is 24 hours of problem solving to the emergency room level,” said Lanni.
Her engineering mindset made Lanni a natural fit and within six months she became the executive producer in charge of 4 teams responsible for recruiting show-ready entrepreneurs, sponsorships, and financing to bring the show to set.
“With all my business expertise, I was able to weigh in and work directly with the studio owner and creator. It was a wonderful, wild experience for 18 months,” said Lanni. “It was like going back to college. I loved college. I learned so many new things.”
While talking with entrepreneurs around the world for the show, Lanni would often hear about the causes that mattered most to them and why. Those conversations got her thinking about how to stand out in the increasingly crowded brand space and blend her complimentary roles as a branding influencer and executive producer with her passion for helping entrepreneurs.
“When you’re talking with really smart entrepreneurs about how to save the world, it’s pretty fun. I decided I wanted to be in the conversations about cause. I wanted to help my clients identify and lean into their cause,” said Lanni.
Cause branding became Lanni’s new lane, and her latest enterprise is called Giving Out Loud. It is a media program that focuses on helping entrepreneurs select a cause that aligns with their brand and helping them demonstrate care for that cause.
“If you’re in business and you want to interact with younger generations, figure out what matters to you and talk about it,” said Lanni. “Be in that conversation because that is where things are headed.”
In the simplest terms, Lanni is an entrepreneur who wants to help other entrepreneurs at every level. Including aspiring entrepreneurs at Syracuse University.
“I am a fan of the entrepreneurship focus at Syracuse University. I love being a judge for Invent@SU and being a mentor,” said Lanni. “Have a great time and realize it is a journey. What you’re studying today is more about the people in the room than what is on the page. Really celebrate those relationships.”
Zheng Xiong was a 2022 Recipient of the All University Doctoral Prize.
Hometown:
China
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
During my PhD program, I had been actively involved with various academic activities in engineering college, such as ECS research day, Syracuse Stevenson Lectures, 3-min Thesis, Graduate Dean Research Day etc. These activities are fantastic opportunities to let research student like me interpreting their technical works to audiences with various background.
Favorite thing about BMCE:
BMCE is well known for its Bioinspired Institute (Formerly Syracuse Biomaterial Institute). It is a multidisciplinary hub with professors from almost all STEM majors in SU, ESF and Upstate Medical. The collaborative atmosphere and research facilities are at top-level in US.
Favorite thing about SU:
There were so many memories at SU, where you could always feel passion when you walk over quad. You could enjoy sunshine at summer, observe beautiful foliage at Fall, shove your snow at winter and find rebirth of new year at Spring. There are always activities every week, even every day. The most unforgettable moment is Syracuse basketball team killed Duke’s at the last minute in 2017. You can’t imagine how exciting it is.
Plan after graduation:
I want to continue my expertise in optics and optical engineering to improve people live through providing innovative technologies. I have been working in Science and Technology Division of Corning Incorporated since I graduated at 2021 summer. My role is innovating advanced laser processing systems for next-generation glass application in automobile, optical fiber, display, and consumer electronics businesses.
Xuyang Qin was a 2022 Recipient of the All University Masters Prize.
Hometown:
Shijiazhuang, China
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
Research in Professor Nangia’s group; the quick presentation and poster session for the Stevenson Biomaterials Day of 2021
Favorite thing about BMCE:
I love all the faculty and staff who are of great patience and kindness. Collaborations and bonds of friendship are tight in our research team.
Favorite thing about SU:
The view on the campus is always great, whenever from summer to winter. Facilities are well-established, not only for meals, snacks, clinics and exercises, whatever you need can be found and solved on campus. Really feel great to have so many precious memories in my study at SU.
Plan after graduation:
I’m going to pursue my Ph.D. in SU and continue my journey on research.
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Natalie Petryk ’21, G’22 was named as a 2022 recipient of the All University Masters Prize.
Hometown:
Berkeley Heights, NJ
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with:
As an undergraduate student at SU, I was an Academic Excellence Workshop Facilitator and the Activities and Events Chair for Relay for Life. I was also involved with Alpha Omega Epsilon, Engineering World Health, and Excelerators. As a graduate student, I am conducting research on shape memory polymer foams with clinical applications in wound healing and post-surgical tissue regeneration in Dr. Mary Beth Monroe’s lab. I am also a TA for Biomaterials and Medical Devices (BEN 468/668).
Favorite thing about BMCE:
My favorite part about BMCE is the incredible support of every professor in the department. They have motivated me in the classroom and inspired me through my own research.
Favorite thing about SU:
My favorite thing about Syracuse University is the opportunity to get involved with research early on. I discovered a passion for biomaterials research starting my sophomore year, which ultimately shaped my future career goals, and I have built upon that work as part of my graduate studies.
Plan after graduation:
After completing my master’s thesis this spring, I will be continuing my research journey here as a Ph.D. student under Dr. Mary Beth Monroe.
We are happy to announce the winners from the 2022 Engineering and Computer Science Research Day held on March 25th, 2022.
Poster Competition
1st Place: Elizabeth Oguntade, PhD student in Bioengineering.
On-Demand Activation of Functional Protein Surface Patterns with Tunable Topography Suitable for Biomedical Applications. Advisor: Dr. James Henderson
2nd Place: Natalie Petryk, MS student in Bioengineering.
Synthesis of Shape Memory Polymer Foams with Off-the-Shelf Components for Improved Commercialization. Advisor: Dr. Mary Beth Monroe
3rd Place: Alexander Hartwell, PhD student in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Introduction of a Multilayered Cathode for Improved Internal Cathode Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Performance. Advisor: Dr. Jeongmin Ahn Honorable Mention: Saif Khalil Elsayed, MS student in Civil Engineering. Modeling Self-Folding Hybrid SU-8 Skin for 3D Biosensing Microstructures. Advisor: Dr. Zhao Qin
Oral Presentation Competition
Communication and Security Session
1st Place: Kai Li, PhD student in Electrical/Computer Engineering. Detect and Mitigate Vulnerabilities in Ethereum Transaction Pool. Advisor: Dr. Yuzhe Tang
2nd Place: Xinyi Zhou, PhD student in Computer/Information Science. “This is Fake! Shared it by Mistake”: Assessing the Intent of Fake News Spreaders. Advisor: Dr. Reza Zafarani
Health and Well-being Session
1st Place: Yousr Dhaouadi, PhD student in Chemical Engineering. Forming Bacterial Persisters with Light. Advisor: Dr. Dacheng Ren
2nd Place: Henry Beaman, PhD student in Bioengineering. Gas-Blown Super Porous Hydrogels with Rapid Gelling and High Cell Viability for Cell Encapsulation. Advisor: Dr. Mary Beth Monroe
Energy, Environment & Smart Materials Session
1st Place: Durgesh Ranjan, PhD student in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Porous nanochannel wicks based solar vapor generation device. Advisor: Dr. Shalabh Maroo
2nd Place: Alexander Johnson, PhD student in Civil Engineering. Estimating Dry Deposition of Atmospheric Particles by Rain Washoff from Urban Surfaces. Advisor: Dr. Cliff Davidson
Sensors, Robotics & Smart Systems Session
1st Place: Lin Zhang, PhD student in Computer/Information Science. Adaptive Sensor Attack Detection for Cyber-Physical Systems. Advisor: Dr. Fanxin Kong
2nd Place: Zixin Jiang, PhD student in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Short-term occupancy prediction driven intelligent HVAC control. Advisor: Dr. Bing Dong
Syracuse University has been a member of the GEM Consortium for almost 30 years. In the past 5 years, GEM Fellowships have been awarded to graduate students in the School of Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Computer Science as well as the School of Information Studies. The number of GEM Fellowship applications from SU students is now in the top 10 among GEM member universities. Civil and environmental engineering Professor Dawit Negussey is the current Syracuse University representative on the GEM Consortium.
“The award recognizes the contributions of the GEM Consortium in providing a scalable path to STEM careers in academia and industry for underrepresented students,” said Negussey.
“I’m grateful for all of Professor Negussey’s efforts to grow our graduate education pipeline for underrepresented graduate students at Syracuse University,” said Peter Vanable, dean of the Graduate School. “To go from relatively little activity with the GEM Consortium to being a top 10 contributor of GEM applicants is a clear marker of our commitment to increasing the diversity of our graduate student population.”
Over the past 45 years, more than 4000 GEM Fellows have earned MS and PhD degrees in STEM fields. At present, the GEM consortium membership consists of 129 private and public national universities and 61 major corporations and research laboratories.
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the election of Dacheng Ren to its College of Fellows. Ren is the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Stevenson Endowed Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering.
Ren was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the AIMBE College of Fellows for outstanding contributions to the understanding and control of bacterial biofilms and medical device associated infections. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country. The most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, professors, innovators, and successful entrepreneurs comprise the College of Fellows.
“It is a true honor to join other outstanding colleagues in the AIMBE College of Fellows. Microbial biofilms cause persistent infections that respond poorly to antibiotics, such as those associated with implanted medical devices,” said Ren. “There is a lot to be done to address this grand challenge and I look forward to making more contributions.”
“This is a great honor for Dacheng who is not only one of Syracuse University’s most innovative researchers but a strong supporter and mentor to other researchers across our university. He has been remarkable in his capacity to continue leading a preeminent research program while supporting the College’s research and graduate student enterprise via his role as associate dean. We are proud to celebrate this recognition of his work,” said College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean J. Cole Smith.
AIMBE Fellows are regularly recognized for their contributions in teaching, research, and innovation. AIMBE Fellows have been awarded the Nobel Prize, the Presidential Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Technology and Innovation, and many also are members of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. A formal induction ceremony will be held during AIMBE’s 2022 Annual Event on March 25.
Ren will be inducted along with 152 colleagues who make up the AIMBE Fellow Class of 2022. For more information about the AIMBE Annual Event, please visit www.aimbe.org. AIMBE’s mission is to recognize excellence in, and advocate for, the fields of medical and biological engineering to advance society. Since 1991, AIMBE’s College of Fellows has led the way for technological growth and advancement in the fields of medical and biological engineering. AIMBE Fellows have helped revolutionize medicine and related fields to enhance and extend the lives of people all over the world. They have successfully advocated for public policies that have enabled researchers and business-makers to further the interests of engineers, teachers, scientists, clinical practitioners, and ultimately, patients. AIMBE Fellows are committed to giving back to the fields of medical and biological engineering through advocacy efforts and public policy initiatives that benefit the scientific community, as well as society at large.
The Einhorn Family Walk stretches out in front of the Hall of Languages on a autumn day.
In recognition of superior scholarship, the following students have been entered on the Engineering & Computer Science Dean’s List for Fall 2021.
To be eligible for Dean’s List recognition, the minimum semester grade point average must be 3.40 or higher, must have earned a minimum of 12 graded credits and must have no missing or incomplete grades.
The Einhorn Family Walk stretches out in front of the Hall of Languages on a autumn day.
Professor Pranav Soman and Professor Mary Beth Monroe joined WCNY’s Cycle of Health show to discuss current research at Syracuse University’s BioInspired Institute and how new materials could make a difference in the medical field.
After 40 incredible years at Syracuse University, biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Lawrence Tavlarides will retire at the end of the Fall 2021 semester. Tavlarides received his BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Pittsburgh in the 1960s. After working several years at Gulf Research and Development Center as a research engineer in Pennsylvania and completing his academic studies at the University of Pittsburgh he went through the academic professional ranks at Illinois Institute of Technology for the 12 years from 1969 – 1981. Tavlarides then joined Syracuse University in September 1981 as the chairman of the then chemical engineering and material science department for four years and has continued as a professor. He has received numerous honors and recognitions for contributions to the chemical engineering profession, academia and society. Tavlarides has taught numerous courses in chemical engineering, nuclear engineering and biochemical engineering. He has supervised 45 masters of science students ( 31 at SU ), 34 doctoral students (23 at SU), and 13 post-doctoral associates at SU over his career. His contributions with students and colleagues to research includes 1 book, 18 patents, 163 research publications , 2 educational publications and over 300 presentations at technical meetings and Universities. He was principle investigator of 70 research grants ( 53 at SU) over his career. Tavlarides was also a member of numerous committees on treatment of nuclear wastes for the US Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the first decade of 2000. He is proud to complete his career at Syracuse University.
For the 75 million people who require a urinary catheter, urinary tract infections are a serious concern. Catheters are prone to colonization by bacterial and fungal pathogens, which causes antibiotic-resistant infections. An infection can also lead to pH changes in the urine and block a catheter due to stone formation with potentially fatal consequences. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) that are antibiotic resistant cause 13,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
College of Engineering and Computer Science professors Dacheng Ren, Stevenson endowed professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and associate dean for research and graduate programs; Teng Zhang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Huan Gu, research assistant professor and Upstate Medical University’s Dmitriy Nikolavsky, MD, associate professor of Urology, were awarded an National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant for a project aiming to engineer a new urinary catheter using smart biomaterials to reduced catheter associated complications.
“Conventional antibiotics commonly fail to eradicate infections associated with medical devices because of the remarkable capabilities of microbes to colonize these surfaces and form drug-resistant biofilms. To solve this challenging problem, we need new strategies that can provide long-term protections. This R01 project gave us an exciting opportunity to do exactly that,” said Ren, the principal investigator of this project.
Ren’s lab has developed a new strategy designed to make catheters smarter and more resistant to infection. They successfully created micron-sized pillars with supermagnetic nanoparticles on the tip so the pillars can beat in response to an electromagnetic field generated using an insulated copper coil embedded in the catheter wall. By controlling the on and off of an electric current, they could turn the magnetic field on and off, and thus control the beating frequency and beating force of the pillars. This strategy (active topography) worked well, as these moving pillars prevented biofilm formation of multiple bacterial species by up to 99.9% compared to flat control surfaces. A prototype catheter with active topography remained clean for 30 days while the control catheters were blocked by biofilms of uropathogenic Escherichia coli within five days in an in vitro test with flow of a medium mimicking urine. Their study was published in a recent issue of Nature Communications.
Now Ren, Gu, Zhang and Nikolavsky will move forward and study the mechanism of infection control by such active topographies, and further engineer their catheter porotype for in vivo tests in this R01 project. By optimizing micron sized pillars on the catheter wall, they hope to develop a self-cleaning catheter that would be much safer for long term use.
“This strategy is inspired by the motile cilia in human airways that protects our lungs from foreign particles during respiration,” said Gu. “Thanks to the development in materials and surface engineering, we can replicate this defense strategy, make it more robust and adaptable, and apply it to address challenges such as biofilm-associated urinary tract infections in this project.”
Numerical simulations from Zhang’s lab and the collaboration with Nikolavsky in Upstate Medical University’s urology department are key components to the potentially groundbreaking work.
“Biofilms are highly complicated biological materials with active bacteria embedded in polymer networks. This poses challenges and provides opportunities to integrate mechanics modeling and simulations with well-controlled experiments to uncover the working mechanism and design principles of medical devices.”
Zhang has been collaborating with the Ren lab prior to this award and he is also a co-author of the Nature Communications paper.
If successful, the findings from this study may also help solve other infections that involve microbial biofilms, especially those associated with medical devices.
“I am very excited about this design of smart catheters, Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on catheters, stents and other implantable devices is an enormous problem in medicine,” said Nikolavsky. “Creating such smart surfaces on catheters that would actively expel pathogens, could potentially prevent bacterial colonization, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and may save patients with chronic catheters from bladder stone formation and recurrent catheter encrustation and clogging. I expect this will improve medical care and have positive effect on quality of life for many patients and prevent some of the common urological emergencies.”
BioInspired Syracuse supports research into complex biological systems, developing and designing programmable smart materials to address global challenges in health, medicine and materials innovation. It is an Institute for Material and Living Systems, focusing on four key areas: drug discovery,smart materials,form and function, and development and disease. BioInspired involves faculty from life sciences, engineering, physics and chemistry.
Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science is honored to announce our inaugural Patrick P. Lee Scholars. The Lee Foundation’s largest scholarship program supports students at institutions of higher learning who are pursuing careers in engineering and other technical fields.
Joli Cacciatore is a fourth year Civil Engineering student from Niagara Falls, NY. Since arriving at SU she has been part of the ECS Ambassador Scholars program which conducts outreach to local middle schools to foster interest in STEM and provide positive educational role models. She is a member of the SU student chapters of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Stacy Kim is a fourth year Systems Information Science major from Staten Island, NY. She has several leadership positions in campus organizations including Vice President of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers and Community Service Chair for Kappa Theta Pi through which she conducted outreach to local high schools to help with the transition to online learning. Since 2019 she has worked for the Barnes Center in health promotion for her fellow students and during the pandemic has been helping administer and process COVID tests on campus.
Aymeric Destrée is a third year Civil Engineering major from San Marcos, CA. He is a member of the Ambassador Scholars program and enjoys working with children in the Syracuse public school system to introduce engineering concepts and problem solving skills through fun after school activities. He plans a career in public infrastructure and is particularly interested in transportation and urban design.
Olivia Kmito is a third year Bioengineering student from Bridgewater MA. She is a student athlete on the SU Gymnastics team and a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority and the Society of Women Engineers. She has a long term commitment to the March of Dimes organization inspired by a personal connection to their work. Following in the footsteps of her father, an SU engineering alum, she believes an engineer must value “integrity, leadership, and service” and most of all take seriously the trust that their colleagues, their clients, and the public place in them and their work.
Biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia has been selected as a recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Women Chemist Committee (WCC) 2022 Rising Star Award. The award recognizes nine women scientists who have demonstrated excellence in the scientific enterprise and outstanding promise for contributions to their respective fields.
Nangia will receive her award and present her recent research on the blood-brain barrier at the 263rd National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in March of 2022.
“Shikha is an amazing researcher and colleague. Her group’s computational work to understand the architecture of the blood-brain barrier is advancing our fundamental understanding of its permeability and has the potential to lead to advances in drug delivery to the brain,” said biomedical and chemical engineering Department Chair Juile Hasenwinkel. “The department is very happy and proud to see her cutting edge work recognized with this award.”
“This is a well-deserved honor for Shikha. We have known she was a rising star for a while here at Syracuse University and I am very happy to see her get this recognition from the American Chemical Society,” said College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean J. Cole Smith.
Dr. Yung has long been intrigued by the interfacing of microbes with engineering tools on a micro- and nano-scale. He is unravelling methods to rapidly assess the viability of superbugs and harness energy from extremophiles using a combination of electrochemical, optical techniques and MEMS devices.
Degree(s):
B.S. in Electrical Engineering (Biomedical Engineering concentration), University of California, Los Angeles, 2003
B.S. in Mathematics/Applied Science (Medical and Life Sciences plan), University of California, Los Angeles, 2003
Ph.D. in Bioengineering, California Institute of Technology, 2008
Teaching Interests:
Dr. Yung is an advocate of a hybrid teaching and learning environment replete with project-based hands-on work, experiential activities and peer collaboration, a style departing from traditional top-down expository pedagogies.
Honors:
NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2008
Vice-Chancellor’s Exemplary Teaching Award, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012
Dean’s Exemplary Teaching Award, Faculty of Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011, 2012
Outstanding Teaching Award, Department of Electronic Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Recent Publications:
Liu, Si Li, Wen Jie Wu, and Pun To Yung. “Effect of sonic stimulation on Bacillus endospore germination.” FEMS microbiology letters 363.1 (2016): fnv217.
Wu, Wen Jie, Si Li Liu, and Pun To Yung. “Realization of Conductometry on a Digital Microfluidic Platform for Real-Time Monitoring of Bacillus Atrophaeus Endospore Germination.” IEEE Sensors Journal 16.8 (2016): 2244-2250.
Tao, Wenyan, Yanqing Ai, Sili Liu, Cheuk Wing Lun, and Pun To Yung. “Determination of Alpha-Fetoprotein by a Microfluidic Miniature Quartz Crystal Microbalance.” Analytical Letters 48.6 (2015): 907-920.
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, 1996
M.S. in Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, 1992
B. Tech. in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, 1990
Experience:
Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996-97
Assistant Professor (1997-2002), Associate Professor (2002-2006), and Professor (2006-2009) of Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
Visiting Professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2008
Visiting Professor, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, 2008
Visiting Professor, University of Porto, Portugal, 2008
Lab/Center Affiliation(s):
Multiscale Modeling and Simulation Laboratory
Complex Fluids Laboratory
Research Interests:
Complex Fluids
Soft Condensed Matter
Nanotechnology
Smart Materials
Sustainable Energy
Multiscale Modeling and Simulation
Current Research:
Sureshkumar’s current research focuses on (i) understanding the structure, dynamics and rheology of complex fluids and soft matter, and (ii) nanoscale science and engineering of functional materials and interfaces. Multiscale modeling and simulations as well as experiments are used to probe the response of complex soft matter and interfaces to external stimuli such as mechanical deformation caused by flow, chemical/thermal gradients and optical fields. Major ongoing research efforts target investigations of self-assembly and self-organization routes to robust nanomanufacturing of optically tunable interfaces with applications to efficient light trapping in thin film photovoltaics, self-assembly of nanoparticles with surfactant micelles and polymers, interactions of nanoparticles with cell membranes to assess their cytotoxicity, rheology of viscoelastic polymer solutions/melts, coherent structures dynamics in turbulent flows in presence of drag reducing additives, bacterial biofilm mechanics as well as signaling between bacterial and mammalian cells.
Courses Taught:
Chemical engineering methods
Multiscale modeling and simulation
Structure and rheology of complex fluids
Honors:
Invited Speaker, University of Delaware Chemical Engineering Centennial Seminar Series, Newark, Delaware (2014)
Keynote Speaker, International Congress on Rheology, Lisbon, Portugal (2012)
Keynote Speaker, European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering, Vienna, Austria (2012)
Keynote Speaker, Lorentz Center Workshop on Flow Instabilities and Turbulence, Leiden, Netherlands (2010)
University of Michigan Competitive Sabbatical Grant (2008)
Royal Scottish Society of Edinburgh International Exchange Award, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland (2008)
Distinguished Speaker, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (2008)
Invited Speaker, American Physical Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore (2006)
Invited Speaker, Materials Research Society Annual Meeting, Boston (2006)
Invited Speaker, American Institute of Chemical Engineering, Salt Lake City (2007)
National Science Foundation CAREER Award (1999)
ACS/PRF New Faculty Grant (1998)
University of Delaware Allan P. Colburn Prize, Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (1996)
University of Delaware Competitive Fellowship (1995)
Student Awards:
Graduate Student Poster Award (Mr. Tao Cong), Society of Rheology Annual Meeting, Cleveland, (2011)
Graduate Student Poster Award (Dr. M. Vasudevan), Society of Rheology Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, (2007)
Graduate Student Poster Award (Dr. R. Magan), Colloids & Surface Chemistry Division, ACS Annual Meeting, Philadelphia (2004)
Graduate Student Poster Award (Dr. R. Magan) Nanoscale S & E Forum, AIChE Annual Meeting, Austin (2004)
Selected Publications:
Sambasivam, A.V. Sangwai & R. Sureshkumar, Dynamics and scission of rod-like cationic surfactant micelles in shear flow, Phys. Rev. Lett., 114, 158302 (2015)
Dhakal & R. Sureshkumar, Topology, Length Scales and Energetics of Surfactant Micelles, J. Chem. Phys., 143, 024905 (2015)
S.C. DeSalvo, Y. Liu, G.S. Choudhary, D. Ren, S. Nangia & R. Sureshkumar, Signaling Factor Interactions with Polysaccharide Aggregates of Bacterial Biofilms, Langmuir, 31, 1958-66 (2015)
Estime, D. Ren & R. Sureshkumar, Effects of plasmonic film filters on microalgal growth and biomass composition, Algal Research, 11, 85-89 (2015)
Israelowitz, J. Amey, T. Cong & R. Sureshkumar, Spin Coated Plasmonic Nanoparticle Interfaces for Photocurrent Enhancement in Thin Film Si Solar Cells, Journal of Nanomaterials, Article ID 639458 (2014)
Kim & R. Sureshkumar, Spatiotemporal evolution of hairpin eddies, Reynolds stress, and polymer torque in polymer drag-reduced turbulent channel flows, Phys. Rev. E., 87, 063002 (2013)
Nangia & R. Sureshkumar, Effects of nanoparticle charge and shape anisotropy on translocation through cell membranes, Langmuir, 28, 1766-1771 (2012). Cover Article
Sangwai & R. Sureshkumar, Binary interactions and salt-induced coalescence of spherical micelles of cationic surfactants from molecular dynamics simulations, Langmuir, 28 (2), 1127–1135 (2012)
Cong, S.N. Wani & R. Sureshkumar, Structure and optical properties of self-assembled multicomponent plasmonic nanogels, Applied Physics Letters, 99, 043112 (2011)
Sangwai & R. Sureshkumar, Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations of the Sphere to Rod Transition in Surfactant Micelles, Langmuir, 27 (11), 6628–6638 (2011)
Torkamani, S. Wani, Y. Tang & R. Sureshkumar, Plasmon-enhanced microalgal growth in mini-photobioreactors, Applied Physics Letters, 97, 043703 (2010); Highlighted in Nature, 466 799 (2010)
Vasudevan, E. Buse, D. Lu, H. Krishna, R. Kalyanaraman, A.Q. Shen, B. Khomami & R. Sureshkumar, Irreversible nanogel formation in surfactant solutions by microporous flow, Nature Materials, 9, 436-441 (2010). Commentary by M. Pasquali, Nature Materials, 9, 381-382 (2010)
D.G. Thomas, B. Khomami & R. Sureshkumar, Nonlinear Dynamics of Viscoelastic Taylor-Couette Flow: Effect of Elasticity on Pattern Selection, Molecular Conformation and Drag, J. Fluid Mech., 620, 353-382 (2009).
Trice, C. Favazza, D.G. Thomas, H.G. Garcia, R. Kalyanaraman, R. Sureshkumar, A novel self-organization mechanism in ultrathin liquid films: theory and experiment, Phys. Rev. Lett., 101, 017802 (2008)
Kim, R.J. Adrian, S. Balachandar & R. Sureshkumar, Dynamics of hairpin vortices and polymer-induced turbulent drag reduction, Phys. Rev. Lett., 100, 134504 (2008)
C M. Vasudevan, A.Q. Ashen, B. Khomami & R. Sureshkumar, Self-similar shear-thickening behavior in CTAB/NaSal surfactant solutions, J. Rheol., 52, 527-50 (2008)
Nature’s marvelous ability to arrange proteins, sugars, and minerals from macro to nano scales has realized a wide range of ‘smart’ multifunctional structures optimized to satisfy specific environmental demands. Man-made manufacturing, however, is not able to match nature’s building capabilities. My central research focus is to develop new processing and printing technologies to create reliable models from single cell to tissue scale to capture key aspects of in vivo physiology and pathophysiology. Toward this goal, my group, with expertise in mechanical engineering, laser optics, biomaterials and cell biology, has developed a technology toolbox to process and print biocompatible thermoplastics, photosensitive hydrogels, and living cells and provide a manufacturing solution to advance research in bioprinting, microfluidics, organ-on-chip, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and single cell analysis.
Honors and Awards:
2022 The U.S. Air Force Research Lab Summer Faculty Fellowship Program
2021 Satish Dhawan Visiting Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Science
2020 Techconnect Defense Innovation Award
2020 E&T Outstanding Innovation in the Manufacturing 4.0
2015 Syracuse University – College of Engineering and Computer Science Award for Faculty Excellence
2010 Dean’s award for academic excellent, Penn State University.
2015 Faculty Excellent Award, Syracuse University
Selected Publications:
Xiong, Z., Kunwar, P., & Soman, P. (2021). Hydrogel‐Based Diffractive Optical Elements (hDOEs) Using Rapid Digital Photopatterning. Advanced optical materials, 9(2), 2001217.
Kunwar, P., Jannini, A.V.S., Xiong, Z., Ransbottom, M.J., Perkins, J.S., Henderson, J.H., Hasenwinkel, J.M. and Soman, P., 2019. High-resolution 3D printing of stretchable hydrogel structures using optical projection lithography. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Kunwar, P., Xiong, Z., Zhu, Y., Li, H., Filip, A. and Soman, P., 2019. Hybrid Laser Printing of 3D, Multiscale, Multimaterial Hydrogel Structures. Advanced Optical Materials, p.1900656.
Xiong, Z., Li, H., Kunwar, P., Zhu, Y., Ramos, R., Mcloughlin, S., Winston, T., Ma, Z. and Soman, P., 2019. Femtosecond laser induced densification within cell-laden hydrogels results in cellular alignment. Biofabrication, 11(3), p.035005.
Sawyer, S. W., Shridhar, S. V., Zhang, K., Albrecht, L., Filip, A., Horton, J., & Soman, P. (2018). Perfusion directed 3D mineral formation within cell-laden hydrogels. Biofabrication. June 8.
Teaching Intro to Engineering and Computer Science
Teaching Engineering Computational Tools
I have been teaching various classes in bioengineering and general engineering for 8 years. I teach first year courses that introduce general engineering and computer science principles and the tools that many engineers will use. I also teach a senior level required course in Bioinstrumentation as well as a technical elective on Sports Engineering.
Chemical Engineering PhD, Stanford University, 1983
Chemical Engineering MS, Columbia University, 1979
Chemical Engineering, BS, University of Bombay, 1976
Research Interests:
Particulate and Multiphase Flows
Fluid Mechanics
Transport Processes in Biological Systems
Algorithms Particle Interactions
Current Research:
Particulate and multiphase systems are encountered in many natural, biological, and industrial processes. Their behavior is governed by physics at multiple length scales – from molecular, to typical dimension characterizing the individual phase boundary, to macroscale on which the microstructure is changing. Understanding of these systems in general can be improved through use of numerical simulations of appropriate phenomena at various lengthscales, theories for multiscale modeling, and experiments. Our research focuses on development of efficient algorithms for numerical simulations and theory. We apply these to variety of multiphase problems, and compare the predictions with experiments carried out either by our collaborators or available in the literature.
Teaching Interests:
Fluid Mechanics, Transport Phenomena
Thermodynamics
Transport in Biological Systems
Process Control
Applied Mathematics
Select Publications:
Sangani, A. S., Lu, C., Su, K., and Schwarz J. A., “Capillary force on particles near drop edge resting on a substrate and a criterion for contact line pinning”. Phys. Rev. E, 80, 011603-011617 (2009).
Ozarkar, S. S., Sangani, A. S., Kushch, V. I., and Koch, D. L., “A kinetic theory for particulate systems with bimodal and anisotropic velocity fluctuations. Phys. Fluids, 20, 123303-123319 (2008).
Ozarkar, S. S. and Sangani A. S., “A method for determining Stokes flow around particles near a wall or in a thin film bounded by a wall and a gas-liquid interface”. Phys. Fluids, 20, 63301-63316 (2008).
He is focused on ensuring the success of IBM customers, partners and developers using the company’s hybrid cloud and AI software as well as The Weather Company, which is an IBM business.
At the center of Bob’s work is a commitment to the open source community. He is responsible for IBM’s participation and leadership in dozens of open source communities; contribution and donation of open source code; and overall industry advocacy. A prime example is Call for Code, which Bob launched in 2018 to give developers and problem solvers access to IBM tools and technologies as a means to solve global, societal challenges. Since launch, over 400,000 developers and problem solvers from over 179 nations have built solutions for an immediate and lasting impact in society.
We asked Bob five questions about his experience at Syracuse and advice for current undergrads:
How did you know Syracuse University was the best place for your undergraduate degree?
From the moment I stepped on campus nearly four decades ago, I knew Syracuse was the place for me.
Without question it was the perfect undergraduate environment because it provided so many opportunities for me to discover what I was most passionate about. I wasn’t pigeonholed into one area of study at the tender age of 18, but rather was encouraged to take advantage of the many options available at SU. And without that breadth of exposure, who knows… maybe instead of speaking to new graduates of the College of Engineering and Computer Science this past weekend I might have become a dentist or criminal defense lawyer, which I explored as a freshman. SU helped me realize what I wanted to become, but more importantly allowed me to decide what I didn’t want to do.
What are some of your favorite memories from your time on campus as a student?
There are so many great memories. I’ll start at the beginning: move-in day my freshman year. My dad dropped me at Kimmel Hall alone for the first time in my life. But just as that reality began to set in, my new roommate arrived, followed by a slew of other new students. I quickly realized I was surrounded by people who were going through the same thing as me. That was the day I began to build some of the most enduring friendships of my life… friendships that remain strong to this day and I will be eternally grateful for.
It was also the day that I was first introduced to a population that was much more diverse than my Catholic neighborhood in Northern New Jersey. It was the beginning of my understanding of the power of diversity and inclusion. The more I learned from others, the more critical my thinking became and the more I grew as a human being.
How did your Syracuse experience help you in the early stages of your career?
I credit Syracuse for getting my career started. I was fortunate to be accepted into the engineering co-op program, so in the summers I would work at General Motors as a shift supervisor and engineer. Being immersed in that setting had a powerful effect on me. It validated that I was absolutely on the right career path, exposed me to a high-performance workplace, and gave me the relevant experience and confidence I needed to ultimately land a full-time position as an industrial engineer at Corning Glass Works.
I had countless experiences as an undergrad that equipped me to succeed in my first job and that I draw upon to this day. For instance, thanks to the rigorous and challenging course load that had me in Bird Library so much, I developed the skill of managing massive volumes of work, prioritizing what required immediate attention and developing a systematic approach to completing assignments.
What are some of the lasting influences Syracuse University has had on you?
That’s easy. I met my wife of 29 years, Robin, at Syracuse. Talk about a lasting influence! Both of my daughters also went to SU, and in fact my youngest graduated this weekend with a dual degree from the Falk and Whitman schools. I suppose you could say orange runs through the Lord family and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I also attribute much of my development as a person and as a leader to what I learned during my formative years at Syracuse. It’s where the seeds of what I now refer to as a “growth mindset” were planted – something I strive to embrace in both my personal and professional life. It can be summarized by three core tenets:
First, be a problem solver, not a problem explainer. The world doesn’t need more people to talk about the problems we’re faced with; we need people who will take action. This was ingrained in me at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, where we were presented with problems and held accountable to finding solutions. And it’s why I’m so passionate now about initiatives like Call for Code.
Second, learn it all, don’t know it all. At Syracuse, I got a healthy dose of humility early on, and it became quickly apparent that I had SO much to learn. Once I accepted that, I experienced exponential growth, and I’ve committed myself to being a perpetual student to learn all that I can.
Third, be open and transparent. Some of the best development of my life has come from constructive criticism. It’s something I was no stranger to at Syracuse and I’ve found that accepting feedback as helpful guidance has gotten me a lot further than being defensive and viewing it as an attack. On the flipside, as a manager I take care to provide candid feedback to those around me so they may also grow.
What advice would you give to current engineering and computer science students?
I cannot emphasize enough to current students that they have a golden opportunity. They have the ability to take advantage of all this world-class institution has to offer, from renowned educators and facilities, to innovative programs and activities, and an array of courses and experiences. Seize that opportunity!
Go beyond your comfort zone, keep an open mind, and challenge yourself. Take electives that force you to learn something completely different and trigger another part of your brain. Explore ways you can get exposure to the industry’s best and brightest, like through the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars. Join clubs and pursue activities that pique your interest or that you’re even just mildly curious about because it may ignite a passion you didn’t know existed.
All of these things will contribute to the quest I encourage you all to pursue: to find your purpose, and to begin charting a path to develop skills you can apply in service of that purpose.
This is perhaps the only time in your life you’ll be able to partake in such a wide range of experiences in a condensed period of time. Don’t let it pass you by. Trust me, you’ll find yourself frequently drawing upon those experiences for years to come.
For many years Dean Emeritus Bradley Strait ’58, G’60, G’65 led the Syracuse University academic procession at Syracuse University’s commencement as the Mace Bearer. The Mace Bearer is a role that recognizes the importance of the University’s mission as an education institution. It was also a role that symbolized Strait’s relationship of more than 60 years with the College of Engineering and Computer Science, helping lead students, faculty, research and academic programs forward.
“Brad exemplified what it means to be Orange. I do not know anyone else who commanded such complete respect across campus than he did,” says electrical engineering and computer science Professor Shiu-Kai Chin ’75, G’78, G’86.
Strait passed away in his hometown of Canandaigua, NY on May 6th, 2021. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy as a student, professor and as dean of the College from 1981-1984 and again from 1989-1992.
He came to Syracuse University after serving in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1955 as an electronics technician. After being discharged, he studied electrical engineering. Syracuse University Life Trustee Charles Beach ’58, G’67 was his roommate and fraternity brother in Phi Gamma Delta. They remained close friends for the next 67 years.
“He really bled orange. He loved Syracuse University, he loved teaching and loved his students,” says Beach.
While he was an undergraduate student, Strait met Nancy Brown, who was a student in the University’s College of Fine Arts. Brad and Nancy married in 1957 and graduated in 1958. They moved to the Syracuse suburb of Jamesville where they raised their children, Andy and Martha. Brad and Nancy later established the Jamesville Museum which collected important pieces of the town’s history and memories of its neighbors.
After graduation, Strait worked briefly at Eastman Kodak before returning to Syracuse for a master’s degree and his doctorate. He then became a faculty member known for taking extra time to work with students and young researchers and making sure they were successful in all aspects of their life, not just the classroom.
He was a member of the university’s world-renowned electromagnetics research group and became chair of the then department of electrical and computer engineering in 1974. One of his early hires was current electrical engineering and computer science Distinguished Professor Pramod K. Varshney.
“Brad did a marvelous job in his role as the leader of a premier department,” says Varshney. “As department chair, he established a close relationship with the Rome Air Development Center (now Air Force Research Laboratory) resulting in significant research funded by US Air Force at Syracuse University.”
“Brad was my first academic advisor when I came to SU in the Fall of 1971. He remained a near and dear mentor throughout my academic career,” says Chin. “His advice to me was always straightforward and direct. Always do what is best for the academic program, always teach a course even if you are in a leadership role and remember that the people you see on the way up are the same people you see on the way down.”
Strait went on to serve as the Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science from 1981-1984 and 1989-1992. He was a relentless advocate and recruiter for Syracuse University, always looking to bring the best students and faculty to Central New York.
“Brad was one of the main reasons why I came to Syracuse University as a faculty member,” says mechanical and aerospace engineering Professor Ed Bogucz. “Brad’s personality was a big factor.”
In addition to recruiting for academic roles, Strait was always recruiting for the College’s softball team and a weekly basketball league.
“Many of the players, including myself, were young people who looked at Brad as a role model of how to live an active and fulfilling life balancing family, employment, faith and active recreation,” says mechanical and aerospace engineering Professor Alan Levy. “On the court Brad was a fierce competitor and, like all of us, he liked to win. But he was gracious in victory and defeat. Brad played in the game until he was about 80 years-old and he never lost his spark racing up and down that full court.”
Strait took pride in building connections across the university through softball games played against other colleges and departments.
“A lot of relationships were cemented by getting to know people during those games,” says Beach.
Always looking forward, Strait expanded collaborations with industry partners and worked to connect them with current research activity at Syracuse University. During his tenure as Dean, New York State designed the Centers of Advanced Technology (CAT) program and under Strait’s leadership the University received one of the 6 CATS. To make sure the center got off the ground, he left his Dean position and became the Founding Director of the Computer Applications and Software Engineering Center (CASE).
“He was instrumental in getting state funds to build the Center for Science and Technology (CST). Without his vision of CASE and his leadership, CST would not be built,” says Varshney. “CASE continues to flourish even today as a preeminent center that champions economic growth in the state of New York via its outstanding research activities with New York State.”
“When I became Dean of Engineering and Computer Science, I developed the concept for the Syracuse Center of Excellence following the approach that Brad had pioneered for the CASE Center,” says Bogucz.
Strait retired but always remained an active member of the Engineering and Computer Science family, serving as Dean Emeritus. He and Nancy also established the Bradley J. and Nancy B. Strait Scholarship to assist future generations of Syracuse University students.
He leaves behind a legacy of supporting and mentoring generations of young engineers and computer scientists. During a devoted life of service to Syracuse University, he provided guidance and encouragement at a crucial point in countless lives.
“I am forever blessed because he was part of my life. Those of us who are left must do our best to help the others who come after us like Brad did,” says Chin “Every time I am in the Dome during Commencement. I can still see Brad faithfully leading the procession as Mace Bearer guiding us to where we need to be.”
As part of biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Dacheng Ren’s “Biological Principles for Bioengineers” class, students had the opportunity in their lab to simulate COVID-19 testing with a safe bacterial virus.
“Essentially for this experiment we are replicating the PCR testing that is going on with the COVID Pandemic right now,” says bioengineering student Lily Rhuda.
“We are working on viral detection so we are using polymer chain reaction and we are using a bacteriophage to mimic the coronavirus,” says bioengineering student Katie Southard. “So we are basically doing exactly what they are doing to test coronavirus samples.”
“Each virus has RNA in it. So we are trying to see if that RNA is present,” says bioengineering student Assul Larancuent. “We are doing that by polymerase chain reaction. We are repeating that process again and again to see if that virus is present.”
“We have run it through a spin column with a series of buffers to really isolate that material,” says Rhuda. “Then we use the centrifuge because that will bring all the buffer we don’t need out and leave the isolation we want.”
“The repetition creates a process that makes it an accurate result,” says Larancuent. “You sort of see all the work that is behind COVID testing.”
“It is really cool that we get the opportunity at Syracuse to do stuff like this,” said Southard. “It’s part of the reason why I choose this program at this school because I knew they would give me opportunities to do stuff like this with the latest technology.”
“It has been a life changing class,” says Larancuent. “You got to see the real world connections between bioengineering and the actual situation we are having right now.”
“This lab is a perfect opportunity to teach students advanced technologies related this ongoing pandemic,” said Ren. “Using a bacteriophage allows us to teach the principles and lab skills in a safe environment. I am proud that all groups successfully isolated RNA and conducted qPCR.”
Biomedical and chemical engineering graduate student Siwen Wang was a 2021 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recipient.
These awards are reserved for teaching assistants in good academic standing who have made truly distinguished contributions to teaching at Syracuse University.
Hometown: China
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Member of AICHE
Favorite thing about BMCE: All faculties are so nice in BMCE. And I really enjoy the research environment in my group.
Favorite thing about SU: I like SU campus so much. You can find beautiful scenes when walking around the campus, especially in spring and autumn.
Plan after graduation: I hope to keep doing research in my current field.
Biomedical and chemical engineering graduate student Bowei Liu was a 2021 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recipient.
These awards are reserved for teaching assistants in good academic standing who have made truly distinguished contributions to teaching at Syracuse University
Hometown: Bengbu, China
BMCE/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: research in Jesse Bond’s group, AICHE conference oral presentation.
Favorite thing about BMCE: Students, TAs, and professors get to know each other and have close relationships. You can ask for help from any facilities and staff, they are always willing to do the best for you. The collaboration will always be available between research groups if another has the resources you need.
Favorite thing about SU: The campus is at its optimized size: big enough to have a wide range of diversities and small enough to have a strong sense of community.
Plan after graduation: find a post-doctoral position and continue to be involved in scientific research.
For the first few weeks of Invent@SU, physics major Paul Franco ’22, aerospace engineering student Zach Stahl ’23 and computer science student Anthony Mazzacane ’24 were not always sure their concept would work out. They had identified a clear problem – 80% of NCAA athletes had suffered from dehydration but finding a solution was not simple. They wanted to design a wearable device that could monitor an athlete’s hydration level so coaches and trainers would have better information and keep athletes safe – but would also need to prove their invention worked.
“We knew the scientific principle worked, but in the first few weeks we had logistical problems with the prototype,” said Franco.
As they pushed forward, they leveraged their different skill sets to solve problems with sensors, data collection and a prototype model.
“Being interdisciplinary forces you out of your comfort zone in a really good way,” said Mazzacane.
“Sweatration” was one of seven interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate inventors competing in the six week Invent@SU program. Before the first week of the program, faculty help form three-person interdisciplinary teams that balance different skill sets. Each team comes up with a concept for an original invention, research existing patents to make sure their idea is unique, develop a prototype and pitch it to weekly guest evaluators before “Shark Tank” style final judging at the end of week six.
The Sweatration team was concerned that initial evaluators were skeptical and knew they needed to back up their idea with hard data. They also met with a Syracuse University athletic trainer to gain their input.
“After every time we pitched, I wanted as much feedback as we could get,” said Franco.
The trainer was very supportive of the idea and didn’t believe there was anything like it that existed currently. As their pitch improved, the technical challenges were also being overcome. During a week five test of their prototype at the Barnes Center, the team saw it was collecting meaningful data – and their prototype could reliably show when the wearer was getting dehydrated.
“We had improved the prototype for a better fit and better connections for the technology inside,” said Stahl. “When I saw it was delivering data and consistently indicating dehydration I was thrilled.”
The notable alumni, entrepreneurs and innovators who served as final judges awarded the Sweatration first place and a $7500 prize. They plan on continuing with their invention and will work with both the Blackstone Launchpad in Bird Library and the Innovation Law Center as they move forward.
Second place at Invent@SU went to Ambiflux – a device that can both monitor asthma conditions and deliver medication.
“It felt good that we were rewarded for all the time and energy we put into this,” said bioengineering and neuroscience major Victoria Hathaway ’22. “It is an important device that is needed for a real cause.”
“To see that the judges saw what we saw – it was very gratifying,” said computer engineering student Aidan Mickleburgh ’23. Mickleburgh is also in the H. John Reilly Dual Engineering/ MBA program.
“It felt nice they appreciated the way all the concepts and elements came together,” said chemical engineering student Trinity Coates ’24.
The third place went to Sense-A, a monitoring and alert device that can help people caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s Disease.
“It was a great experience, different from anything else I have done in college,” said computer science student Hong Yang Chen ’22. “Building a physical prototype was a great challenge.”
“Good feedback from judges and evaluators was very helpful and they saw the difficulties caregivers currently face,” said chemical engineering student Simran Lakhani ’22.
“We are definitely going to move forward with this and work with Blackstone Launchpad,” said biomedical engineering student Gabriela Angel ’21 G’22.
Honorable mention at Invent@SU went to Glisten. They designed a device aimed at helping people monitor their dental health at home and provide pre-diagnostic information to a dentist.
“To be able to research, design and build a functioning prototype in six weeks is intense, but the expertise of the faculty and the evaluators made it possible,” said bioengineering student Bianca Andrada ’22.
“Our team was a good balance of different skills and perspectives,” said industrial and interaction design major Ahn Dao ’23.
“We have a passion to keep the world smiling,” said biology student Justin Monaco ’21 G’22.
Invent@SU was sponsored by Syracuse University Trustee Bill Allyn G’59 and Janet “Penny” Jones Allyn ’60, Dr. Deborah L. Pearce and William J. Sheeran ’60, G’63, G’66, Matthew Lyons ’86, Haden Land G’91 and Cathy Land, Ralph Folz ,90, Michael Lazar G’65 and Avi Nash G’77. For more information on the program, you can visit invent.syr.edu.
After rising to the position of vice president of engineering technology at International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), one of the top priorities for Steve Huang G’72, G’75 was to build a culture that supported the needs of everyone in the company. Huang’s early career and experiences as a chemical engineering student at Syracuse University shaped a belief in the nexus between serving and a better society.
“You kind of change your life perspective,” said Huang. “I decided my focus will be trying to train and cultivate younger engineers and professionals in my company and creating the proper environment for them to grow and develop.”
Now as a management and technology consultant, Huang is scaling these core philosophies and finding new ways to serve gifted, young talent around the world. In honor of the man that once served him, Steve Huang has made a generous gift to establish the endowed Allen J. Barduhn Memorial Scholarship in Chemical Engineering.
“Professor Barduhn trained me and shaped me to become an engineer, but he also helped me on a personal basis,” said Huang. “I told him once, I look at you not just as my advisor, but almost like a parent. I respect him to such a degree.”
Barduhn had a profound influence, but it was the caring actions of foreign student advisor, Virginia Torelli that made Huang first feel welcome in Syracuse. Huang completed his undergraduate degree in Taiwan and a scholarship made it possible for him to pursue a graduate degree at Syracuse University. He arrived in the United States for the first time after five o’clock on the Friday before Labor Day weekend. To Huang’s surprise, Torelli waited to help him get settled.
“She stayed until everything was taken care of,” said Huang. “Even the service people at the dorm stayed to open the door and get me into my room. I could not believe that. My first impression was very warm, and it was a tremendous experience.”
Selflessness from others is at the center of Huang’s Syracuse University experience, most notably from Professor Barduhn.
“I was very, very fortunate. I had one of the best advisors I could ever have. Professor Barduhn really had patience and explained to us the purpose of research,” said Huang. “He really taught you how to work on problem solving. He wanted to train you, help you grow, and he wanted you to graduate.”
Barduhn also had experience in industry which enabled him to prepare his students with knowledge and insight unobtainable from a textbook. The benefits and positive experiences stemming from Huang’s decision to attend Syracuse University were considerable, but it was what Barduhn did next that may have carried the most weight.
“Professor Barduhn had such good advice. He is a tremendous person,” said Huang. “Not only did he teach me how to make good engineering judgments, but he also helped me get my green card.”
Having a green card sponsor was key because it made it easy for Huang to take job interviews, many international students are not so fortunate. Barduhn hired Huang to work in his lab and helped him gain permanent resident status.
“He told me, don’t worry, you have a Ph.D. degree, stay, work for me, and at the same time he said he would apply for a green card for me,” said Huang. “I was only his student, but he was willing to do that. So, I got my green card from Doctor Barduhn’s application. That is a favor I can never return. I will always remember him.”
Huang also credits his time at Syracuse University as a big step toward learning how to develop cross-cultural relationships and working with a variety of people-a skillset that would become invaluable as his professional career took off. Huang initially wanted to be a professor, but Barduhn urged him to first go work as an engineer. Young and fearless, Huang accepted a research and development position with IFF in 1976. He was the first chemical engineer with a doctoral degree hired by the company and Huang took up the challenge to pioneer his position.
In the 1980’s while Huang was developing and implementing advanced control systems at IFF’s United States and European manufacturing sites, he collaborated with colleagues in legal, finance, and marketing departments to lead a game-changing expansion into China for IFF. Through the 1990’s business in China thrived and Huang’s global manufacturing responsibilities increased substantially. In 2001 Huang advanced to the role of vice president of global chemical manufacturing and he continued to help IFF grow by applying solid business models, including sales and operations (S&OP), and Systems Applications and Product (SAP) implementation. By the time he retired after 35 years, IFF had seen sales increase by 600 percent and become an industry leader worldwide.
It is not a coincidence Huang understands the impact of generosity and the right environment over time. The opportunities afforded to him by others prompted one good thing leading to another throughout his education and career. Ultimately putting him in a position to serve. A position he says he may not be in without a chance to attend Syracuse University.
“Every one of those small things adds up. I am very appreciative for the scholarship that I had. I don’t think I would have been able to come to the United States without it,” said Huang. “With this gift I hope we can stimulate our alumni to really spend some effort and resources to help with education to build a better society. People are our foundation. I was really happy that I was able to do this.”
In recognition of superior scholarship, the following students have been entered on the Engineering & Computer Science Dean’s List for Spring 2021.
To be eligible for Dean’s List recognition, the minimum semester grade point average must be 3.40 or higher, must have earned a minimum of 12 graded credits and must have no missing or incomplete grades.
College of Engineering and Computer Science Spring 2021 Dean’s List
B.E. (major) Applied Chemistry, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P. R. China, 1996.
B.E. (minor) Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P. R. China, 1996.
M.E. Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University, P. R. China, 1999.
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 2003
Postdoctoral associate, Chemical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2003-2005.
Lab/Center Affiliation:
Syracuse BioInspired Institute
Areas of Expertise:
Biomaterials
Medical devices
Biotechnology
Synthetic Biology
Bacterial control
Current Research:
Historically, our understanding of bacterial physiology and development of antibiotics have been focused on active planktonic (free-swimming) cells. However, the vast majority of bacteria in nature and medical environments exist in surface-attached biofilms with varying levels of dormancy. With up to 1,000 times higher tolerance to antibiotics and disinfectants compared to their planktonic counterparts, deleterious biofilms cause serious problems such as chronic infections in humans as well as persistent fouling and equipment failure in industry. Biofilms are blamed for billions of dollars of losses and more than 45,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone. Despite the well-recognized significance of biofilms, the mechanisms of biofilm formation and bacterial dormancy are still not fully understood with many fundamental questions unanswered. Controlling biofilms and dormant cells is also challenging. To address these challenges, we conduct both basic and translational research with specific interests in bacteria-material interactions, novel antifouling materials, new agents for controlling biofilms and dormant cells, synthetic biology for microbial control, and smart and safer medical devices.
Courses Taught:
CEN551 Biochemical Engineering
BEN301 Biological Principles for Engineers
Honors:
Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2022
Yikang Xu and Dacheng Ren. “A novel inductively coupled capacitor wireless sensor system for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing.” Journal of Biological Engineering. 17, Article number: 54 (2023).
72. Sang Won Lee, Erick L. Johnson, J. Alex Chediak, Hainsworth Shin, Yi Wang, K. Scott Phillips and Dacheng Ren. “High-Throughput Biofilm Assay to Investigate Bacterial Interactions with Surface Topographies.” ACS Applied Bio Materials. 5: 3816-3825 (2022).
Sweta Roy, Ali Adem Bahar, Huan Gu, Shikha Nangia, Karin Sauer and Dacheng Ren. “Persister Control by Leveraging Dormancy Associated Reduction of Antibiotic Efflux.” PLOS Pathogens. 17(12): e1010144 (2021).
Sang Won Lee, Joseph Carnicelli, Dariya Getya, Ivan Gitsov, K. Scott Phillips and Dacheng Ren. “Biofilm Removal by Reversible Shape Recovery of the Substrate.” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 13 (15): 17174–17182 (2021)
Sang Won Lee, K. Scott Phillips, Huan Gu, Mehdi Kazemzadeh-Narbat, Dacheng Ren. “How microbes read the map: effects of implant topography on bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation.” Biomaterials. 268: 120595 (2021).
Huan Gu, Sang Won Lee, Joseph Carnicelli, Teng Zhang, and Dacheng Ren. “Magnetically driven active topography for long-term biofilm control”. Nature Communications. 11: Article number: 2211 (2020).
Yikang Xu, Yousr Dhaouadi, Paul Stoodley, and Dacheng Ren, “Sensing the unreachable: challenges and opportunities in biofilm detection”. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 64: 79-84 (2020).
Ph. D. Chemistry (2006) University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
M.Sc. Chemistry (2000) Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India
B.Sc. Chemistry (1998) University of Delhi, Delhi, India
Lab/Center Affiliation:
Syracuse Biomaterials Institute
Research interests:
Blood-brain barrier
Targeted cancer drug delivery
Multiscale modeling of nanomaterials
Nanomedicine
Virus nanotechnology
Current Research:
My research group focuses on studying blood-brain barrier using theoretical and computational techniques. The goal is to enable the transport of drug molecules across the blood-brain barrier, which has been the biggest impediment for finding a cure for brain related ailments such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. This project was funded through the NSF-CAREER award.
Additionally, we our group focuses on computational multiscale modeling of nanomaterials, including nanomedicine, drug delivery nanocarriers, and nano-bio interactions. The goal of this research is to design efficient nanosized drug delivery carriers to target cancer tumor cells that hold the key to a new era of cancer treatment. To achieve our research goals we are developing quantitative approaches for characterizing interaction of nanoscale entities with living matter (serum, cell-membranes, cells). Our computational approaches are directed to analyze these complex nano-bio interactions in an effort to design safe and smart drug delivery nanocarriers.
Courses Taught:
Statistical thermodynamics
Multiscale computational methods
Reaction kinetics
Engineering Materials, Properties, and Processing
Honors:
2017 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education
2017 Meredith Teaching Recognition Award
2016 College Technology Educator of the Year, Technical Alliance of Central New York
2016 ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award
2015 Nappi Research Competition Award
NSF CAREER award (2015)
Faculty Excellence Award, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University (2015)
Recent Publications:
Development of effective stochastic potential method using random matrix theory for efficient conformational sampling of semiconductor nanoparticles at non-zero temperatures, J. Scher, M. Bayne, A. Srihari, S. Nangia, and A. Chakraborty, Journal of Chemical Physics, 149, 014103 (2018). https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.5026027 Self-assembly simulations of classic claudins-insights into the pore structure, selectivity and higher-order complexes, F. J. Irudayanathan, X. Wang, N. Wang, S. Willsey, I. Seddon, and S. Nangia, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 122, 7463-7474 (2018). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b03842
Mechanism of Antibacterial Activity of Choline-Based Ionic Liquids (CAGE), Kelly N. Ibsen, H. Ma, A. Banerjee, E. E. L. Tanner, S. Nangia, and S. Mitragotri, ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering, 4, 2370-2379 (2018). https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b00486
Architecture of the paracellular channels formed by Claudins of the blood-brain barrier tight junctions, F. J. Irudayanathan, N. Wang, X. Wang , and S. Nangia, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1749-6632 (2017). https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nyas.13378
Modeling diversity in structures of bacterial outer membrane lipids H. Ma, D. D. Cummins, N. B. Edelstein, J. Gomez, A. Khan, M. D. Llewellyn, T. Picudella, S. R. Willsey and S. Nangia, Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, 13, 811–824 (2017). http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.6b00856
Drug-specific design of telodendrimer architecture for effective Doxorubicin encapsulation, W. Jiang, X. Wang, D. Guo, J. Luo, and S. Nangia, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 120, 9766–9777 (2016). http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b06070
Cardiac tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
3D Organoid Technology
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) allows the recapitulation of human disease models in vitro, which can be used to both study disease mechanisms and ultimately design and screen personalized therapeutics prior to large animal or clinical trials. My research focuses on developing multi-scale cardiac models through the combination of stem cell biology, micro/nanotechnology and cardiovascular research. These in vitro models help us not only understand a variety of fundamental questions on cardiac physiology and development, but also improve the diagnosis and treatment for human heart diseases.
Honors and Awards:
Rising Stars Award of BMES Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering
National Science Foundation CAREER Award
Lush Prize Young Researcher at Americas, Lush Cosmetics
Selected Publications:
Kowalczewski A., Sakolish C.M., Hoang P., Liu X., Jacquir S., Rusyn I., Ma Z. (2022) “Integrating nonlinear analysis and machine learning for human induced pluripotent stem cell-based drug cardiotoxicity testing” Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine 16(8): 732-743.
Shi H., Wu X., Sun S., Wang C., Ash-Shakoor A., Mather P.T., Henderson J.H., Ma Z. (2022) “Profiling the responsiveness of focal adhesions of human cardiomyocytes to extracellular dynamic nano-topography” Bioactive Materials 10: 367-77.
Hoang P., Kowalczewski A., Sun S., Winston T.S., Archilla A., Lemus S., Ercan-Sencicek A.G., Gupta A.R., Liu W., Kontaridis M.I., Amack J., Ma Z. (2021) “Engineering spatial-organized cardiac organoids for developmental toxicity testing” Stem Cell Reports 16(5): 1228-1244.
Ma Z., Huebsch H., Koo S., Mandegar M.A., Siemons B., Conklin B.R., Grigoropoulos C.P., Healy K.E. (2018) “Contractile deficits in engineered cardiac microtissues as a result of MYBPC3 deficiency and mechanical overload” Nature Biomedical Engineering 2(12): 955–67.
Research Scientist, Washington University in Saint Louis
Postdoctoral Fellow and Instructor, Saint Louis University
Postdoctoral Associate, Virginia Tech
Degrees:
Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India, 2011
Bachelor’s in Pharmacy, India, 2004
Lab/Center Affiliation:
Syracuse BioInspired Institute
Areas of Expertise:
Targeted and programed drug delivery for macrophages
Injectable and biodegradable hydrogels and scaffolds
Musculoskeletal tissue engineering
Drug Delivery
Inflammation is a primary component of all diseases including several musculoskeletal disorders such as arthritis. The Jain Lab research focuses on engineering immunomodulatory biomaterials for advancing treatment of musculoskeletal disorders and related inflammatory disorders. We are particularly interested in design of macrophage targeting and programed drug delivery systems for spatially and temporally controlled biomolecule release to regulate inflammation. We employ a combination of in vitro models and pre-clinical animal models to evaluate the translational potential of these novel delivery systems.
Honors and Awards
2021 Discovery Award (DoD)
2018 Travel Award for Best Poster, Musculoskeletal Research Center, Winter Symposium, Washington University in Saint Louis
2017 Best Undergraduate Poster Award to a mentee at STLAURUS 2017
2004-2010 Graduate Research Scholarship, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India
2008 Travel grant for attending from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India.
Selected Publications:
I.M. Berke, E. Jain, B.Yavuz, T. McGrath, L. Jing, M. Silva, G. Mbalaviele, F. Guilak, D. Kaplan, L.A. Setton. NF-κB-mediated effects on behavior and cartilage pathology in a non-invasive loading model of post-traumatic osteoarthritis, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage (2021), 29, 248-256.
E. Jain, S. Neal, H.Graf, X. Tan, R. Balasubramaniam, and N.Huebsch Copper-Free Azide–Alkyne Cycloaddition for Peptide Modification of Alginate Hydrogels ACS Applied Bio Materials (2021) 4 (2), 1229-1237.
X, Tan, E. Jain, M.N. Barcellona, E. Morris, S. Neal, M.C. Gupta, J.M. Buchowski, M. Kelly, L.A. Setton, N. Huebsch: Integrin and syndecan peptide-conjugated alginate hydrogel for modulation of nucleus pulposus cell phenotype. Biomaterials. 2021.
E. Jain, N.Chinzei, A. Blanco, N. Case, L. J. Sandell, S. Sell, M. F.Rai, S. P. Zustiak, Sustained release of platelet-rich plasma from polyethylene glycol hydrogels exerts beneficial effects on chondrocytes, J. Orthop. res. (https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.24404)
E. Jain, A.S. Qayyum, G. Kolar, Y. Kim, S.A. Sell, S.P. Zustiak, Design of electrohydrodynamic sprayed polyethylene glycol hydrogel microspheres for cell encapsulation, Biofabrication 9 (2017) 025019.
E. Jain, S. Sheth, A. Dunn, S.P. Zustiak, S.A. Sell, Sustained release of multicomponent platelet-rich plasma proteins from hydrolytically degradable PEG hydrogels, J Biomed Mater Res A 105 (2017) 3304-3314.
E. Jain, L. Hill, E. Canning, S.A. Sell, S.P. Zustiak, Control of gelation, degradation and physical properties of polyethylene glycol hydrogels through the chemical and physical identity of the crosslinker, J Mater Chem B 5 (2017) 2679-2691.
S.G. Priya, A. Gupta, E. Jain, J. Sarkar, A. Damania, P.R. Jagdale, B.P. Chaudhari, K.C. Gupta, A. Kumar, Bilayer Cryogel Wound Dressing and Skin Regeneration Grafts for the Treatment of Acute Skin Wounds, ACS Appl Mater Inter 8 (2016) 15145-15159.
B. A. Sc., Engineering Science, University of Toronto, 2004
Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, 2009
Areas of Expertise:
Energy Conversion and Storage
Advanced Composites
Functional Surfaces
Optical Materials and Devices
Bioinspired Materials
Professor Hosein combines materials processing techniques with smart polymer chemistry and novel inorganic chemistry to create materials with tailored structure, composition and advanced optical, electronic, and chemical functionality. His work spans the spectrum from fundamental formation mechanisms to materials fabrication to application-driven research and development. Current applications target solar energy conversion, electro-chemical energy storage, chemical separation, and smart coatings.
Honors and Awards:
NSF Career Award, 2018
3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, 2019
The Association for UV & EB Technology, Innovation Award, 2020
2004 Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering Stanford University
2001 M.S. Mechanical Engineering Stanford University
1999 B.S. Mechanical Engineering Rice University, Summa Cum Laude
Lab/Center Affiliation(s):
BioInspired Institute
Areas of Expertise:
Mechanobiology
Biomechanics
Shape-memory polymers
Tissue engineering
Advanced Manufacturing
The Henderson Lab uses expertise in cell biomechanics and mechanobiology, cell and molecular biology, mechanics, imaging, and computational tools to inform the development and application of functional shape-memory materials to enable innovative strategies to study and control mechanobiological and biomechanical aspects of cell and tissue function and repair.
Honors and Awards:
2024 Mentor of the Year, Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA), Syracuse University.
2017 Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Excellence Award, The Graduate School, Syracuse University
2016 James K. Duah-Agyeman Faculty Award, Center for Graduate Preparation and Achievement, Syracuse University
2012 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award
2010 College of Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Excellence Award
2007 New Investigator Recognition Award (NIRA), 6th Combined Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Societies
Selected Honors and Awards to Graduate Students:
All University Doctoral Prize x 2
Outstanding Achievement Award in Graduate Study, Bioengineering x 4
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Orange Circle Award
Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) STEM Conference Community Award
STEM Fellow x 3
Selected Honors and Awards to Undergraduate Students:
Syracuse University Scholar x 2
Remembrance Scholar x 2
Senior Marshal
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Goldwater Scholar x 2
Seinfeld Scholar
Karen Hiiemae Outstanding Achievement Award, BMCE
Oren Nagasako Award, BMCE
George M. Berry Award for Best All-Around Senior, ECS
Louis N. DeMartini Award for Outstanding Research, ECS
Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence in the category of Excellence in Student Research
The Chancellor’s Forever Orange Award
Chancellor’s Award for Public Engagement and Scholarship
The Earl H. Devoe Prize for Undergraduate Research
The Bioengineering Founders Award x 2
Upstate Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ULSAMP) Undergraduate Research Assistantship x 8
LSAMP Outstanding Service and Dedication Award
Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program x 3
Donofrio Scholar x 3
Fulbright Canada-Mitacs Globalink internship
Maxwell Citizenship Scholar
Gates Millennium Scholars Program
Annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) STEM Conference Research Award x 2
Selected Publications:
Oguntade, Elizabeth; Wigham, Caleb; Owuor, Luiza; Aryal, Ujjwal; O’Grady, Kerrin; Acierto, Anthony; Zha, R Helen; Henderson, James H; Dry and wet wrinkling of a silk fibroin biopolymer by a shape-memory material with insight into mechanical effects on secondary structures in the silk network, Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 12, 26, 6351-6370, 2024
Pieri, Katy; Liu, Di; Soman, Pranav; Zhang, Teng; Henderson, James H; Large Biaxial Recovered Strains in Self‐Shrinking 3D Shape‐Memory Polymer Parts Programmed via Printing with Application to Improve Cell Seeding, Advanced Materials Technologies, 8, 9, 2201997, 2023
Chen, Junjiang; Sun, Shiyang; Macios, Mark M; Oguntade, Elizabeth; Narkar, Ameya R; Mather, Patrick T; Henderson, James H; Thermally and Photothermally Triggered Cytocompatible Triple-Shape-Memory Polymer Based on a Graphene Oxide-Containing Poly (ε-caprolactone) and Acrylate Composite, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15, 44, 50962-50972, 2023
Buffington, Shelby L; Paul, Justine E; Ali, Matthew M; Macios, Mark M; Mather, Patrick T; Henderson, James H; Enzymatically triggered shape memory polymers, Acta biomaterialia, 84, 88-97, 2019
Wang, Jing; Quach, Andy; Brasch, Megan E; Turner, Christopher E; Henderson, James H; On-command on/off switching of progenitor cell and cancer cell polarized motility and aligned morphology via a cytocompatible shape memory polymer scaffold, Biomaterials, 140, 150-161, 2017
Baker, Richard M; Tseng, Ling-Fang; Iannolo, Maria T; Oest, Megan E; Henderson, James H; Self-deploying shape memory polymer scaffolds for grafting and stabilizing complex bone defects: A mouse femoral segmental defect study, Biomaterials, 76, 388-398, 2016
Baker, Richard M; Brasch, Megan E; Manning, M Lisa; Henderson, James H; Automated, contour-based tracking and analysis of cell behaviour over long time scales in environments of varying complexity and cell density, Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 11, 97, 20140386, 2014
Tseng, Ling-Fang; Mather, Patrick T; Henderson, James H; Shape-memory-actuated change in scaffold fiber alignment directs stem cell morphology, Acta biomaterialia, 9, 11, 8790-8801, 2013
Davis, Kevin A; Burke, Kelly A; Mather, Patrick T; Henderson, James H; Dynamic cell behavior on shape memory polymer substrates, Biomaterials, 32, 9, 2285-2293, 2011
Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory
Research Interests:
Risk Assessment
Environmental Regulation
Injurious Effect of Environmental Chemicals
Aerosol Delivery of Chemo-preventive Agents
Alternative Energy
Environmental Education
Metabolism of Hepatotoxic Aliphatic Halogenated Hydrocarbons
Current Research:
I am in consultation and exploration with Biomedical, Chemical, and Environmental Engineering faculty members to form collaboration efforts.
Honors:
NIH Grant in Aerosol Delivery of Chemopreventive Agents in the Treatment of Lung Cancer (2011)
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Bio-monitoring Grant (2002)
USEPA Pesticide Exposure Outreach Grant (2002)
NIH Staff Fellowship (1984-87)
Courses Taught:
Environmental Risk assessment methodology
Environmental toxicology
Alternative energy
Human health impact of exposures to environmental toxins
Education in global response to energy and environmental challenges
Selected Publications:
Jingjie. Zhang, Huijing Fu,, Jing Pan, Yian Wang, Ruth Chen, Da-Ren Chen, and Ming You (2013). Aerosolized Iressa Decreases Lung Tumorigenesis with Minimal Adverse Systemic Effect, to be submitted to Lung Cancer Research.
Jingjie Zhang, Huijing Fu, Jing Pan, Ruth Chen, Yian Wang, Da-Ren Chen, and Ming You (2013). Chemoprevention of Lung Carcinogenesis by the Combination of Aerosolized Budesonide and Oral Polyphenon E in A/J Mice, to be submitted to Molecular Carcinogenesis.
Madelyn Ball, Ruth Chen, and Yinjie J Tang (2012). The “Some Sense” of Biofuels. J. Petroleum.Environmental Biotechnology, 3:4.
Qi Zhang, Jing Pan, Jingjie Zhang, Pengyuan Liu, Yian Wang, Ruth Chen, Da-Ren Chen, Ronald Lubet, and Ming You (2011). Aerosolized Targretin Decreases Lung Tumorigenesis Without Increasing Triglyceride and Cholesterol Level in Serum, Lung Cancer Prevention, 4(2):270-276.
Huijing Fu, Jingjie Zhang, Jing Pan, Qi Zhang, Yan Lu, Weidong Wen, Ronald A. Lubet, Eva Szabo, Ruth Chen, Yian Wang, Da-Ren Chen, and Ming You (2011), Chemoprevention of Lung Carcinogenesis by the Combination of Aerosolized Budesonide and Oral Pioglitazone in A/J Mice, Molecular Carcinogenesis, 50(12):913-921.
H. Fu, J. He, F. Mei, Q. Zhang, Y. Hara, S. Ryota, R. A. Lubet, R. Chen, Da-Ren Chen, and M. You (2009). Anti-lung Cancer Effect of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate is Dependent on Its Presence in a Complex Mixture (Polyphenon E), Cancer Prevention Research, 2(6):531-537. (Cover page article)
The Monroe Biomaterials Lab utilizes fundamental advances in polymer chemistry to provide biomaterials that could improve healing outcomes. Our research spans polymer synthesis, 3D scaffold fabrication, materials characterization, cell/material interactions, bacteria/material interactions, and in vivo characterization of biomaterials. Our research focuses on shape memory polymers (SMPs). These ‘smart’ materials can be deformed and stored in a temporary shape. Upon application of a stimulus (e.g. heating to body temperature, exposure to water), the materials rapidly return to their original shape. Specific applications of SMPs that we study include hemorrhage and infection control in traumatic wounds, infection surveillance and prevention in chronic wounds, and cell and antimicrobial delivery to Crohn’s fistulas.
Honors and Awards:
Society for Biomaterials Young Investigator Award (2024)
Rosalind Franklin Society Special Award in Science, Tissue Engineering, Part A (2023)
Litwin IBD Pioneers Award, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation (2020-2022)
New York State Science Congress Keynote Speaker (2022)
Selected Publications:
M.B.B. Monroe, D.A. Fikhman, “Mini-Review: Antimicrobial Smart Materials: The Future’s Defense,” Frontiers in Biomaterials Science Special Issue: Women in Biomaterials Science. 2 (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fbiom.2023.1285386
C. Du, D. A. Fikhman, D. Persaud, M.B.B. Monroe, “Dual burst and sustained release of p-coumaric acid from shape memory polymer foams for polymicrobial infection prevention in trauma-related hemorrhagic wounds,” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 15 (20) 24228-24243 (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c04392
M. Ramezani, M.B.B. Monroe, “Bacterial Protease-Responsive Shape Memory Polymers for Chronic Wound Infection Surveillance and Biofilm Removal,” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A. 111 (7) 921- 937. (2023). DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37527
H.T. Beaman, M.B.B. Monroe, “Direct Cell Encapsulation Within Highly Porous Gas-Blown Hydrogels With High Cell Viability,” Tissue Engineering, Part A. (2023). 29 (11-12) 308-321 (2023). DOI: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2022.0192.
A.U. Vakil, N.M. Petryk, C. Du, B. Howes, D. Stinfort, S. Serinelli, L. Gitto, M. Ramezani, H.T. Beaman, M.B.B. Monroe, “In Vitro and In Vivo Degradation Correlations for Polyurethane Foams with Tunable Degradation Rates,” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A. 111 (5) 580-595 (2023). DOI:10.1002/jbm.a.37504
N.M. Petryk, G. Haas, A.U. Vakil, M.B.B. Monroe, “Shape Memory Polymer Foams with Tunable Interconnectivity Using Off-the-Shelf Foaming Components,” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A. 110 (8) 1422-1434 (2022). DOI:10.1002/jbm.a.37383
H.T. Beaman, B. Howes, P.S. Ganesh, M.B.B. Monroe, “Shape Memory Polymer Hydrogels with Cell-Responsive Degradation Mechanisms for Crohn’s Fistula Closure,” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part A. 110 (7) 1329-1340 (2022). DOI:10.1002/jbm.a.37376.
H.T. Beaman, E. Shepherd, J. Satalin, S. Blair, H. Ramcharran, K. Dong, D. Fikhman, G. Nieman, S.G. Schauer, M.B.B. Monroe, “Hemostatic Shape Memory Polymer Foams With Improved Survival in a Lethal Traumatic Hemorrhage Model,” Acta Biomaterialia. 137, 112-123 (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.10.005
J. Liu, C. Du, H.T. Beaman, M.B.B. Monroe, “Characterization of Phenolic Acid Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Structure-Property Relationships,” Pharmaceutics, 12 (5), 419 (2020). DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12050419.
B.S. in Chemical Engineering, Missouri University of Science & Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla)
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, Thesis Advisor: Nicholas L. Abbott, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Post-doctoral Research Associate in STEM Education and Outreach, Interdisciplinary Education Group, Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Chemistry Instructor, General Chemistry Coordinator, and Engineering Transfer Program Director, Madison Area Technical College
2015 Teaching Recognition Award from the Syracuse University Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship Program
2015 Syracuse University Chancellor’s Awards for Public Engagement and Scholarship: Inspiration Award
2014 Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean’s Award for Excellence in Engineering Education
2014 Technology Alliance of Central New York (TACNY) College Technology Educator of the Year
Selected Publications:
Velegol, S.B., Cadwell, K.D., Bayles, T.M., Bullard, L.G., Hillsley, M.V. “Baseline Data on CHE Teaching Focused Faculty in the US.” Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education 2024 Annual Conference and Exposition, 2024.
Blum, M.M., Cadwell, K.D., Hasenwinkel, J.M. “A Model for a Faculty Development Course Redesign Summer Working Group.” Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education 2020 Virtual Annual Conference and Exposition, 2020.
Stokes-Cawley, C. and Cadwell, K.D. “Project ENGAGE: A Summer Immersion Experience in Engineering for Middle School Girls.” Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education St. Lawrence Section Regional Conference, Syracuse, NY, 2015. Reprinted in Transactions on Techniques in STEM Education, 2016, 1(2): 20-29.
Blum, M.M, Cadwell, K.D., Hasenwinkel, J.M. “A mechanics of materials outreach activity: Reconstructing the human body – biomaterials and biomimicry.” Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education 2015 Annual Conference and Exposition, Seattle, WA, 2015.
Walz, K.A., Britton, S., Crain, J., Cadwell, K., Hoffman, A., Morschauser, P. “Biodiesel synthesis, viscosity, and quality control for an introductory chemistry lab.” The Chemical Educator, 2014, 19: 342-346.
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, 2002
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2009
Research Interests:
Heterogeneous catalysis
Bio-based fuels and chemicals
Energy sustainability
Current Research:
Our group is focused on the design and application of catalytic materials for improving sustainability in the production of transportation fuels and chemical products. In our research, we leverage heterogeneous catalysis to facilitate the conversion of renewable feedstocks to drop-in replacements for traditional, petroleum-derived fuels. We approach this task mindful of the guiding principles of environmental stewardship and thus promote total biomass utilization, energy efficiency and conservation, and waste minimization as we strive to advance the state of the art in renewable energy.
Teaching Interests:
CEN 600: Heterogeneous catalysis
CEN 600: Biofuels
CEN 587: Chemical Reaction Engineering
Select Publications:
Wettstein, S.G., Bond, J.Q., Martin Alonso, D., Pham, H.N., Datye, A.K., Dumesic, J.A., “RuSn bimetallic catalysts for selective hydrogenation of levulinic acid to γ-valerolactone.” Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2012, 117–118. 321 – 329.
Martin Alonso, D., Wettstein, S.G., Bond. J.Q., Root, T.W., and Dumesic, J.A. “Production of Biofuels from Cellulose and Corn Stover using Alkylphenol Solvents,” ChemSusChem, 2011, 4, 8, 1078–1081.
Bond, J.Q., Wang, D., Martin Alonso, D., and Dumesic, J.A. “Interconversion Between g-valerolactone and Pentenoic Acid Combined with Decarboxylation to Form Butene Over Silica/Alumina.” Journal of Catalysis, 281, 2, 25, 2011, 290-299.
Martin Alonso, D., Bond, J.Q., Wang, D., and Dumesic, J.A., “Activation of Amberlyst-70 for Alkene Oligomerization in Hydrophobic Media.” Topics in Catalysis, 2011, 54, 5-7, 447 -457.
Bond, J.Q., Martin Alonso, D., West, R.M., Dumesic, J.A. “g-Valerolactone Ring-Opening and Decarboxylation over SiO2/Al¬2O3 in the Presence of Water.”Langmuir, 2010, 26, 21, 16291 – 16298.
Martin Alonso, D., Bond, J.Q., Dumesic, J.A. “Conversion of Biomass to Biofuels.”Green Chemistry, 2010, 12, 1493-1513.
Bond, J.Q., Martin Alonso, D., Wang, D., West, R.M., Dumesic, J.A. “Integrated Catalytic Conversion of g-Valerolactone to Liquid Alkenes for Transportation Fuels.” Science, 2010, 327, 5969, 1110-1114.
The Syracuse Center of Excellence (CoE) is a collaborative organization that accelerates the development of innovations for a sustainable future. As New York State’s Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, we engage more than 200 private companies, organizations, and academic institutions to create new products and services in indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy, and water resource management.
With a staff based at its headquarters in downtown Syracuse, the CoE has three specialized teams that focus on research, industry collaboration, and sustainable community solutions. In research, we are at the forefront of groundbreaking new clean technologies—leveraging world-class R&D facilities from the iconic, high-performance, LEED™ Platinum “living laboratory” that is the CoE headquarters to the state-of-the-art labs of our academic and industry partners. We drive and accelerate innovative research to the marketplace through strategic industry collaborations regionally, nationally, and internationally. We create sustainable community solutions by implementing new technologies and bringing the latest knowledge on environmental sustainability to the public through educational and training programs.
At our Syracuse site, we provide laboratory and office space for research and business collaborations involving new environmental and energy systems products and services. Research areas include systems that monitor and control comfortable air temperature, air quality, lighting, sound and water quality in built and urban environments, and innovative energy systems, including clean technologies and renewable fuel sources.
The work of the CoE and its members impacts the essentials of our human existence in harmony with nature. We improve the energy that powers our lives, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the buildings in which we live, work, learn, and play.
CASE is New York State’s premier applied research center for interdisciplinary expertise in complex information-intensive systems, including monitoring and control, predictive analysis, intelligence, security, and assurance. CASE has been a designated New York State Center of Advanced Technology (CAT) since 1984, bringing together traditional academic strengths in research and education to promote strong university-industry interaction and generate positive economic impact across New York State and beyond.
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University
MS, Bioengineering, Clemson University
BSE, Biomedical Engineering, Duke University
Lab/Center Affiliation(s):
BioInspired Institute
Areas of Expertise:
Faculty development in teaching and learning
Engineering education and active learning pedagogies
Student success initiatives
Orthopedic Biomaterials
Biomaterials for Nerve Regeneration
My research originally focused on translational polymeric biomaterials for orthopedics and nerve regeneration applications. We worked on the design, synthesis, characterization, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of acrylic bone cements, nanoparticle drug delivery systems to treat spinal cord injury, and micropatterned and mechanically-active hydrogels. We also developed new techniques for studying spinal cord injury in vivo and in vitro. Since 2012, my research program has gradually transitioned to a focus on engineering education, faculty development, and student success. I have studied the impact of faculty-student interactions and peer interactions on student persistence towards a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Computer Science. Specifically, I investigate the link between faculty development in innovative pedagogy and advising practices, with implementation in Engineering and Computer Science courses and academic advising, and subsequent effects on student attitudes towards persistence and retention rates. I have also developed several cohort-based scholarship programs to support student success.
Honors and Awards:
Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence 2022
Faculty Excellence Award, College of Engineering and Computer Science 2013
Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering (ELATE) Fellow 2013-2014
Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Translational Research Award, Phases I & II 2007-11
Judith Greenberg Seinfeld Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Syracuse University 2006-07
Teaching Recognition Award, Syracuse University 2004
James D. Watson Investigator Award, New York State Office of Science, Technology, and Academic Research (NYSTAR) 2003
Select Publications:
A.Y. Au, J.M. Hasenwinkel, and C.G. Frondoza, “Hepatocytes cultured on collagen modified micropatterned agarose for evaluating inflammatory and oxidative stress responses,” Applied In Vitro Toxicity, 7(1): 4-13, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1089/aivt.2020.0015
P. Kunwar, A. Jannini, Z. Xiong, M.J. Ransbottom, J.S. Perkins, J.H. Henderson, J.M. Hasenwinkel, and P. Soman, “High-resolution 3D printing of stretchable hydrogel strutures using optical projection lithography,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 12(1):1640-1649, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b19431
S. Fillioe, K. Bishop, A. Jannini, J. Kim, R. McDonough, S. Ortiz, J. Goodisman, J.M. Hasenwinkel, C. Peterson, and J. Chaiken, “In vivo, noncontact, real-time, PF[O]H imaging of the immediate local physiological response to spinal cord injury in a rat model,” Journal of Biomedical Optics, 25(3), 2019. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.25.3.032007
M.J. Wiegand, K. Faraci, B.E. Reed, and J.M. Hasenwinkel, “Enhancing mechanical properties of an injectable two-solution acrylic bone cement using a difunctional crosslinker,” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Part B: Applied Biomaterials, 107B:783-790, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.34172
Ran Zhu is the co-recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Chemical Engineering.
Hometown: Zhengzhou, Henan, China
CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Seminars and meetings with future faculty.
Favorite thing about CEN: Best faculty and staff that I’ve ever met.
Favorite thing about SU: Wonderful summer and the amazing big lake effect. (I really enjoyed the snow season!)
Plan after graduation: Postdoctoral fellow at MIT, looking for a position in academia or research-related position in the chemical engineering industry in China.
Seth Reed ’21 is the recipient of the 2021 Engineering and Computer Science Alumni Association Service Award. This award recognizes outstanding service on behalf of the college community
Hometown: Rexford, NY
CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Researcher in Prof. Hosein’s lab, Engineering Ambassadors (current Program Coordinator), ECS Dean’s Advisory Panel, Men’s Club Volleyball Team (current Vice President), Orientation Leaders, Keys Player at Abundant Life Christian Center
Favorite thing about CEN: My favorite thing about CEN is the research experiences I had in the energy storage field within Dr. Hosein’s lab.
Favorite thing about SU: My favorite thing about Syracuse University is that I have been able to explore many opportunities outside of my academics. From being a setter on the club volleyball team to welcoming first-year students at the beginning of each semester, I grew as a person in varying aspects of my life during my last four years here.
Plan after graduation: I will pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering at the Texas Materials Institute at UT-Austin.
Nandhini Rajagopal is the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Bioengineering and received national recognition for a breakthrough molecular computational tool.
Hometown: Mumbai, India
BEN/ECS/other activities:
WiSE associate(2017-2019)
Contributed in training undergraduates in ECS scholar program in summer 2018
Student mentor for REU at Nangia lab in 2018.
Favorite thing about BEN: Highly encouraging, supportive and easy-to-approach BEN faculty and staff!
Favorite thing about SU: In my view SU is the perfect place for research, with calm surroundings and friendly people, that nurture creativity and encourage excellence in research.
Plan after graduation: After graduation I will start a postdoctoral fellowship at Boehringer Ingelheim pharmaceuticals for antibody research.
Bailey Felix ’21 is the winner of the 2021 Oren Nagasako Award. This award is given annually to a Bioengineering senior who demonstrates outstanding dedication and hard work acting as a mentor or preceptor to fellow students.
Hometown: Rochester, NY
BEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Undergraduate research in the Henderson Lab, undergraduate design with Dr. Yung, peer leaders, SOURCE Student Research Mentor and Excelerators.
Favorite thing about BEN: Definitely the professors. They all genuinely care about student success and they have been the most incredible support system during my time here.
Favorite thing about SU: The culture at SU is amazing. Between the supportive academic environment and the passion for sports and school pride, I couldn’t imagine a better place to have spent the last 4 years.
Plan after graduation: I will be starting a Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Maryland this fall.
Plansky Hoang is the co-recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Chemical Engineering.
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: WiSE, BMES
Favorite thing about CEN: are the faculty, staff and students I’ve been able to work with throughout my graduate career. Everyone I’ve met has been very supportive of my goals and pushed me to challenge myself in this career path
Favorite thing about SU: My favorite thing about SU is that it’s a great school that’s close to home
Plan after graduation: My plan after graduation is to work on my postdoc here at SU, and work towards a teaching faculty position
Natalie Petryk ’21 is the recipient of the 2021 Karen M. Hiiemae Outstanding Achievement Award in Bioengineering.
Hometown: Berkeley Heights, NJ
BEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Alpha Omega Epsilon, Academic Excellence Workshop Facilitator, Engineering World Health, Excelerators, Relay for Life
Favorite thing about BEN: The many opportunities to get involved in research and take on independent projects outside of the classroom
Favorite thing about SU: All the friends and memories I’ve made while here
Plan after graduation: I will be here at SU one more year to complete my master’s thesis in Dr. Monroe’s Biomaterials Lab
This award was established in memory of Dr. Karen M. Hiiemae, beloved professor, mentor, and pioneer in science and research, for a senior who has combined outstanding academic achievement in bioengineering with the strength and spirit Dr. Hiiemae exhibited throughout her life.
Bearett Tarris ’21 is the 2021 recipient of the Bioengineering Founders Award.
Hometown: Sewickley, Pennsylvania
BEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Engineering World Health, Biomedical Engineering Society, Researcher in Dr. Ma’s Lab in SBI, Two-time SOURCE recipient (summer 2020 with Dr. Ma studying the effect of geometry on the self-assembly of tissue grown from mesenchymal stem cells and academic year 2020-2021 prototyping OttoRotate, an inclusive design for handicap vehicles with my capstone team) student-athlete (track and field), Alpha Phi Omega (service fraternity).
Favorite thing about BEN: I love how broad bioengineering is and how the curriculum at Syracuse caters to that. During my undergraduate career, I was able to learn about everything under the bioengineering umbrella from circuitry to human physiology to mechanical design.
Favorite thing about SU: I love how much people love it here. The excitement and passion that I saw in the students during my campus tour is what lead me to choose Syracuse.
Plan after graduation: I will be continuing my education at Syracuse University pursuing my Master’s in Bioengineering.
This award is in honor of Drs. Joseph Zwislocki and Earl Kletsky, initiators and nurturers of the bioengineering program, and is given to a senior who has demonstrated outstanding and wide-ranging skills
Congratulations to Connor Wescott ’21! He is the 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award in Chemical Engineering
Hometown: Stillwater, NY
CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Member of AIChE, ChemE Car Co-director, Physics Coach, Intramural Broomball
Favorite thing about CEN: The close-knit community we have in the department and how personable all of the staff has been throughout my four years here.
Favorite thing about SU: As an avid sports fan I loved being able to attend so many football and basketball games and be a part of the strong school spirit SU has. Go orange!
Plan after graduation: To enter the industry and enjoy a lifelong career of working and learning as a chemical engineer.
This award is endowed by I.A. Hotze, BEE ’43, for the senior with the most distinguished academic record
