Professor Roscoe Giles

Roscoe Giles, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and deputy director of Boston University's Center for Computational Science, was the general chair of the 2002 SuperComputing conference, held in November, which drew more than 7,000 attendees from the high-performance computing and computational science communities.

Giles is cochair of Education, Outreach, and Training Partnership for Advanced Computing Infrastructure (EOT-PACI), a partnership formed in 1998 with a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop human resources across a broad range of science disciplines to understand and solve problems. Giles says his appointment is an honor that recognizes his own record of organizing scientists in various communities.

"You need a large and diverse collection of people to know and deeply understand technology and science in order to maintain the expansion of these scientific and technological fields," he says. "Education in computational science therefore should be a high priority for all of us in these fields." The conference emphasized the opportunity to use technology to transform an ever-increasing flow of data into knowledge affecting every aspect of society.

The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society has given its 2003 Extraction and Processing Technology Award to Uday Pal, a professor of manufacturing engineering. The annual award was established in 1955 to recognize a paper that represents notable contributions to the technology of the extraction and processing of nonferrous metals. Pal is being recognized for a paper he coauthored.

Michael Ruane, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, was on the panel of judges for the 2002 Design News Best Products of the Year contest. Vendors were asked by Design News to submit their best products introduced from September 2001 to September 2002, and the magazine's technical editors then narrowed down the entries by category and submitted them to an independent panel of judges.

The winners represent the best in engineering design and feature a common thread of efficiency that aims to make jobs easier, safer, and more productive.

Venkatesh Saligrama, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The award, which is conferred annually at the White House, is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent careers.

Also an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Enrico Bellotti was selected as an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator, a program that supports the best and brightest young American academic researchers for the exceptional promise they show for outstanding research and teaching careers.

Herbert Voigt, a professor of biomedical engineering, was reelected president of biomedical engineering's national honor society, Alpha Eta Mu Beta. He also is a co-recipient of the Biomedical Engineering Society's 2002 Presidential Award, which recognizes extraordinary leadership performance within the society.

Biomedical Engineering Professor Herbert Voigt congratulates his son, Justin, a senior in biomedical engineering as he accepts "The Order of the Engineer."

More than 150 engineering undergraduates at the Boston University College of Engineering were recently inducted into the Order of the Engineer.

Founded in 1970, the Order "was initiated in the United States to foster a spirit of pride and responsibility in the engineering profession, to bridge the gap between training and experience, and to present to the public a visible symbol identifying the engineer." Those who accept the obligation share the principle that public service is the primary purpose of engineering.

Seniors in engineering at Boston University formally accepted the Obligation of an Engineer during a ceremony in February. As a part of the induction ceremony, each student pledged that as an engineer, he or she would promise to "practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and dignity of the profession.... When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good."

As a reminder of this oath, each student accepting the obligation received a stainless-steel ring to be worn on the fifth finger of his or her working hand.

The Boston University Micro and Nano Biosystems Research Facility, operated by the College of Engineering's Department of Biomedical Engineering, formally opened its doors on November 21, 2002. The dedication ceremony highlighted the completion of the first phase of Boston University's Whitaker Leadership Award.

Jeffery J. Henderson, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; John Silber, Chancellor of Boston University; and David K. Campbell, Dean of the College of Engineering.

The Whitaker Leadership Program in Biomedical Engineering is Boston University's vision for a world-class nucleus of advanced bioengineering education and research. Boston University is one of only three institutions to have ever received a Whitaker Leadership Award.

This $14M award, combined with an $18M commitment from BU, is instrumental for accelerating and enhancing the University's vision to integrate fundamental principles of engineering and biological sciences with powerful methods of computation to 1) model biological systems, from molecules to tissues and organs; 2) reveal the essence of biological function and origins of disease, from the level of the human genome and molecular structure to the whole human system; and 3) combine lessons learned from the design of natural systems with materials science to synthesize new biomaterials and biosensors, integrating biostructures and functional molecules with micro-to-nano devices.

The Micro and Nano Biosystems Laboratories consist of a Class 1000 Clean Room, a Class 100 Clean Room, the Desai Laboratory, and the Tien Laboratory. The laboratory facility will be used to train a new generation of biomedical engineers who are well versed in fundamental science and cutting-edge engineering technologies at the microscopic level and beyond. Boston University will utilize a multidisciplinary approach to train students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and develop the first comprehensive curriculum in the country that merges biological principles with micro-nanofabrication (from cells to systems). This laboratory will provide an environment that encourages students at all levels to engage in hands-on research and discovery.

Facility Faculty Members

Evan Evans, Ph.D.—Dr. Evans, professor, biomedical engineering, is the director of the Cellular and Subcellular Bioengineering Laboratories for the Whitaker Leadership Award. He received his Ph.D. in Engineering Science from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Evans's research is focused on nano-microscale biomechanics, ultrasensitive force probes and extreme resolution in optical techniques, material properties of cellular structure, and the role of structural forces in cell biochemistry.

Tejal Desai, Ph.D.—Dr. Desai, associate professor, joined BU from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. Joint Degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, San Francisco, in bioengineering. Dr. Desai specializes in micro- and nanolithography of polymeric materials for tissue engineering applications and microfluidics; fabrication of nanopores for controlled drug delivery and in vivo biosensor membranes. Dr. Desai is a world-recognized expert in the area of bioMEMS, microfabricated biomaterials, and microscale tissue engineering. With these new facilities, she will continue her research to develop implantable cellular delivery systems for drug delivery and treatment of diabetes, Parkinson's, and other cell-based diseases; develop 3-D assemblies of multiple cell types for cardiac and vascular tissue engineering; and develop and characterize chemical modification strategies to create nonfouling surfaces for micro- nanobiosystems and ligand-targeted interfaces for drug delivery.

Joe Tien, Ph.D.—Dr. Tien joined BU as an assistant professor. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Tien's research is centered on submicron platforms to control the microenvironment of cells. Dr. Tien is establishing a research program at the interface of biology and microfabrication technologies to enable a seamless link between living and nonliving systems. His aim is to develop "bioelectronic" systems, in which cells and microstructures work in concert to control cellular behavior. This goal stems from his research at Johns Hopkins University and has evolved from the use of microprinting. With the new facilities, he will develop methods to create microfabricated 3-D vascular networks and microvascular beds.