Synthetic Biology Could Speed Flu Vaccine Production
Technology Review
James Collins, College of Engineering
Synthetic biology is breathing new life into the old-fashioned world of vaccine production, raising hopes that manufacturers could release vaccines much more quickly when outbreaks occur…
Expert quote:
“There are only a handful of groups in the space, and it’s very hard to do that engineering.”
MIT summit to explore new approach to diseases
Boston Globe (subscription required)
James Collins, College of Engineering
More than 300 scientists will gather this weekend at MIT for the first international workshop devoted exclusively to exploring this simple idea:…
Expert quote:
“Most of us who entered the field or launched the field were amateurs at best at molecular biology.”
BU Receives $18.8 Million Educational Software Gift from PTC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2013
CONTACT: Kira Jastive, 617-358-1240 or kjastive@bu.edu
(Boston) – Boston University today announced it has received an $18.8 Million gift of product design and lifecycle management software from PTC®, a world leader in providing technology solutions for manufacturing companies to transform the way products are created and serviced. The gift will enable the BU College of Engineering to implement a unique transformation of its curriculum that will empower all engineering students to graduate with a keen understanding of socially responsible product and process innovation. The software will be utilized in BU’s new Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC), a 20,000 sq. ft. teaching studio equipped with cutting edge design and manufacturing technology, set to open later this fall.
PTC’s software gift will provide a foundational platform upon which, through EPIC, the College will teach its students to develop new products, from concept and design through manufacturing and delivery. PTC Creo® computer-aided design software will be embedded into the College’s new and expanded design curriculum. PTC Windchill® product lifecycle management software will integrate real-world processes, data, and business systems into the classroom, further enriching the experience.
“PTC’s generous gift is an important step in implementing our long-term vision. While other schools have efforts to prepare engineering students for advanced manufacturing, our program is unique in how it will transform the entire engineering curriculum enabled by modern technology and software infrastructure, and through a partnership with regional industries,” said Kenneth Lutchen, Dean of the College of Engineering. “The EPIC facility is meant to expose students to how you go from an idea to a manufacturing-ready and deployable product. We want to create engineers that are excited about innovation. PTC is a leader in how product design and development insures leadership in product innovation. PTC recognizes that, through EPIC, PTC can support a realistic design environment that prepares tomorrow’s engineers for advanced product design and management. This gift will help immensely.”
In addition, PTC will join the EPIC Industrial Advisory Board along with Procter & Gamble and up to six other partners. These partners will help guide the activities of the center and actively participate in the new curriculum.
“I always felt that my engineering education lacked that real-world perspective, that real-world exposure to the challenges, processes, and complexities of collaboration and the sophistication of tools,” said Michael Campbell, executive vice president of PTC’s CAD segment who will serve on EPIC’s advisory board. “Now we have a chance to share all of that with students.”
Funded through a partnership among Boston University, its alumni and regional industry, EPIC will include a computer-aided design studio, demonstration areas, fabrication facilities, and materials testing and measurement laboratories. Equipment will include state-of-the-art machine tools, 3D printers, and industrial robots.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 33,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 16 schools and colleges, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.
PTC, Creo and Windchill are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
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Small firms which want to profit from doing good
BBC
Muhammad Zaman, College of Engineering
Dr Bill Rodriguez has three big, audacious goals…
Expert quote:
“It requires one to be fairly creative in coming up with a sound business model.”
Big Data Researchers Turn to Google to Beat the Markets
Business Week
H. Eugene Stanley, College of Engineering
Time to fire your portfolio manager?…
A sweet switch for an ageing heart
Chemistry World
Katherine Yanhang Zhang, College of Engineering
Studies revealing how the protein elastin – found in heart tissue and blood vessels – responds electrically to glucose could offer new clues to problems that arise as we get older, including loss of elasticity in major blood vessels and arteriosclerosis…
No molecule left unchecked
Scienceline
David Castanon, College of Engineering
The undercover security officer, dressed in “civvies” – civilian clothing – dropped his bag onto the conveyor belt…
Expert quote:
“We don’t think simple tweaking of the existing technologies will suffice.”
The Mathematics of Averting the Next Big Network Failure
Wired
H. Eugene Stanley, College of Engineering
Irena Vodenska, Metropolitan College
Gene Stanley never walks down stairs without holding the handrail…
Expert quotes:
Stanley:
“Everything depends on everything else.”
Vodenska:
“We consider this model as potentially useful for systemic risk stress testing for financial systems.”
Battleground develops over antibiotic killing mechanism
Chemistry World
James Collins, College of Engineering
The esoteric yet deadly serious world of antibiotic chemistry looks set for something of a showdown…
Expert quote:
“We have serious methodological concerns about these studies, which we are addressing in a new paper that we plan to submit in the coming weeks, and we have extensive new data to include that further support our case. We are now working to utilise this mechanism to develop effective means to enhance our existing antibiotic arsenal and treat resistant bacterial infections.”
Synthetic Biology Comes Down to Earth
The Chronicle Review (subscription required)
James Collins, College of Engineering
Let’s make one thing clear: Jim Collins won’t grow you a house any time soon…
Expert quote:
“I think the field’s made nice progress. It’s probably not gone as fast as many thought it would. But I’m comfortable with the pace we’ve made. It’s still a small field. We’re at the very early stages. Twelve years is not a long time.”
