Ramachandran named 2019 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellow by DoD
Ramachandran received the Department of Defense’s most prestigious award for a single investigator and will explore an optical phenomena: the existence of light beams that, instead of streaming in a straight line, swirl downward like a spiral staircase.
Inside the Mind (and Heart) of the Societal Engineer
At its core, the Societal Engineer is someone who uses an engineering education to build a better world through teamwork and innovation. In the decade since Dean Kenneth R. Lutchen introduced this idea to the college, students have embraced and demonstrated the ideals of the Societal Engineer through their academic, extracurricular and professional careers.
Professor Christopher Chen Presents DeLisi Distinguished Lecture
Professor Christopher S. Chen (BME, MSE), recipient of the 2019 Charles DeLisi Award and Distinguished Lecture, presented “How Complex is Simple Enough? Engineering 3D Culture Models of Physiology and Disease” on April 1. The award recognizes faculty members with extraordinary records of well-cited scholarship and outstanding alumni who have invented and mentored transformative technologies that impact quality of life.
Strength in Numbers
Elaborate molecular networks inside living cells enable them to sense and process many signals from the environment to perform desired cellular functions. Synthetic biologists have been able to reconstruct and mimic simpler forms of this cellular signal processing. But now, a new toolset powered by self-assembling molecules and predictive modeling will allow researchers to construct the complex computation and signal processing found in eukaryotic organisms, including human cells.
A Step Forward for High-Power Fiber Optics
Professor Siddharth Ramachandran (ECE, MSE) and his lab have observed a new effect within fiber optics that opens up a stable and effective way to develop and use a fiber-optic cable to create a laser that can produce high-power light at desired colors.
Two Student Teams Advance to Cornell Cup Finals
Two undergraduate student teams have advanced to the final round of the Cornell Cup, a premier national competition for undergraduate engineering students. “Both teams are exceptional with highly dedicated and motivated students,” says Associate Professor of the Practice Alan Pisano, who advises the teams and teaches the senior design seminars in which both teams first developed their projects.
Ramachandran Elected SPIE Fellow
Professor Siddharth Ramachandran has been elected a Fellow of the SPIE for his work in structured and singular light beams, and their applications to quantum and atom optics, sensors, telecom and biophotonics; optical fibers and guided wave nonlinear optics; and photonic crystals.
Innovation through Bio-inspired Metamaterials
Professor Xin Zhang is known for her pioneering work in building metamaterials, artificially designed materials that have properties not found in nature. Now, Aobo Li, a doctoral student in Zhang’s lab, has flipped that idea around to study the properties and functions of a natural material to improve on metamaterial designs.
Ji-Xin Cheng Honored by the Optical Society of America
Professor Ji-Xin Cheng has been presented with the Ellis R. Lippincott Award from the Optical Society of America. Named after a pioneer in vibrational spectroscopy, the award recognizes those who continue to advance the field in innovative and creative ways.
Making the World a Lot Quieter
What sounds would you mute if you could? A pair of Boston University mechanical engineers are asking that question, with the ever-increasing din of drone propellers, airplane turbines, MRI machines, and urban noise pollution blaring in the mind’s ear.