Michigan Tech has given its 2014 Bhakta Rath Research Award to two scientists who have developed a fast, effective and inexpensive way to purify synthetic DNA and peptide molecules.
Their discovery could ultimately be used to heal. Peptides have the potential to fight some of the most intractable diseases, and DNA is a critical element of gene therapy.
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Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, senior content specialist
| The Department of Biomedical Engineering announces the recipients of the 2014 Kenneth L. Stevenson Research Fellows. Two undergraduate and two graduate students are selected annually to receive these competitive research fellowships. The Stevenson Fellows program provides an opportunity for upper-level undergraduate and early-stage graduate students to spend the summer in a total immersion research experience in a biomedical engineering research laboratory. The annual competition is open to students from all academic departments who wish to explore biomedical engineering research and provides a generous research stipend. |
Three graduate students have received Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Christa Meingast in environmental engineering and Gregory Hardy and David Diesenroth in mechanical engineering won the competitive fellowships. Benjamin Winter in civil engineering received an honorable mention.
“NSF Graduate Research Fellowships are one of the oldest, most prestigious and competitive programs nationally,” said Jodi Lehman, assistant director for research development at Michigan Tech. “It is the fellowship program that other federal programs such as the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy use as a benchmark,” she noted.
“The Graduate School is happy to see our students honored for their scholarship and achievements in and out of the classroom,” said Debra Charlesworth, assistant dean of the Graduate School and coordinator of the NSF Graduate Research Fellows program at Michigan Tech. “These prestigious awards recognize not only our students, but the faculty and staff who have provided opportunities and mentoring for them to reach their potential. They join an outstanding group of Michigan Tech NSF scholars who are conducting research around the world.”
Charlesworth herself is a former NSF Graduate Research Fellow.
“The recent awards and honorable mention demonstrate the quality of a Michigan Tech education at all levels and disciplines,” said Craig Friedrich, director of graduate studies for the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics and Richard and Bonnie Robbins Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “Our students are on par with the top research institutions in the US, and the support provided by Jodi Lehman helping students prepare fellowship applications continues to grow our success and recognition with the National Science Foundation and other agencies.”
Published in Tech Today by Jenn Donovan, director of news and media relations
Steven Sarich, MS student in social sciences, was selected as a recipient of the Robert and Mary Buttle Scholarship which will provide $4,000 toward tuition and other expenses. This is one among several funding opportunities provided by the Southwest Section of the American Ceramic Society which focuses on material science research of historic and modern ceramics.
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David Deisenroth, a graduate student pursuing an MS in Mechanical Engineering, has received an National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship to travel to Korea this summer to conduct research.
Deisenroth will conduct an in-depth study on the collision of a falling drop of water and a resting drop of water. He will film the drops at high speeds and observe their characteristics. The results can be used to further the understanding of thermal management systems, aerosols and fuel injection.
An EAPSI award provides science, engineering and education research experiences in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, or Taiwan; an introduction to the science, science policy and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture, and language. EAPSI awards help students initiate professional relationships to enable future collaboration with foreign counterparts.
Deisenroth’s award includes a stipend of $5,000 and travel expenses. His advisor is Jeff Allen, the John and Joan Calder Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.
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Ran Duan, a PhD candidate in engineering physics, has been named a finalist in the Student Paper Competition of the 2014 International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation, cosponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Antennas and Propagation Society and the Union of Radio Science.
As a finalist, Duan has been been invited to present a poster on his paper titled “Multiband Unidirectional Cloaking Based on Geometric Optics” at the symposium in Memphis, July 6-11. He will also receive a $1,250 award to help him attend the symposium.
Duan won Michigan Tech’s Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award for the fall 2013 semester.
Duan’s research is on an invisibility cloak being developed by Associate Professor Elena Semouchkina (ECE/Physics). An invisibility cloak is a device that allows electromagnetic waves such as microwaves or light to bypass objects, essentially making them invisible.
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On Saturday, March 29 the Upper Peninsula Local Section (UPLS) of the American Chemical Society hosted a research symposium at Northern Michigan University for undergraduate and graduate students across the UP. In total, 33 students presented research from Lake Superior State University, Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech, and over 70 people attended the event.
Michigan Tech undergraduate student Daniel Beegle tied for the second place poster award for the Undergraduate Division and Michigan. Tech graduate students Suntara Fueangfung, Ashok Khanal and Melanie Talaga tied for first place in the Graduate Division.
Over $400 in awards were distributed to the best posters at the event, which was sponsored by ACS National, the Upper Peninsula ACS Local Section and Northern Michigan University. UPLS Chair Robert Handler (ChE/SFI) commented, “We were very pleased with the enthusiastic response of students from around the UP, and the UPLS is looking forward to hosting this event next year!”
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| The Ecosystem Science Center and the Biotechnology Research Center announce award recipients of the Tenth Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum held March 19.
Two Grand Prize Awards and six Merit Awards were presented to the graduate students. They were selected from among the sixty posters and abstracts submitted by graduate students conducting research related to ecology, the environment and biotechnology at Michigan Tech. |
| Michigan Tech faculty, staff members and students received awards tallying $71,175 in funding through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) sponsored by the NASA. |
Research Assistant Professor Zhiwei Peng (MSE) has received a 2014 TMS Young Leader Professional Development Award from the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. The award is supported by the TMS Foundation.
Peng, who recently completed a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan Tech, was honored with the 2013 Bhakta Rath Award for his exceptional research on the use of microwaves to make steel. “I am truly grateful for the education at Michigan Tech which laid a solid foundation for my career,” said Peng. “I am also deeply indebted to my advisor, Jiann-Yang Hwang, for his excellent and invaluable guidance during my PhD studies.”
