A low-cost medication injection device company founded by a team consisting of two BMEs and one Krannert student took the top prize in the Gold Division of Purdue's Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition.

Akhilesh Gaharwar, Weldon graduate student with Professor Schmidt, has received the College of Engineering 2010 Chorafas Foundation award. Gaharwar was awarded for his submission, “Design and Development of Polymer Bio-nanocomposites for Repair of Orthopedic Tissues”. The award includes a cash prize, historically intended to aid in advanced research opportunities, including travel expenses to visit Nobel Laureate’s labs around the world and travel to national conferences to present papers.

Todd Rickett, MD/PhD candidate studying under Riyi Shi, was awarded first place for engineering science in 2011 Sigma Xi Graduate Student Poster competition for his work, "Peripheral nerve anastomosis with a photo-crosslinkable chitosan hydrogel". Rickett also received the same recognition in 2009 for his work, Rapid axonal reconnection with polyethylene glycol stabilized with photo-crosslinkable chitosan hydrogel. Please join us in congratulating Todd for his continued excellence.

Science on Tap Lafayette is a free monthly forum featuring some of Lafayette and Purdue University’s best and brightest minds, who discuss their work and how it impacts lives across the globe. Occurring on the second floor of the Lafayette Brewing Company in downtown Lafayette, their event provides Purdue researchers and affiliates an opportunity to teach and inform within a more comfortable and informal setting. Kate Stuart and John Paderi, organizers of the series, emphasize the importance of sharing the collective efforts of Purdue University so that they do not go unnoticed within the local community. The next talk is Feb 17th, 6pm.

Congratulations to Professor Ozan Akkus, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, for his successful proposal for a Trask Innovation Fund, or TIF, grant from Purdue Research Foundation. Professor Akkus’ entry, entitled “A Novel Actuation Device for Expedited Closure of Wounds”, identified as very promising for translation to market.

David Jaroch, a graduate student working with Professor Jenna Rickus, has been selected to receive a 2011 Joe Bourland Travel Award.

Professor Freeman shares a bit about her career choice as a veterinarian surgeon working in the realm of biomedical engineering and how she is making a difference in - and out - of the classroom.

Sandy May, Graduate Program Secretary at the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, was recognized in December for her outstanding dedication to Biomedical Engineering students and colleagues. Please join us in congratulating Ms. May on her recognition.

A two-decade, Purdue-Notre Dame research collaboration that resulted in the development of a model based iterative reconstruction algorithm for CT was unveiled at a recent Radiological Society of North America annual meeting.