When Vivian Eagle was 15 she received a diagnosis that changed her path overnight: osteosarcoma in her left leg. Treatment meant nine months of high-dose chemotherapy and a limb-salvage surgery that preserved her leg but removed running and jumping from her future.

Young L. Kim has been elected to the Optica 2026 Fellow Class, a prestigious global honor recognizing exceptional contributions to optics and photonics. He is one of 121 new Fellows selected from 23 countries for their distinguished achievements in research, education, engineering, business and service to the optics community.

For more than a decade, Sandra (Sandy) May, Senior Administrative Assistant in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, has been a steady source of guidance, compassion, and problem-solving for students, faculty, and staff. This year, her exceptional dedication has earned her recognition as a finalist for the College of Engineering Customer Service Award—an honor that reflects the extraordinary impact she has made across Purdue Engineering.

The human brain houses some 80 billion neurons and a trillion supporting cells, weaving together nanoscale synapses and global circuits that orchestrate thought, memory and adaptability. Yet what sustains this vast network is not only its wiring but also its metabolism: every act of remembering, attending or deciding is powered by an intricate balance of energy. Unlocking how neuronal computations flex under shifting metabolic conditions could illuminate the hidden bioenergetic demands of cognition, bridging the microscopic mechanisms of circuits with the higher-order intelligence they enable.

Purdue Biomedical Engineering researchers have developed a rapid and highly tunable method to synthesize gelatin-norbornene (GelNB)—a widely used biomaterial for 3D cell culture and bioprinting. The new approach, reported by Jonathan Bryan and Professor Chien-Chi Lin, uses microwave-assisted aqueous synthesis to drastically shorten reaction time and improve control over a key property known as the degree of norbornene conjugation.

Purdue BME's Deniz Eksioglu earned the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for research that improves the durability of neural devices. His work on biocompatible coatings and electrode structures could transform treatment for neurological disorders.

Purdue University has announced this year’s recipients of the prestigious Seed for Success Acorn Awards—and six faculty members from the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering are among the honorees.

Young Kim’s research at the Weldon School is driving global efforts to improve maternal health. His technology for early identification of preeclampsia risk will be evaluated in an international study, aiming to transform prenatal care worldwide.

A Purdue Biomedical Engineering team has unveiled a major advance in hydrogel design—creating a new class of photodegradable biomaterials that can be rapidly synthesized and precisely controlled with light. The work, led by PhD student Nathan Dimmitt, graduate researcher Jonathan Bryan and Professor Chien-Chi Lin, introduces a faster, cleaner way to produce norbornene-functionalized hydrogels and opens the door to new capabilities in tissue engineering, drug delivery and biofabrication.

A multidisciplinary Purdue University team will receive $8.8 million over three years from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for its Microsystem Induced Catalysis (MICA) program.