About 250 people packed the Herman and Heddy Kurz Purdue Technology Center for the recent Purdue Technology Showcase that featured dozens of pioneering innovations. The technology ranged from medical devices including a hands-free crutch design and an advanced wheelchair that converts to a walker, to analytical tools including an application that can interpret gang graffiti for law enforcement officials.

Brad Duerstock, an associate professor of engineering practice, and colleagues have developed a device that enables people with visual impairments to interpret images from a microscope in real-time. The touch-feedback device, featured in New Scientist magazine, is a promising assistive technology for visually impaired students and scientists in STEM careers.

Chi Hwan Lee, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, has received a $110,000 grant, renewable on an annual basis, from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The grant supports his work to develop flexible probes for use in neural sensing and interfacing on the brain. The probes consist of vertically ordered semiconducting silicon arrays that can transmit electrical signals with high signal-to-noise ratio.

Young Kim, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, has received a $110,000 grant, renewable on an annual basis, from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The grant supports his work on silk-based fibers for fabrication of flexible and multifunctional nanomaterial fabrics for use as biosensing and therapeutic platforms.

The highly competitive Gates Cambridge Scholarship has named Purdue University senior Michael Drakopoulos one of its 2017-18 scholars. Fewer than 40 U.S. students from all disciplines will receive the award this year. It funds a postgraduate degree at the University of Cambridge and recognizes intellectually outstanding students who have a capacity for leadership and commitment to improving the lives of others. Drakopoulos is the second Purdue student to receive the award in two years.

Bionode LLC, a Purdue Weldon School-affiliated startup, is developing a non-invasive way to treat glaucoma and prevent blindness using contact lenses and glasses. Pedro Irazoqui, co-founder of Bionode and associate head and professor of biomedical engineering, explains how it works in this Inside Indiana Business interview.

A Purdue Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering-affiliated startup, GeniPhys, has attained “Second-Tier Gold Award” status from the Elevate Purdue Foundry Fund and will receive $80,000 in funding to advance its efforts.

Shelley Claridge, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry at Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, has been named a 2016 DuPont Young Professor. The prestigious award recognizes promising research that advances basic science knowledge to address global challenges in food, energy and protection.

T.J. Puls, a PhD student in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, is the recipient of a 2017 International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER) Graduate Fellowship for Alternatives to the Use of Animals in Science.

Hyowon Lee, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has received grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Samsung to support his work on next generation implantable medical devices. Lee's research focuses on implantable microdevices for neurological application.