A dozen graduate students participated in the inaugural Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Thesis Competition, held on March 23. Orlando Hoilett was the overall winner. Divya Tankasala won second place and was the Crowd Favorite. A few days later, Hoilett also won the People’s Choice Award at Purdue’s Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Weldon School senior Bridget Perry has mastered one of the most challenging lifestyles college can demand: the dual role of student and athlete. Constantly moving from a mental workout to a physical one, Perry, a native of Mooresville, Indiana, has managed to excel in both pursuits.

Vivek Ganesh and Kelly Covert know the value of checking emails during the busiest time of the semester — finals week. And Evan Markley knows that no matter the class, all learning can be extremely useful in the real word of business. The three Purdue biomedical engineering students are examples of a new but growing trend by agencies like NASA and companies such as General Motors Corp. and Apple Inc. that are reaching out to Purdue for its undergraduate talent.

By the time students formally present their medical devices at the annual Weldon School Senior Design Exposition in December, they have become skilled in medical device design, understand the FDA requirements of device development, developed a product that is nearly translational, and solved the need of a partner that may be on the other side of the world. The key to their success lies in the unique model of the Weldon School’s capstone course, which begins long before students step foot in the senior design lab.

Purdue researchers are developing technology that could allow users to quickly determine the health of plants in the field and of fruits and vegetables in groceries through the translation of digital images on smartphones into virtual hyperspectral images.

Innovations in super-resolution microscopy are promising new capabilities: deeper imaging of tissue samples and live cells, higher resolution of single molecules and, eventually, animal-based studies. The technology allows researchers to resolve structural and molecular features far smaller than the wavelength of light, representing a powerful and versatile laboratory tool.

A drug developed during World War II as an antidote for a chemical warfare agent has been found to be effective at suppressing a neurotoxin that worsens the pain and severity of spinal cord injuries, suggesting a new tool to treat the injuries.