Professor Ashim Datta and Vineet Rakesh, Ph.D., BE'09, have coauthored a book An Introduction to Modeling of Transport Processes: Applications to Biomedical Systems. "Organized around problem solving, this book gently introduces the reader to computational simulation of biomedical transport processes, bridging fundamental theory with real-world applications." [November 2010]





CALS Outstanding Alumni/Faculty/Staff Awards 2009.  Professor Larry Walker has received a 2009 Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award.  The award recognizes "significant contributions in teaching, research, extension or administration".  Awardees were honored at a reception and dinner November 6, 2009.  Congratulations, Larry!

Senator Gillibrand invites Profs. Baeumner and Luo to her high-tech/innovation showcase.  U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand invited Profs. Antje Baeumner and Dan Luo to a high-tech/innovation showcase she hosted at the nation's capitol Wednesday, October 28, 2009.  Senator Gillibrand spoke on the contributions of outstanding New York State scientists and entrepreneurs such as Baeumner and Luo as well as the contribution of many of the high-tech research institutions and companies in New York State.  The showcase demonstrated ways BEE, Cornell University and other NY high-tech institutions and companies can and are driving economic growth and advancing technologies in New York State. important national issues such as health care, energy and education are being addressed by New York State.  Congratulations to Antje and Dan.

Student inventions -- artificial tissue networks and a skull base sealer -- honored in competition. Mark Levatich, BE'09 has developed an invention for a skull base sealer to help surgeons repair holes in the base of the skull after surgery.  He has been awarded finalist status in the 2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition. [Chronicle Online, October 21, 2009]



Professor Dan Luo was invited to speak at the 10th Annual Nanobiotechnology Symposium held in G10 Biotech, Cornell University.  His talk was entitled "Memories of DNA Nanomaterials". [October 2009]




Going, going, gone.  The Quonset Huts have been demolished due to age.  The nearby Surge buildings, the 1912 "Farm Mechanics" buildings, had been condemned, and the decision was made to raze the entire NW corner at Campus and Judd Falls Road.  The Quonset Huts were built in 1948, and were used for classrooms and lab equipment storage. [October 2009]

A look at Riley Robb with fall colors, 2009. [Photo-Debbie Higgins]







And a snowy day in October, 2009 at the Cornell Plantations. [Photo-Ashim Datta]







BEE is happy to welcome Adjunct Associate Professor Mingming Wu. Her research interests are in the broad area of micro-scale biological and environmental engineering. Her lab currently focuses on microfluidics, cellular engineering, physical oncology and dynamic imaging. She comes to us from the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell. her research group is currently recruiting PhD students/postdocs on the subject of Microfluidics and Cancer Cell Migration. See more of what she does on her website. [September 2009]


Cornell Researchers examine sources of pollution. The Ithaca Times reports on a recent study by Professor Doug Haith, Sara Morey, BE-Bioenv'07, the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, and other collaborators that models the input of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds into Cayuga Lake from the Cayuga Lake Watershed.  Professor Haith and Professor Todd Walter were also contributors to "Phosphorus Inputs into Cayuga Lake", a 1/2 day conference sponsored by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network on October 24th.  See the Ithaca Journal article. [Sept-Oct 2009]

Biotech bacteria could help diabetics: Genetically engineered gut bacteria trigger insulin production in mice.  Professor John March presented his preliminary research at the American Chemical Society conference in Washington, D.C. "If [the epithelial cells and the healthy bacteria] are already signaling to one another, why not signal something we want?" asks March. [August 2009]

Environmental engineering degree program is accredited.  BEE and CEE's jointly administered environmental engineering degree program has been accredited by ABET, Inc.  The accreditation is retroactive to May 2008. [August 2009]



Portable lab could improve disaster response, personalized care.  Professor Antje Baeumner has been collaborating with Rheonix, Inc. "to develop a unique system called the Chemistry and Reagent Device (CARD^TM) that can automatically perform virtually any manual bench-top laboratory function in an area about one-half the size of a standard business card".





Professor Dan Luo has been invited to participate in the University of Illinois Distinguished Speaker Series. He will address the Nanotechnology Community of Scholars on December 10, 2009.

Professor Todd Walter has won a Fall 2009 Faculty Innovation in Teaching Program award for his project, "Putting Interdisciplinary Watershed Education on the Map". 

Four NYS small businesses awarded Cornell JumpStart projects for fall 2009.  Professor Antje Baeumner's project "Optimize composition of cellulose-based medical diagnostic strip" is in collaboration with Oratel Diagnostics, Hammondsport, NY.  The test strip is used to detect the presence of endometriosis in women.  See also CALS "Honors and Awards" writeup.

BEE Emeritus Professor J. Robert Cooke has produced a book and CD entitled "The Legacy of Dale R. Corson". See Links

BEE Emeritus Professor Bill Jewell was a consultant on an College of Architecture Seminar Project, "COMPONENT SYSTEMS: From Prefabrication to Operative Sustainability".  The seminar has received a Faculty Innovation in Teaching award which will give sponsorship for the Fall 2009 semester.  This work "is motivated by the belief that advances in technology and building systems can positively underpin a creative generative process of architectural design and consequently affect the quality of the built environment on multiple scales". Read More [Sept 2009]





Nokyoung Park and Ed Rice, members of Professor Dan Luo's MOLBEL lab, are pictured on the front page of the Sunday, July 26, 2009 Syracuse Post-Standard for an article on stimulus package money being used for research.  Post-Standard article.





Cornell University President David Skorton visited Bahir Dar University, Uganda, Africa to speak at the graduation of the first class of Cornell's Master of Professional Studies degree program.  The program was developed by Professors Tammo Steenhuis and Alice Pell, and concentrates on international agriculture and rural development, with a specialization in watershed management. Cornell Chronicle Story [July 2009]

BIOFUELS RESEARCH LAB OFFICIALLY OPENS
Cornell Chronicle Story
The ribbon cutting for the Riley Robb Hall Biofuels Research Lab was held on June 23, 2009.  Pictured is Kevin McCabe, Kevin McGlaughlin, Professor Larry Walker, Dean Susan Henry, Patrick Hooker (Commissioner of the NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets), and President David Skorton.

 

Erin King, BE'04, is pictured here on her clinical rotations at Weill Medical School, NYC.

  

Cornell Reunion 2009 was the weekend of June 4-7.  Professor Larry Walker gave a talk entitled "Managing Diversity and Complexity in the Evolving Biofuels Industry" as the guest speaker for the Liberty Hyde Bailey Lecture in the Call Alumni Auditorium. A large group of BEE alumni (one of the tour groups is pictured above) met in Riley Robb Hall for lunch and a tour of the Biofuels Research Lab (renovation 2008), the Soil and Water Lab (renovation 2008) and the Biological Engineering Labs (renovation 2005). We will make the tour an annual event, so be sure to let us know if you will be here for the next reunion weekend!





Julie Leviter, BE'09, received a 2009 Merrill Presidential Scholars Program Award.  She selected Professor Mike Walter as the Cornell faculty member who most significantly contributed to her college experience.  Here are Julie, Mike and President Skorton at the convocation dinner.



The May 3, 2009 on-line Nature Nanotechnology includes the article "Multifunctional nanoarchitectures from DNA-based ABC monomers" from Professor Dan Luo's Molecular Bioengineering Lab.  BEE colleagues JB Lee (PhD Candidate), Young Hoon Roh (PhD Candidate), Hisakage Funabashi (Research Associate), Wenlong Cheng (Research Associate) and Pichamon Kiatwuthinon (PhD Candidate) also contributed to the article.  See the additional write up in the Cornell Chronicle.




The May 3, 2009 on-line Nature Materials includes the article "Free-standing nanoparticle superlattice sheets controlled by DNA" from Professor Dan Luo's Molecular Bioengineering Lab.  BEE colleagues Wenlong Cheng (Research Associate), Michael Campolongo (PhD Candidate), and Shawn Tan (PhD Candidate) also contributed to the article.  See the additional write up in the Cornell Chronicle.

See the Spring 2009 edition of CALSNews for the following articles:
"The Complex World of Water" Discussing CALS water experts and their work, including Professor Todd Walter's work with saturated sites near the NYC watershed.
"End Note" Featuring Professor Larry Walker and Vice Provost Steve Kresovich, discussing the new Biofuels Research Laboratory.

From the Spring 2009 edition of the Cornell Engineering Magazine:
"Ramya Tadipatri, BE'10, helped Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Claudia Fischbach-Teschl investigate how the microenvironment of bone affects breast cancer cells that metastasize to it."
"The spread of cancer causes degradation to the bone, much like osteoporosis does", RT, BE10


The Riley-Robb Biofuels Research Lab was above the fold in the April 3, 2009 edition of the Cornell Chronicle.  The story, "New Cornell biofuel lab focuses on process of turning bales into barrels" includes a quote from Professor Larry Walker, "Other schools have bits and pieces of the process or specialize in pretreatment, chemical conversion or cell wall analysis. In this lab, we can do it all". Cornell Chronicle Story.

Congressman Eric Massa speaks with Professor Larry Walker and Dean Susan Henry during a tour of the Biofuels Research Lab. Cornell Chronicle Story. [April 2009]






Congratulations to Peter Asiello, a graduate student in the Baeumner Lab, for winning an Outstanding Teaching Assistant award for the 2008/09 academic year.  Peter TA'd for Professor Antje Baeumner's BEE 2600 class.



Congratulations to Stephen Linderman, BE'10, for being named a Goldwater Scholar for 2009. Cornell Chronicle Story. [April 2009]






BEE Adjunct Professor Richard Durst has been selected for inclusion in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) gallery of Distinguished Scientists, Engineers and Administrators.  See the Cornell Chronicle Story. Professor Durst has also been nominated by the US National Academy of Sciences to serve on the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's Chemical Research Applied to World Needs Committee, and is currently serving as president of the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry (SEAC). Cornell Chronicle Story [April 2009]

Congratulations to Tracy Cheung, BE'09, for her 1st place win in the IBE poster contest at the annual meeting in Santa Clara, CA. Tracy, Kamil Bojanczyk, BE'09, and Naweed Paya, BE'09, represented the Cornell Chapter of IBE at the meeting.  All three students received John W. Layer Memorial Fund awards for help with their travel expenses.

 

 

Alyssa Henning, BE'11, is part of the Phoenix Society engineering group that had a Phoenix ready to challenge the Dragon for Dragon Day 2009.  See the Cornell Chronicle story.

 

  

 
Professor Larry Walker was featured in the March 2009 BLACK ENTERPRISE article, "Masters of Innovation - from nanotech to advanced robotics, these digeratis are reshaping the world". article.

BEE would like to extend a huge Thank you to the 2009 IBE BioExpo planners: Henry Zeng, Ramya Tadipatri, Amy Munson, Robin Zhou, and Naweed Paya. And Congratulations to this year's poster winners:  First Place-Christine Kowalczewski and Caroline Yoo; Second Place-Tracy Cheung; Third Place-Jui Pandya. [March 2009]

 

 

 
The March 29, 2009 on-line Nature Materials  includes the article, "A cell-free protein-producing gel" from Professor Dan Luo's Molecular Bioengineering Lab. BEE colleagues Nokyoung Park (Research Associate), Soong Ho Um (PhD Candidate), Hisakage Funabashi (Research Associate) and Jianfeng Xu (Research Associate) also contributed to the article. See the additional write up in the Cornell Chronicle.

 
Congratulations to Monica Jackman, BE'10, For receiving a Cornell Engineering Alumni Association Undergraduate Researcher award.  She won for her research project with the Baeumner Lab on biosensors for rotavirus detection in feces. [March 2009]



The Sun Grant Initiative Energy Conference was held in March, 2009.  Hosted by BEE Professor Larry Walker, the event featured "a bevy of speakers and showcased the latest innovations in bioenergy research".  Cornell Chronicle Story.

Naweed Paya, BE'09, and Alyssa Henning, BE'10, are among the founders of the project team Genetically Engineered Machines. The team will be completing a synthetic biology project by the end of summer 2009 and will participate in the annual worldwide iGEM competition held at MIT. The competition requires designing and building useful biological devices using a library of existing standardized parts (called BioBrick standard biological parts). Cornell Chronicle Story. [Feb 2009]

 

We are tied for #1!  BEE shared the top spot in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for the Best Engineering Schools Specialty Rankings: Biological/Agricultural.  See USNews report.  Cornell Chronicle Story.

BEE Graduate Student Marie Donnelly and Professor Larry Walker are part of a research group who have improved a method to screen hundreds of fungal species rapidly to find ones that can most efficiently produce biofuels. (Pictured: Marie Donnelly and Brian King) Cornell Chronicle Story [Feb 2009]








The USAirways Magazine, February 2009, highlighted Ithaca in an article "Business Outlook: ITHACA Economic Development".  Featured in the article was Professor Larry Walker's Biofuels Research Lab, on page 100.  Full article







Professor Larry Walker was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering "In recognition of outstanding contributions to the field of Medical and Biological Engineering". [Feb 2009]

BEE Emeritus Professor Gilbert E. Levine has been appointed interim director of the university's Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies.  Cornell Chronicle story.

Outstanding Alumni Awardee: Richard F. Vincent.  Richard Vincent, ABEN'58, currently a member of the BEE Advisory Council, was awarded a 2008 Outstanding Alumni award from CALS.  From his award bio, "Vincent always makes it a priority to serve as a leader nationally for his profession, locally for his community, and wherever he is for Cornell.  He is known for his sense of humor, vast knowledge in many fields, generosity, deep and sincere passion and friendship".  Dick was a wrestler during his years at Cornell, and is in the Big Red Hall of Fame.  He was also inducted into the 2007 National Wrestling Hall of Fame as the Outstanding American from New York.

BEE 'got press' in the New Faculty Orientation Brochure done by CALS, November 2008. The front shows Professor Todd Walter's BEE3710 class and Todd is quoted on page 4; Professor Antje Baeumner is quoted on page 7.  Also, BEE3710 was again highlighted, and BEE Professors Larry Walker, Lars Angenent, Antje Baeumner and Dan Luo were featured in CALS "Far Above... The Campaign for Cornell".  (Pictures follow)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

CALS Core Priorities, finalized Fall 2008, highlight the Walker Biofuels Research Lab in "Biofuels show promise for Renewable Energy Systems" and the Baeumner Bioanalytical Microsystems and Biosensors Lab in "Antje Baeumner teaches students to design biosensors". 

The December 2008 Issue of Biotechnology and Bioengineering features on its cover this image from Professor Larry Walker's Biofuels Research Laboratory.  The accompanying article is entitled “Immobilization of Cellulose Fibrils on Solid Substrates for Cellulase-Binding Studies through quantitative fluorescence microscopy”. BEE and CoE colleagues Jose Moran-Mirabal (Postdoc), Navaneetha Santhanam (Grad Student), Stephane Corgie (Research Assoc) and Harold Craighead (CoE Professor) also contributed to the article.

 

 

 

Floris Van Breugel, BE'08, working with fellow student William Regan and Professor Hid Lipson, MAE, has come up with a simple, inexpensive flapping-wing vehicle that hovers as well as a hummingbird or a bumble bee.  See the Cornell Chronicle story [December 2008]

Congratulations to Professor Antje Baeumner on her well-deserved promotion to full professor! [Nov 2008]

Professor Norm Scott has been awarded a 2008 College of Engineering Teaching Award.  Congratulations, Norm! 

Professor Lou Albright was a Guest Speaker at the Defining Sustainable Development: Land Use, Climate Change, and Water Resources workshop held by Cornell's Environmental Law Society and the Development-Related Outreach Program for Sustainability, November 7&8, 2008.

Professor Jean Hunter's research on a trash dryer for NASA is highlighted in the November 21, 2008 Chronicle article "What to do with space waste 100 million miles away". Watch a video about the project.

BEE and CEE's jointly offered undergraduate Environmental Engineering major went through the ABET accreditation process with an on-site evaluation in November 2008. We will receive formal notification of the evaluation results in July, 2009.

The November 2008 Issue of Nature Nanotechnology features on its cover this image from Professor Dan Luo's Molecular Bioengineering Lab. The accompanying article is entitled "Nanopatterning self-assembled nanoparticle superlattices by moulding microdroplets". BEE colleagues Wenlong Cheng (Postdoc), Nokyoung Park (Postdoc), Todd Walter (Professor), and Mark Hartman (Grad Student) also contributed to the article. See the additional write up in the Cornell Chronicle.

 

 

 
 

BEE's Soil and Water Lab has received The CSREES Partnership Award for Mission Integration. This award annually recognizes exemplary work from a team at a land-grant university or other cooperating institution or organization supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). The Soil and Water Lab award is a recognition for outstanding achievements in mission integration. This involves implementation of a program or project which incorporates, in a meaningful way, full integration of research, education , and extension and exhibits an understanding of the complementary nature of these three functions. This is a significant honor and recognizes a program that has been extremely successful for a long period of time and in many different ways, including mission integration. Congratulations! [Fall 2008]

Professor Lou Albright was an invited speaker at the Cornell Law School's Defining Sustainable Development: Land Use, Climate Change, and Water Resources Conference November 7 & 8, 2008. The conference brought professors, practitioners, students, and community leaders together to consider what sustainability really means and what role law may have in accomplishing sustainable development. 

Thank you to the Cornell Student Chapter of IBE (Institute of Biological Engineers) for hosting the Fall 2008 IBE Regional Conference! 

WE ARE #2! BEE has been ranked #2 in the field rankings in the US News and World Report's "Specialty Rankings: Undergraduate Engineering Specialties: Agricultural", (Ag Engineering and Bio Engineering are a combined field). See rankings here.  Cornell's Engineering College is #8 overall, with Cornell University as a whole coming in as #14. [Fall 2008]

Professors Tammo Steenhuis and Gail Holst-Warhaft spent time this summer in Greece, discussing necessary cultural changes for solving water problems that have plagued the region for decades, including illegal well drilling.  The trip is a spinoff from the class they co-teach, BEE 7540, Water and Culture in the Mediterranean: A Crisis?  See the Cornell Chronicle Story. [Fall 2008]  Related Cornell Chronicle Stories: May 2008   March 2007

Professors Antje Baeumner and Dan Luo were invited speakers at the 9th Annual Nanobiotechnology Symposium, October 27th, 2008 at G10 Biotech, Cornell University, http://www.nbtc.cornell.edu/symposium2008/.

 

 


BEE is happy to announce that Professor Dan Aneshansley has been selected as our new department Chair.  He will be assisted by Professor Beth Ahner, who has been named Associate Chair. Thank you to Professor Mike Walter, who is stepping down after 14 years as department Chair.  Other administrative changes in the department: Professor Beth Ahner was selected as Associate Chair, Professor Antje Baeumner was selected as Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Mike Walter was selected as Director of Undergraduate Programs, and Professor Lynne Irwin was selected as Department Extension Leader. [July 2008]

Professor Lou Albright and Dr. Francis Vanek, CEE/MAE, have published a book, Energy Systems Engineering: Evaluation and Implementation. Their book "presents a systems approach to future energy needs. This unique guide explores the latest technology within each energy systems area, the negative impacts from energy consumption, and the ways in which a portfolio of new technologies can address these problems". [Summer 2008]

Congratulations to Jeff Rudnik, BE'08, and Morghan Transue, BE'08, for first place awards in the NABEC student poster competition.  Their posters, entitled "A sustainable building of the Town of Caroline" and "Energy independent Caroline: Wind power feasibility study for preliminary development" have been invited to be presented at the Aberdeen MD, NABEC-ASABE conference. [July 2008]

Professors Dan Luo and Todd Walter are featured in Episode 21 of the USDA CSREES The Science of Small: Exploring the new frontiers of nanotechnology "The nano world offers exponential surface area upon which to work. Land-grant university researchers are learning how to manipulate matter like never before": [Pictures and videos by Patrick Holian, USDA CSREES] [Summer 2008]
vvvDisease Detectors: Nano barcodes that expose harmful bacteria offer a cost-effective early-warning system to ensure a safer food supply USDA CSREES VIDEO.  >>>Following the Flow: Tracking underground water flow paths with breakthrough micro-technology can reveal elusive, non-point source pollution USDA CSREES VIDEO.

The May 2008 Issue of Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry features on its cover an image from the Baeumner Lab: "six Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts imaged using Differential Interference Contrast microscopy to view their contents". Professor Antje Baeumner contributed to the issue as a guest editor, and lab members Sam Nugen (Research Associate) and John Connelly (Grad Student) contributed a review article and paper, respectively. [May 2008]

 

Construction has begun! Professor Larry Walker's state-of-the-art Biofuels Research Lab (BRL) will be housed in the Riley Robb Hall East Wing. The BRL is highlighted in the "Climate Health" article in the Spring 2008 CALS News.  See also the Cornell Chronicle Story. [Spring 2008]

See also the excellent article in the Cornell Daily Sun, "Cornell to Launch New Biofuels Lab". [March 2008]

Jason Belsky, BE'08, has been selected as a Class of 2008 Banner Bearer. He is also on the CALS Academic Excellence listing along with Katie Hansen, EnvE'08. Floris Vanbreugel, BE'08, has been recognized with a SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence and is a Merrill Scholar. Floris has also been awarded Hertz and NSF Fellowships, a major accomplishment. Jason Kahn, BE'08, is also a Merrill Scholar. Congratulations Jason, Katie, Floris and Jason!

BEE grad student Mike Walsh has been elected to serve as student trustee on the Cornell Board of Trustees. Cornell Chronicle Story. Mike is also a student representative on the President's Climate Commitment Implementation Committee (PCICC), a group working towards CU carbon neutrality. Congratulations, Mike!

BEE grad student Timothy Vadas is part of a Cornell team creating a blueprint for Tompkins County to identify and reduce its carbon footprint. Cornell Chronicle Story.

Professor Dan Luo has been selected for the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. He was recognized at the CALS Dean's Awards Reception in April 2008. Congratulations, Dan! [April 2008]

BEE grad student Ashish Dhall received, from Associate Dean Viands, a "golden apple" for being chosen BEE's Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant for the 2007/08 academic year. Congratulations to Ashish and to all of our Graduate and Undergraduate Teaching Assistants for jobs well done.

Professor Kifle Gebremedhin was recognized by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award. Congratulations, Kifle! [Spring 2008]

Professor Jean-Yves Parlange was selected to receive a Brown University Engineering Alumni Medal. Congratulations, Yves! [Spring 2008]

Professor Dan Luo was recognized by the Center for Life Science Enterprise with a 2nd Place Award ($1000 for travel) in the Public Engagement and Science Communication Symposium. The awards were given to faculty, in a poster contest, on the basis of who best communicated their research to a general audience. There were over 100 participants. Congratulations, Dan! [Spring 2008]

BEE Emeritus Professor Robert Lorenzen's wife, Margaret, presented her book "A Life to Remember" to the department at a lunch event in May, 2008. A copy of the book is also in the Cornell Library, story. Thank you, Margaret! [May 2008]

 

 

 

 

Professor John March was one of 3 Cornell Faculty and 1 Postdoc who received a Hartwell Foundation biomedical research grant aimed at helping children.  Professor March's proposal is for an innovative way to treat chronic and debilitating juvenile (type 1) diabetes. Cornell Chronicle Story.

Professor Ashim Datta presented at the Cornell Center for Learning and Teaching Faculty Seminar Series on "Enhancing the Learning Experience in a Technical Course through Increased Interaction".

BEE is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the Renewable Energy Systems search with the hire of Professor Lars Angenent. Professor Angenent’s main research interests are Bioenergy and Biofuels. He is internationally known for his research on optimizing anaerobic fermentation processes to grow microorganisms that convert waste to energy. His research ranges from basic to very applied. Improving the performance of digesters and microbial fuel cells is an area of his work that has potential for immediate applications. See the Angenent Lab website for more detail of who Professor Angenent is and why we are so excited to have him at Cornell. He will be starting his position in BEE in Fall 2008. He and his wife Ruth (who will be an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology) are moving here from Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Welcome, Lars!

Thank you to everyone involved in the 2008 BioEngineering Expo!  See the follow up articles in the Cornell Daily Sun and the Chronicle. [March 2008]

 

 

Congratulations to Katie Alexander, EnvE '09, for her pick as one of the top ten participants at the ATHGO International UCLA 2008 Global Forum, "Global Warming: Change Your Attitude, Not the Weather".  http://www.athgo.org/programs/forums/scholarship_winners.html. Katie recently attended the ATHGO International Global Forum entitled Global Warming: Change Your Attitude, Not the Weather, held at UCLA. The forum brought over 100 students from around the world together to discuss some of the most pressing environmental issues in light of climate change. Presenters included Dr. Christian Stocks, Consulate General of Germany, Mr. Lionel Schutz representing the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Dr. Timothy Foresman, president of the Earth Party, and several members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In addition to panel discussions and presentations, all students were divided into smaller groups and asked to develop a policy proposal and business model which would be combined into an Integrated Solution document to be sent to international organizations, businesses, and policy leaders. Katie’s group focused on the elimination of non-biodegradable plastics in the food industry, urging the United States to follow other countries in reducing the amount of plastic waste generated by our food supply system.

Congratulations to Nansen Yu, BEE '08, for his second place finish in IBE's Bioethics essay contest.  Nansen traveled to Chapel Hill, NC, to present his paper at the IBE annual meeting

 

 

Professor Tammo Steenhuis has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, http://www.agu.org/.  To be elected a Fellow is "a special tribute for those who have made exceptional scientific contributions ... the candidate must have attained acknowledged eminence in the Earth and space sciences".  Congratulations, Tammo!  [May 2008]

Professors Tammo Steenhuis and Gail Holst-Warhaft traveled to Greece to share insights on how to end a growing water crisis in that region. They co-teach the course BEE 7540, Water and Culture in the Mediterranean: A Crisis?.  Cornell Chronicle Story. [May 2008]

Professor Larry Walker was selected by Michigan State University for their College of Agricultural and Natural Resources Distinguished Alumnus Award.  Congratulations, Larry! [April 2008]

Professor Lou Albright was inducted into the Rural Builder Hall of Fame at their annual Frame Building Expo in Columbus, Ohio.  Rural Builder is a business magazine for rural contractors.  The magazine gives this award annually to professionals in recognition of leadership, foresight, and outstanding contributions to the rural construction industry.  This year Professor Albright was selected for this honor for his work with rural buildings, particularly his pioneering work in the 1970s related to environmental controls for animal facilities and greenhouses.  Congratulations, Lou! [February 2008]

Professor Lou Albright was highlighted in a January 24, 2008 Ithaca Journal Article "USDA Provides Seed Money".  Picture caption: "Professor Louis Albright stands behind 11-day-old Butter head lettuce at Cornell University.  Albright has developed systems to grow plants in predictable ways using measured amounts of light and nutrient inputs.  Albright will use his systems to assist CEA Systems, an East Hill-based company, in their research under a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture".

 

BEE Grad student Rachel Dunn has won a Fulbright Fellowship to support her work on integrated water management in Thailand.  See the Chronicle article for additional information.  Congratulations, Rachel!

Congratulations to BEE undergrads Katie Cumnock and Jason Kahn for being initiated into the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Fall semester 2008!

Professor Todd Walter has been awarded a 2007 College of Engineering Teaching Award.  Congratulations, Todd!  Read more at  http://www.engineering.cornell.edu/faculty/excellence-in-teaching.cfm.

Cornell was mentioned in Reader's Digest's November 2007 edition, "Why didn't I think of That? 33 Great Ideas from around the world" for Professor Antje Baeumner's, and others, work on "Germ-Detecting Wipes". [November 2007]

Professors Tammo Steenhuis and Alice Pell have developed a Cornell degree program in Ethiopia.  See the article in the Cornell Chronicle, September 14, 2007. 

See the Summer 2007 edition of the Cornell Engineering Magazine for the following articles:
"Twice Honored" Discussing Professor Antje Baeumner's two recent awards, a prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship and a Mercator Guest professorship.
"Advance'ing Women" Discussing Professor Beth Ahner's recent receipt of a Research Initiative Award from the National Science Foundation.
"BEE History" Discussing Professor Emeriti Ron Furry's new book "A Pioneering Department - Evolution from Rural Engineering to Biological and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University, 1907-2007".

Professor Larry Walker has accepted an invitation to be a member of the Advisory Board for the Presidential Forum on Renewable Energy.  The Forum was created to ensure that renewable energy, sustainability, and conservation are top issues in the 2008 Presidential elections.  The nonpartisan forum - to be hosted by Google at their corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California - will bring together the 2008 Presidential Candidates to generate discussion and foster innovation.  Further details can be found at the Forum website, www.2008energyforum.org.

Professor Antje Baeumner was featured in the CU homepage "Spotlight" discussing her universal biosensors: "better tools for ensuring safe water and food".  Listen to her informal talk here. [Spring 2008]

Congratulations to Professor Dan Luo for winning a NYSTAR faculty development award!  See Cornell Chronicle article for details. [Spring 2008]

Professor Tammo Steenhuis' graduate students are pictured in the Cornell Chronicle article, "Nor any drop to drink: Cornell faculty and students to meet in Cairo on water shortages in Mediterranean region". [March 2007]

Professor Antje Baeumner has been named a finalist in the New York Academy of Sciences Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists competition.  The Blavatnik Awards "recognize the achievements of young scientists and engineers who have contributed significantly to interdisciplinary research". Finalist status includes a $5,000 research award, the winner will receive an additional $25,000.  The winner will be selected at the Academy's Science & the City Gala on November 12, 2007.

Professor Kifle Gebremedhin has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).  Professor Gebremedhin is being honored for his "outstanding contributions in teaching and research in the area of agricultural structures and environment. He is nationally recognized for diaphragm design research,including testing a full-scale post-frame building, and development of interactive computer software called METCLAD, which enables engineers to take advantage of the available stiffness of a building through diaphragm action in their designs". Professor Gebremedhin was inducted at a ceremony on June 19, 2007, during the ASABE Annual International Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Congratulations, Kifle!

Professor Antje Baeumner's CD4 Initiative with the Gate's Foundation is showpieced in the June 27th, 2007 Ithaca Journal.  Professor Baeumner is working to develop a quick, simple, and cheap immune-system test for people in the developing world. "When patients are infected with HIV/AIDS, the number of circulating CD4 T-cells drops significantly," explains Professor Baeumner. "If they get the appropriate retroviral treatment, their life span can be increased by many years. CD4 counts assist in the decisions on when to initiate and when to stop the treatment, which makes this test so important. Currently, most people ... have no access to detection technology".  The CD4 Initiative is a consortium of researchers and industry led by the Imperial College in London.

See the May/June 2007 Edition of the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation to read "Colloidal transport" by Brian Richards, John McCarthy, Professor Tammo Steenhuis, Anthony Hay, Yuniati Zevi, and Annette Dathe.  Also, in the same edition, is an article "Managing variable source pollution in agricultural watersheds" by Z. Qiu, Professor Todd Walter, and Christine Hall.

Professor Beth Ahner has been granted a Research Initiative Award from the Cornell ADVANCE Center.  The Center seeks to promote leadership positions for women scientists and engineers and to institutionalize best practices, policies and programs across colleges as they pertain to women faculty.  Read the Page 3 article in the Cornell Chronicle, May 17, 2007.

See the Spring 2007 edition of the Cornell Engineering Magazine for the following articles:
"In Their Back Yards" Discussing Professor Steenhuis' Soil and Water group's environmental consulting work with TCE and Ithaca's South Hill.
"A Simple Test" Discussing Professor Baeumner's CD4 Initiative with the Gate's Foundation.
"Imaging Science" Wenlong Cheng, from Professor Luo's MOLBEL Lab, is a first-place winner in the NSF-funded Cornell Center for Materials Research fourth microscopy imaging contest.
"Maintaining Mobility" Suneth Attygalle, BEE '07, was a member of the assisted walker team whose design project is showcased in this article.

See the Spring 2007 edition of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences NEWS for the following articles:
"Dan Luo: The X,Y,T's of Nucleic Acid Engineering" Discussing Professor Luo's "way with DNA, transforming it into building materials to construct biocompatible hydrogels and nanobarcodes".
"Harvesting Heavy Metals" Discussing Professor Ahner and other's "exploring the potential of plants to clean up polluted soils".

Professor Dan Luo has been granted a Cornell 2007 Provost's Award for Distinguished Research from Provost Biddy Martin.  This award is intended to recognize distinguished research by outstanding tenured faculty early in their careers, and allows the university to recognize its own talent.  The award includes $30,000 in research funding.  Congratulations, Dan!

Professor Norm Scott has been awarded the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service.  He was recognized at the Dean's Awards Reception in the Carrier Ballroom on April 24th, 2007.  Professor Scott's accolades from Dean Susan Henry: 

"Norm was a pioneer of biological engineering in the 1960s when as an agricultural engineer he obtained an NIH grant to conduct research on thermoregulation in animals. In 15 years of college and university administrative positions, he remained a national leader in biological engineering. He was the first faculty member of his department to be honored by election to the National Academy of Engineers.
As chair of the BEE department, Norm transformed what was once called “Agricultural Engineering” into a major emphasis on biological engineering, which has become a model for the profession. The biology-based undergraduate engineering curriculum that is taught at Cornell today had its genesis with several of Norm’s courses in the 1960s and 70s. As Associate Dean and Director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, he helped expand research funding from a heavy reliance on Federal Formula Funds to support by major external funding. He made major contributions towards establishing the National Research Initiative. As Cornell’s Vice President of Research and Advanced Studies, he had responsibilities for management of seven major national NSF Centers. Along with the Dean of Engineering, Norm has also provided the leadership in establishing three fundamental research areas – genomics, advanced materials, and information technology.
When he was president of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, Norm and others transformed this society into one with a more contemporary vision. He was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Biological Engineering and served as one of its first presidents. Since he returned to active faculty status in 1998, Norm quickly become a leader in research on integrated energy systems for rural communities, focusing on using dairy waste as a source of energy by generating electricity from biogas. His research and educational collaborations also have involved universities in China. In teaching, Norm developed a distance learning course, BEE 299 – Sustainable Development, which attracts more than 200 students per year. Mike Walter, BEE department chair, states “There are very few faculty members who have served full time in college and university administration in positions near the top who could, or even would, return to undergraduate teaching with such enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity.”

Professor Antje Baeumner was recognized by the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society as Professor of the Year at the College of Engineering's CEAA Engineering Conference Awards Banquet, April 20, 2007. The award was announced by Tam Trinh, '07 President, and Cindy Chong '07, Vice President, TBP.  Tau Beta Pi is the only engineering honor society representing the entire engineering profession.  It is the nation's second-oldest honor society, founded at Lehigh University in 1885 to recognize students of distinguished scholarship and exemplary character.  This is a student-nominated award.  Congratulations, Antje!

Professor Larry Walker was recognized by the Department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and College of Engineering at Michigan State University with a Distinguished Alumni Award on April 19, 2007. This award is for "outstanding achievement in professional and civic endeavors".  Congratulations, Larry!

Wenlong Cheng, a grad student in Professor Dan Luo's MOLBEL lab, received a first-place win in the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR) fourth microscopy imaging contest. Wenlong's image shows gold nanoparticles assembled using DNA. Cornell Chronicle Story. [March 2007]

Professor Antje Baeumner's Lab recognized
in Provost's March 7, 2007  Academic State of the University Address.

BEE receives New York State grant money for Biofuels and Industrial Biotechnology
articles in January 22, 2007 Ithaca Journal and Cornell's Chronicle.

Professor Antje Baeumner awarded both the Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship, March 2007, and the Mercator Fellowship from the German National Science Foundation, May 2007  Professor Baeumner will use these fellowships for her research project "in vivo imaging of cancer cells using nanovesicles" during her 2007/08 sabbatical at University of Dortmund, Germany.

Professor Douglas Haith and Rebecca (Walden) Murphy, BEE'01/MEng'02, explore "Another Kind of Fairway Hazard" January, 2007
See summary of Professor Haith's and Becky Murphy's Journal of Environmental Science and Technology paper in NY Times Science Section from January 9, 2007 (Click on link and scroll down to article)  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/science/09observ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Professor Larry Walker receives New York State grant money for Biofuels and Industrial Biotechnology    December 14, 2006

Governor George Pataki approved funding for New York State Biofuels/Industrial Biotechnology Sector Development and Life Sciences Research Investment.  Funding will be used to assist Cornell University with costs associated with:  Research aimed at the development of economically viable methods for producing biofuels through "industrial biotechnology", or the exploitation of enzymes, microorganisms, and plants to produce energy, industrial chemicals and consumer goods.  It will allow the construction of a pilot-scale facility to produce ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks such as perennial gasses and willow.  In this effort, Cornell is an academic partner with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems.

Soil and Water Lab acquires Digital Microscope  December, 2006  

Members of BEE's Soil and Water Group showed off the department's new digital Hirox KH-7700 microscope. Brian Richards and Tammo Steenhuis along with Anthony Hay demonstrated the cutting edge technology of this amazing device. In addition to conventional 2D imaging, the microscope can scan a specimen, store the data digitally and then render the image in 3D onto an LCD. The researcher can then zoom and rotate the 3D model so it can be viewed from any angle.

The advantage of this type of microscopy is a better assessment of the actual structure of soils and other specimens. Presently the microscope is helping the group study colloidal transport to ground water. With a maximum magnification of 7000x (based on a 15" LCD image), it is easy to view and record the 5 micron diameter particles as they move through porous media.

Funding for the microscope was provided by a USDA project grant as well as CALS and the Cornell Biocomplexity & Biogeochemistry Initiative.

     

Professor Dan Luo wins federal research agency Early Career award
October 12, 2006

Cornell researcher Dan Luo, whose work in nucleic acid engineering is changing the way scientists look at DNA, has garnered a prestigious 2006 Faculty Early Career Development Program award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), recognizing his research. Luo, assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering, will use the award to fund education.

Read more from the article published in Cornell's Chronicle

See the Winter 04 edition of CALS News for the following article, "Larry Walker's Vision for a Sustainable World Focuses on Nano and Biotechnology"