VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
BMES Pioneer Editorial Board
Editor in Chief Aileen Li ‘10 Layout Editors Lexi Torres ‘09 Michael Zhang ‘10 Features Editor Alysia Rudis ‘09 Staff Writers Inez Falcon ‘10 Rebekah Hamrick ‘10 Melody Keith ‘09 Monica Liou ‘10 Staff Photographers Christopher Cooper ‘10 Kiersten Petersen ‘10 Patrick Shannon ’10 Development Editors Alice Chan ‘10 Sharon Owino ‘08 Rohan Trivedi ‘10
MAY 2007
What’s Inside
An!la Gill..................... 3 Helen Grenga Award Pay It Forward Scholarship Alvin Ferst Award BME Outstanding Senior Award
Ramsey Al-Hakim............... 6 Phi Kappa Phi Award BME Top Academic Award
Laura Cro#..................... 7 National Science Foundation Fellowship BME Outstanding Research Award
Gaya$% Balasubramanian....... 9 National Science Foundation Fellowship
InnInn Chen & Yixiao Z&.... 10 Berry M Goldwater Scholarship
Jon-Michael Caldwell.......... 11 BME Outstanding Leadership Award
Anu Parvatiyar.................... 8
Le'er from ( E)tor ........... 13
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
Helen Grenga Outstanding Woman Engineering Award: This award, created in honor of Dr. Helen Grenga, the first woman faculty member in the College of Engineering, celebrates the accomplishments of women in engineering. It is presented annually to a woman engineering student who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service in her field and in the Tech community. Alvin Ferst Leadership and Entrepreneur Scholarship Award: This award is given to students with a vision, a driving force to create a business or organization, the ability to inspire others to reach their potential, leadership skills to anticipate future needs, an optimistic outlook about finding solutions, and character – students who ask “why not?” instead of “why.” Pay It Forward Scholarship: this scholarship’s recipients will embrace a concept that is central to Women in Engineering (WIE), that we are all part of a community that is dedicated to supporting the continued success of all women in engineering. BME Outstanding Senior Award: This award recognizes the epitome of excellence. The deserving student should not only excel in academics but also show a desire to improve the world through strong leadership skills, research, and/or community service.
Angela Gill: the “It” Woman of GT-BME Aileen Li ‘10 There are many words that describe Angela, “driven”, “successful”, “intelligent”, “persevering” and so on. However, none of these words, or any combination of these words, can truly express what she has done at Tech, how she had succeeded, or what kind of person she is. Angela has done what a typical student dreams of doing; her list of awards include everything from the Helen Grenga Award, the Pay It Forward Award, the Shirley Mewborn Perseverance Award, the Alvin Ferst Award, the Rita Schaffer Award, to the BME Outstanding Senior Award. She has done research; she has presented at a variety of conferences and published numerous papers. She is
an outstanding leader, probably one of the few who really exemplified the meaning of a “leader.” She has served as the president of the Biomedical Engineering Society since Fall of 2005. She was a founding member of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the Biomedical Engineering Honor Society, and served as a treasurer since 2006. In addition, she served as the web chair for the Biomedical Engineering Student Advisory board, the workshop presenter of Tech Women’s Leadership Conference, and a mentor in the Honors program undergraduate research, and the “M& M” mentoring program. “I am completely honored and humbled at receiving the awards. What made me happy was to see changes happen; nothing is better
than to see a situation improve because I cared enough to make it change. When I saw the other students and faculty members receive their awards, then, and only then, was I truly happy about my award,” said Gill. During her time at Tech, Angela has affected many people around her, from faculty to students. She made a point to know the people around her, to talk to everybody (if you walked in Whitaker one day,
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
For Angela Gill, the road to success was not paved with gold and diamonds; it was hard, very hard. However, the key to her success was perseverance and the attitude to reject “no” for an answer. Angela said her biggest achievement is graduation; after all, not only did she successfully graduate from an institute that many people without obligations find difficult, from a department that sets the bar far beyond the usual standard, she did it as a single mother. Those who know Angela know that she is busy all the time. Busy as she may be, she never let that be an excuse to
MAY 2007
her home, fixed her dinner, worked on speech, occupational and physical therapy homework [with my daughter], played with her, gave her a bath, read her a story and put her to bed,” Gill said. “Then I sit down to START my homework, my studying, replying to the million e-mails I receive a day asking for advice or help, and then falling into bed at one or two in the morning, only to wake up again at six to do it all over again. And people still tell me that they don’t have time.” “I have had so many opportunities in life to give up, I think people assume that successful people had easy lives; I didn’t. I had an extremely hard time and have gone through more tragedy than most people experience in a life time. Each time, I had a and heard this really loud and decision to make: I could let the exciting voice, it’s probably situation overcome me and dehers), to care about those fine who I was, or I could overaround her, to give advice and come the situation and define to joy in everyone’s success. myself,” Gill said. The choice Angela has helped to bring was clear. a variety of speakers to the Angela Gill has accepted a department and show stu“I have received awards, not because position as a clinical spedents that they can do any- I sought the awards, but rather because I cialist with Medtronic’s thing they want with their sought to make the world a better place cardiac rhythm managedegrees. She began a and was successful.” ment division. She will do framework to recognize the programming of pacefaculty and students for procrastinate. She never let makers and defibrillators during their hard work and dedication. “I’m doing so much” be an eximplantation by the cardiologist “When I started caring, I cuse to not do well. or electrophysiologist. She will realized that things needed to be “I always laugh when I hear also do followups with patients changed and I was the one to do another student say that they to analyze their device to ensure it. I have received awards, not didn’t ‘have time’ to complete optimal patient care. Angela because I sought the awards, but an assignment. My studying would like to eventually get her rather because I sought to make does not even begin until after I MBA and run her own comthe world a better place and was have picked my daughter up, pany. successful,” said Gill. brought
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
“My hero, as many now know, is my daughter. When she was 2 months old, the doctors realized that she had a brain issue. We spent the next seven months suffering through surgeries and diagnostic testing until we found out that she has megalencephaly. At that point she was very delayed in development and I have spent the past 3 years pushing her to be her best. Now, at age of 4, she could be a bitter child; she could be mad because I often had to hold her down kicking and screaming to have an IV placed in or to force her to do a physical therapy exercise; she could be mad the few times I read textbooks to her instead of fairy tales. Is she mad? No. Instead, she is one of the most loving 4 year olds I have ever seen. Reanna is a constant hugging machine and happy when those around her are happy. If she can overcome her obstacles, then there is no reason that I can't overcome mine.” ~ Angela R. Gill ‘07
Remember Tech
Virginia
Aileen Li '10 Grief strikes Tech as tragedy strikes Virginia Tech, where 32 lives were taken unnecessarily in the shooting incident. On Tuesday, hundreds of students gathered by the campanile to remember those who had passed and those who are injured. At a time like this, it is important to remember not only the way students were taken so unjustly, but the ways they had lived and what they had accomplished while they lived. Moreover, it is important to look into the future, and think about what we can do to prevent these tragedies from occurring.
As busy BME students, we’re almost constantly under pressure, competition and stress, and in the midst of all these, we often times forget that we’re loved, respected and welcomed. To ensure our peers’ happiness and success, it is important for us to take a minute everyday to let it be known that we care, whether be a kind gesture, an encouraging pat on the back or a warm smile. It is our jobs to let our peers know that success is worth pursuing, laughs are worth giving, and life is worth living.
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
Phi Kappa Phi Award: The Phi Kappa Phi Cup is awarded each year to a member of the graduating senior class who has the most outstanding scholastic record of all members of the class. Students of all six colleges are considered equally in making the selection. Ramsey Al-Hakim is the first BME to be awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Cup. BME Highest GPA Award: This award is given to the biomedical engineering student with the most outstanding academic record while at Georgia Tech.
(Al-Hakim pictured on the left)
Ramsey Al-Hakim speaks about high achievements Ramsey Al-Hakim ‘07 I’m very honored and proud to be given both awards. However, I think the award is really an award for the BME department. This is the first time that a BME student has won the Phi Kappa Phi Award, and I think it really attributes to how much the department has grown and how well the faculty and staff motivate their students. While a good GPA was a requirement for the award, it was not the only factor. There were 38 people with a 4.0 GPA, so my undergraduate research played a big part, and I have the BME department to thank for making this opportunity possible. Getting a good GPA takes pure hard work and a good group of classmates to work through tough classes with;
there are no shortcuts in life. However, I don’t think that a 4.0 is something students strive for. Honestly, there is not a single difference between me and students with a 3.8, except for a little bit of good luck on my part. Students should know how to study; most of the time, it means learning what the material means and how it will be applicable in your future, whether that is in medicine or industry. This makes studying more fun, or as fun as possible, and helps to relieve a little of stress. To get good grades, stop trying to get good grades and relax. If you work hard, you will get what you deserve in the end. Just enjoy your time in the BME department because there are some good people who can teach you things you will never find in a text book. I think that every student in the BME department is under a little stress, whether it is from
BMED 3160 or undergraduate research. Therefore, it is important that students have a way to relieve this stress. For me, that is playing pool and a round of golf with friends. In the end, a few points on a test do not matter, so students should just do their best and go have fun afterwards. After graduation, I will be attending either UCLA or Emory to complete an MD/PhD in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). The MSTP is a very competitive program, where each medical school matriculates approximately a dozen people to attend and complete a full MD and PhD. This program comes with full funding including tuition for Medical School and graduate school, as well as a stipend for the duration of school.
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
Outstanding Research Award recognizes students who have used their problem-solving skills to excel in undergraduate research. Laura Croft designed an in vitro protocol to answer complex surgical questions posed by a cardiac surgeon. She also coauthored a paper published in one of the leading journals in cardiac surgery (The Annals of Thoracic Surgery) that accepts only a limited number of biomechanics type papers. National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based Master’s or Doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study. It in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.
Laura Croft speaks about her research and Awards Laura Croft ‘07 I am very excited about both awards. The NSF fellowship will allow me more flexibility to choose a faculty member to research with, because funding will not be an issue. It is nice to know that I will have more options for a research lab even before starting school in the fall. I also received two fellowships from Berkeley, a Berkeley Fellowship and a Power Fellowship. I am honored to receive the Outstanding Research Award from our department. It was exciting
to be recognized by the department in front of my fellow graduating seniors. I would like to thank both Dr. Yoganathan, who nominated me for the outstanding research award, and my graduate student mentor, Dr. Jorge Jimenez. Without their encouragement and assistance I would not have had the opportunity or confidence to have accomplished so much. As an underclassman I received a lot of guidance about classes and becoming involved in research from my older sorority sisters who were also in BME and involved in research. After I became involved in research, I also received assistance from Dr. Yoganathan
and the graduate students in my lab with developing my research skills and with the graduate school/fellowship application process. I have worked in the Cardiovascular Fluid Mechanics Lab for three years. I research on surgical techniques for mitral valve repair in a flow loop which simulates the left heart. I was the third author in a publication in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the first author of a poster presentation at the 2005 BMES Conference, the second author of an oral presentation at the 2006 Heart Disease Conference in Hilton Head, SC, and first author of a paper under review for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. I have thoroughly enjoyed
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
working in research and being a member of my lab. I would recommend getting involved in research early on in your college career. It takes time to become more involved and to gain more independent projects. Starting research the summer after my freshman year is why I was able to become published before graduation. There were many semesters that I spent more time in my lab than in class, and I think it is very important to be committed to your research, as that experience is more valuable in the long run than many of your classes. I will be attending UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco 's joint program in Bioengineering to obtain my Ph. D. I plan to stay in the area of cardiac mechanics there and hope to transition to industry after receiving my degree.
Join BMES Today! Go to www.gtbmed.com
MAY 2007
Anu Parvatiyar 'nabs SGA Presidency Office
Picture by James Holder
Virgil Secasanu ’08 BME students are known institute wide to be exceptional in both academics and extracurricular activities. The Student Government Association runoff election ended on Wednesday with Anu Parvatiyar, a BMED student, defeating Mark Youngblood for the presidency. Coming back from an 1117-1792 vote finish over Mark Youngblood in the initial SGA presidential elections, Parvatiyar won with an incredible margin of more than 500 votes in the run-off. In addition, Parvatiyar will be the first BME student to snatch the SGA President position. Parvatiyar has diversified experience not only in SGA but also throughout campus. Her plan for the future of Tech is
very positive, and her poignant summary says it all: "The college experience is not about getting a 4.0 or having free tshirts. The college experience is about feeling like you are a part of something bigger. The Georgia Tech that I'd like to build and the Georgia Tech that I'd like to be a part of, is a community, a community of people who care about where they are and what they're doing here. Academically, athletically, and socially, I'd like to build a campus of students that are proud to be a Yellow Jacket, " said Parvatiyar. A special “thank you” goes out to the BMED community not only from the BMES Executive Board, but also from Anu for making this happen. The BMED community has always been closely-knit, and this is a thriving example. Congratulations Anu!
Picture by James Holder
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
National Science Foundation Fellowship: The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based Master’s or Doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are at the early stages of their graduate study. It invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.
(Balasubramanian pictured on the right)
Gayathri’s pathway to NSF Fellowship Gayathri Balasubramanian ‘07 I'm very excited about having won the NSF fellowship! The project I want to work on is funded by the Gates Foundation, but the professor does not have any money on his grant to pay for an additional student. So the fellowship is giving me the added advantage of being able to work on any project I want to, regardless of funding. I want to thank Dr. Amanda Gable for giving me so much guidance throughout the whole fellowship application process for the NSF and others. In addition, I want to thank Dr. Todd McDevitt (BME), Dr. Robert Lee (BME), Dr. Victor DeJesus (GTRI/CDC), and Dr. Ajay Houde (Kimberly-Clark) for writing recommendation letters for me. And of course, I want to thank my parents and my sister, who have always been
there for me. I worked for two semesters with Dr. Lee, coding a software program to analyze heart rate data from ECGs and perform data analysis. I worked on an antibody detection protocol using magnetic nanobeads during the second semester. I started working in Dr. McDevitt's lab in the fall this semester; I am working under the PURA award on a couple of small projects, including some coding in ImageJ, an imageanalysis software. In addition, I CO-OPed in Kimberly-Clark for four semesters. I worked on a variety of product development projects, ranging from market research to regulatory testing to competitive intelligence testing. The only real advice I can give to underclassmen is that if you don't know what you want to do, try it all out to get a feel for what you enjoy and are good at. Also, I think staying involved on campus and in the
community is really important, not just because volunteering is good, but because it also helps you get fellowships. The best advice I can give is not to work too hard and take time for yourself and your friends. After I graduate, I'm going to the University of Washington (UW) for a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, and I'm also going to focus on entrepreneurship and business in respect to technology. I want to work with Dr. Paul Yager on his "lab on a chip" device that diagnoses disease in developing countries. There are many options, especially at UW. .
Write to Us! wli8@mail.gatech.edu
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship was established by the Congress in 1986 to foster and encourage excellence in science, engineering and mathematics, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation operates an educational scholarship program designed to provide opportunities for American undergraduate students with excellent academic records and outstanding potential. Goldwater Scholarships support study in the fields of mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences as preparation for careers in these areas. This year, Tech proudly presents two BME students as Goldwater Scholars: Yixiao Zou (right) and Inn-Inn Chen (left).
Yixiao Zou speaks out about being a Goldwater Scholar Yixiao Zou ‘08 I am very honored to be named a Goldwater Scholar. I give my deepest appreciation to my extremely devoted parents who made many personal sacrifices over the years to make all my success possible. I am also indebted to Dr. Steve Potter, Ms. Radhika Madhavan, Dr. Nan-ping Weng and Dr. Jean Bellissard for their tireless mentoring in labs and classrooms, to Dr. Karen Adams and Dr. Amanda Gable for many thoughtful inputs to my essay, and to Dr. Jane Weyant for her trust in nominating me to the Goldwater Scholarship selection committee. The Goldwater Scholarship has benefited me in at least two aspects. First, I feel more assured in knowing that I am on
the right track, at least academically, to receive training for a combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree after graduating from Tech and to eventually lead a productive career as a physician-scientist. Second, in preparation for my Goldwater application, especially for the technical essay, I gained a much deeper understanding of my current research interest in Dr. Steve Potter’s lab, that is, to better understand changes in synaptic connectivity patterns that occur during learning. Dr. Potter is a very enthusiastic mentor and fosters a very warm and receptive environment for undergraduate researchers in the lab. I especially liked his “there is no dumb question to ask” attitude, which permeates the lab, and found initiating technical discussions with both Dr. Potter and his graduate students very easy and enjoyable. To the BME underclassmen, I personally believe that one of the most important pieces to academic
success is interest. Developing a genuine and intense interest in Biomedical Engineering makes everything about academic works much more pleasant and rewarding. My interest stems from my belief that every bit of our rigorous and comprehensive training in the BME program today has the potential to make real improvements in life quality of millions in the future, and my personal contribution will help to turn some of this potential into reality. Of course, we may have different reasons to be interested in Biomedical Engineering. But as long as we can maintain and solidify our own interests, it is not hard to imagine that we will stay dedicated to fulfill our interests. In the academic world, interest plus dedication really does equal to success.
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
The Outstanding Leadership Award recognizes students who have excelled in their abilities to make a difference using their team building skills. The 2007 Outstanding Leadership Award goes to Jon-Michael Caldwell for his devotion to the department through service on the student advisory board and to the school. Jon-Michael has also excelled in his numerous internship experiences and volunteer work to the community. Jon-Michael is a Brother Mentor in the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, and served as the Vice President for Communications in the Fraternity. He served as the Chairman in the Biomedical Engineering Student Advisory Board. In addition, JonMichael served as a Justice in the Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet since 2005, and was the Chief Justice in summer of 2006. (Jon-Michael Caldwell pictured on the right)
Jon-Michael Caldwell discusses being a leader Jon-Michael Caldwell ‘07
I am truly honored to be the inaugural recipient of the outstanding leadership award. I have been extremely lucky to have the opportunity to know and work with extraordinarily talented students and faculty in all of my activities here at Georgia Tech. I thank all of them for their dedication and hard work which has truly made an impact on the campus. I would say the majority of my inspiration, academically and elsewhere, comes from my family, professors, and peers who are far too numerous to list here. They have constantly motivated me to work hard and contribute as much as possible to the Georgia Tech community which has been so instrumental in helping me reach my goals so far. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Ravi Bellamkonda
and Dr. Young-tae Kim for their guidance, patience, support, and countless opportunities which have shaped much of my experience here at Georgia Tech. Of all my leadership positions, I would have to say the "biggest" responsibility falls on the Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet (UJC). We are actually called upon to sit in judgment of a fellow student and determine responsibility and possibly sanctions for violations of the Student Code of Conduct. It is a very different environment from most other campus leadership positions and one in which your actions have a huge impact on another student's life. I would say the biggest challenge for anyone at Tech, regardless of any specific leadership role is time management. We are in one of the most demanding programs at one of the most demanding Institutes in the country, and to simply keep up with the work is a challenge in and of itself!
However, by keeping a well balanced life academically, socially, physically and mentally, you would be amazed how much activity you can pack into a day! Instead of spending every second of every day in the library, try reading a novel, going for a run in the park or having dinner with friends once in a while. Keeping variety in your life is instrumental in ensuring success in whatever you pursue. Aside from personal time management, I would encourage any aspiring leader to keep his tasks in perspective. It is easy to get bogged down by a single aspect of life, especially when things do not work out as planned. However, by keeping a well balanced life, no setback, no matter how disappointing, is insurmountable. I am currently applying to medical school and hope to start Fall semester 2008. I currently plan to specialize in neurology and eventually operate a private practice.
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
Congratulations Graduating Seniors!
Ramsey Al-Kahim Adjete Ameh Arash Astanehasl Gayathri Balasubramanian Subina Banerjee Robert Beaulieu Felix Boachie Amy Byrd Jon-Michael Caldwell Rashi Chandra Christopher Clarke Jennifer Craig Laura Croft Shobhika Dhingra Mitchell Donner Modupe Edogun Shannon Fatehi Melissa Freedenberg Angela Gill Jerett Gordon Jonathan Greene Josh Hammel John Henderson Scott Jarrell Swati Kannan Edwin Kelly John Kroger Chun Lam Royal Law
Khin-Khin Lay Sen Lin Ross Marklein Ryan Moore Austin Nichols Matthew Palo Andrea Para Ravi Parikh Pietro Pariselli Vijal Patel Chitan Patel Jason Rockhold Steven Ryan Marc Seaman Shreya Shukla Hyojin Song Vijayalakshmi Sundaram Subina Surendran Bao To Hari Trivedi Saujanya Vadoothker Lauren Vernon Norman Ward Kriss White John Wiles Samantha Willis Srinivasu Yerneni Haining Yu Jennifer Zeitang Yu Zhang
VOLUME ONE ISSUE TWO
MAY 2007
Letter from the Editor Dear readers: I don’t write many “letters from the editor.” However, I think it is now appropriate for me to deliver several long-overdue messages to the GT-BME department. First of all, I would like to congratulate all of the graduating seniors, and thank them for all that they have done during their times at Tech. Thank you for taking the time to notice those around you; thank you for making a positive impact on someone’s life; thank you for making our BME department stronger, and thank you for making this world a better place. As the Editor in Chief of the BME Pioneer, I would like to wish you a bright future and great success in whatever you choose to do. This special edition of the newsletter is dedicated to Angela Gill, the graduating president of BMES and my mentor. Without Angela, the newsletter would have never existed; she had a vision, and she made the effort to see it happen. Angela is truly an amazing woman. She has been a great inspiration to everybody; not only did she accomplish everything a college student could only dream of accomplishing, she did it facing great obstacles in her path. She had many opportunities to give up, to accept life and “the way things are,” but she didn’t. Those who know Angela know she is constantly buried under work, but she never ignored any of us when we sent her late night e-mails asking for advice and help. Why? Because she truly cares enough to put other people before her. I think the message that Angela’s success sends out to underclassmen is pretty clear: there is not a reason to ever give up, to ever ignore a situation that can be changed, to ever let someone down, to hurt someone or to not care. Graduating before us is a woman who accomplished so much with such impossible hindrances in her way, what excuses can we find to not do our best? We owe it to ourselves to succeed and make contributions to the BME department, to Tech and to this world. Next, I would also like to thank the BMED faculty, Paul, Sally, Dr. Newsletter, Dr. LeDoux, Dr. Boyan, Dr. Wang and so on for helping with various articles. I would also like to thank the BMES executive officers and the BME student body for sharing your opinions and stories and for giving great advice on how the newsletter and BMES can be better. Lastly, but by no means least, I would like to sincerely thank the BME Pioneer Editorial Board. I am truly humbled by all of you; without your help, the issues would not happen. Thank you for the time and effort you put in to give out an admirable product. Thank you, Lexi and Michael, for sitting with me in the library for hours straight on some days. Thank you, Rebekah, Rohan and Alice, for taking the time to peruse the newsletter over and over to push the product to its best. Thank you, everybody, for your valiant effort. I don’t think there is a way for me to truly express my gratitude. With all that said, I hope everybody has a fantastic, fun and productive summer. Thank you all and see you in the Fall. Sincerely, Aileen Li