Honors & News

A University of Rochester student team won third place at Coulter College, a workshop that ran in conjunction with the Biomedical Engineering Society annual meeting that took place in Seattle, WA. Coulter College, which was comprised of fourteen schools from across the nation, was a two-day long workshop that involved student teams working with physicians to identify clinical needs. Once the needs were addressed, the teams then considered each idea as potential commercialization opportunities. The process involved brainstorming the ideas and coming up with possible solutions, while ultimately choosing the best idea to cultivate as a business venture. The idea is then pitched to a panel of judges and event participants. The University of Rochester team, comprised of CMTI students Spencer Klubben, Laura Hobbs, Erin Keegan, and BME undergrads Amanda Chen, Tiffany Kobee, and Matthew Levasseur, focused on opportunities in cardiovascular and rehabilitative health and their pitch focused on rehabilitative systems for the physical therapy market. Dr. Chandra and Dr. Gdowski led the student team. Congratulations!

Richard Waugh, BME Department Chair, received the 2013 BMES Distinguished Service Award. This award is presented periodically to recognize members who have made extraordinary contributions to the Biomedical Engineering Society. Dr. Waugh served as the BMES President-elect during the 2009 - 2010 term, and was the BMES President from 2010 - 2012. Congratulations, Dr. Waugh!

Amy Lerner, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and CMTI Academic Director, participated in this year's Biomedical Engineering Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Alliance meeting (BME-IDEA). BME-IDEA includes nearly one hundred university programs focused on innovation and entrepreneurship mentoring in biomedical engineering, and Dr. Lerner has served on the organizing committee of the meeting since 2005. The meeting is an opportunity to share ideas with other faculty who lead programs and courses in medical technology design. Dr. Lerner's moderated several snapshot sessions on interdisciplinary design programs and was an un-panelist for a discussion titled Creating successful student project experiences focused on strategies for success and considering the appropriateness of the fail fast, fail early, and fail often trope within the context of the senior design experience.

Richard Waugh, Ph.D.

Richard Waugh, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been appointed to the newly-created position of associate vice president for research.

Rick has been collaborating with researchers on both the River Campus and the School of Medicine and Dentistry for more than three decades, said Robert Clark, senior vice president for research. His great institutional knowledge and familiarity with a cross-section of departments make him a bridge among all research faculty. He was a natural choice for the job.

One of Waugh's initial responsibilities will be to help develop a strategic plan that identifies specific research goals, as well as opportunities for bringing together faculty members from different departments. He will also be involved in building a stronger research community on campus and fostering relations with the corporate sector.

I have a good understanding of why research is done so well at the University of Rochester, said Waugh. I look forward to using that knowledge to help faculty work together in some new ways.