WPI Research is the research magazine of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It contains news and features about graduate research in the arts and sciences, business, and engineering, along with notes about new grants, books, and faculty achievements.
Issue link: http://wpiresearch.epubxp.com/i/229254
David Medich (for Asst. Prof., Physics) - PhD, health physics/radiological sciences, UMass Lowell - Dir., UMass Lowell Radioactive Materials Program - Expert in brachytherapy physics, nuclear diagnostic imaging - Qualified expert and consultant for International Atomic Energy Agency Nima Rahbar Onal Cagdas Denizel anical Eng.) (for Asst. Prof., Mech n - PhD, mechanical eng., Carnegie Mello - Postdoc., MIT robotics, - Strong on soft robotics, printableand tech. control theory, micro/nanoscience and - Co-author, textbook on micro-n, based nano-robotics and manipulatio on his dissertation research disciplines. That means traveling to conferences, searching out the leading minds, and enticing them to come to WPI. "A search committee should actually be a search committee," she says. "A baseball team doesn't sit back and wait for people to apply. They go out and recruit. If you're going to put together a team, you have to go out and identify your best prospects; you can't just wait for them to identify you." And once those new faculty members are identifed, the dealing begins. While baseball stars seek dollars and perks, talented faculty look for amenities that will help them succeed — particularly as researchers and scholars. Space for a new lab, start-up packages to help get that lab up and running quickly, support for graduate students — these and other needs can become part of the negotiations, Overström says. And since WPI is seeking the best, the university is always aware that its offer will not be the only one on the table. By being willing to invest the resources needed to be competitive, WPI has come out on top in a signifcant share of the bidding wars. David Cyganski, dean of engineering ad interim, says WPI's community of talented and highly collaborative ko Michael TimChemical Eng.) (for Asst. Prof., - PhD, chemical eng., MIT eng., Center - Was principal chem. amics, for Aero-ThermodynInc. Aerodyne Research y, biomass conversion, - Strong in bioenergdesign, chemical chemical reactor pres , measurements in high-ronmsure high-temperature envi ents from NASA, - Over $2 million in funding U.S. Army, DOE (for Asst. Prof., Civ Environmental Eng.) il and - PhD, civil eng., Prince ton - Asst. Prof., UMass Dartmouth - Works on atomistic design of materials, simulations, bioinspired adhesion, natural fibcontact mechanics/ er composites, toughening reinforced mechanisms - NSF CAREER Aw ard - TMS Structural Ma Young Leader Awardterials Division researchers and teachers is at least as important as dollars in winning the hearts and minds of top faculty. In fact, he says, new recruits feed off the level of interaction they have with their colleagues and with students, who, at all levels, work closely with professors on research. It's a rare and enriching experience for everyone, he notes. "The level of contact we provide and the kinds of open-ended project scenarios that drive our approach to education excite young faculty members, who say, 'When I go into work, I don't want to be interested and excited when I'm in my research laboratory and then go in and teach a boring class.' Instead, they can say, 'I can be engaged and excited all the time. My investigation of the world will never end, because I can investigate it together with these young apprentices.'" Just as Ray Kinsella, the farmer-turned-ballpark builder in Field of Dreams, created a little bit of heaven in an Iowa cornfeld, WPI has built a university where bright minds collaborate to do remarkable things and prepare new generations of thinkers and doers to build a better world. And each year, from all over the world, the best and brightest continue to come. Re Krishna Kumar Venkatasubramania n (for Asst. Prof., Comp uter Science) - PhD, computer scie nce, Arizona State - Postdoc., U. Pennsy lvania - Expert on secure cyb interoperable medicaler-physical systems, body area networks devices, - Coverage: Discovery Ch ACM Tech News, IE annel website, Medicine and Biology EE Engineering in Worcester Polytechnic Institute > 29