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Swanson School of Engineering Research
e-Newsletter

Volume 1, Issue 2

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SWANSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”
-- J.R.R. Tolkien, 1892-1973


On behalf of the Swanson School of Engineering and US Steel Dean Gerald Holder, it's my pleasure to send you this second issue of our Research e-Newsletter to bring you up to date on what we have found from our “looking,” as Tolkien puts it; i.e., our latest research accomplishments. This issue highlights some exciting new research grants, publications describing very innovative research, and other research-related accomplishments by Swanson School faculty.

For example, Dr. Anna Balazs, the Robert v. d. Luft Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and Dr. Olga Kuksenok published a paper that has been well-received by the scientific and lay presses and that is the first to show that hydrogels can be both reconfigured and controlled by light, and undergo self-sustained motion. A new NSF research grant was awarded to Drs. Judith Yang, and Götz Veser, both Nickolas A. DeCecco Professors of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, that will utilize the newest nano-characterization tools to understand how catalysis occurs and how it can enable cleaner energy technologies while reducing the creation of harmful by-products. Dr. Lei Li and colleagues published a paper in Nature Materials that showed for the first time that graphite materials are actually hydrophilic, not hydrophobic as previously thought. These findings have particular implications for producing stronger, more durable batteries.

We've also added a new section in this Research e-Newsletter issue to highlight major research conferences coming to Pittsburgh. If you plan to attend any of these meetings, please engage with our faculty or contact us for a visit to the Swanson School.

I hope you enjoy looking through this e-Newsletter. I anticipate more exciting announcements over the coming months, and I look forward to updating you again this fall.

Sincerely,

David A. Vorp, PhD
Associate Dean for Research
William Kepler Whiteford Professor
Professor of Bioengineering, Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Surgery

Pitt research team demonstrates gels that can be moved, controlled by light

Drs. Anna Balazs and Olga Kuksenok continue their groundbreaking research into hydrogels. "Modeling the Photoinduced Reconfiguration and Directed Motion of Polymer Gels," published in Advanced Functional Materials, is the first to show that these gels can be both reconfigured and controlled by light, undergoing self-sustained motion—a uniquely biomimetic behavior. The research has garnered international attention, including an article in Wired UK.

Read more >

NSF awards grant to University of Pittsburgh and SUNY-Binghamton to explore clean energy technology through improved catalytic processes

A National Science Foundation grant will allow researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, State University of New York – Binghamton and Brookhaven National Laboratory to utilize the newest nano-characterization tools to understand how catalysis occurs and how it can enable cleaner energy technologies while reducing the creation of harmful by-products.

Read more >

Engineering early-stage medical technology

The Center for Medical Innovation at the Swanson School of Engineering announced five awards in its 2013 Round-1 Pilot Funding Program for Early Stage Medical Technology R&D, with projects ranging from a prototype surgical implant for vocal cord paralysis, to developing a small, implantable device that utilizes Doppler technology to monitor blood flow from inside the body.

Read more >

CMI has also opened its request for pre-poposals for Round-2 2013 Early-Stage Medical Technology R&D funding.

Water ‘likeability’ plays a role in battery-charged objects

Objects made from graphite—such as lithium-ion batteries—are hydrophobic, meaning that they “dislike” water. For decades this lack of likeability has presented significant challenges in terms of building more durable technological devices made with graphite—until now. It appears that past samples of graphite were likely contaminated by air, causing the samples to appear hydrophobic. Pitt's research team has demonstrated—for the first time—these materials are actually intrinsically attracted to water or “hydrophilic.” The findings, published in Nature Materials, have particular implications for lithium-ion batteries and super capacitors.

Read more >

Coulter Foundation Translational Research Partnership Program at Pitt invests $400,000 in four medical technologies

Fighting infection post-surgery with an antibiotic gel; developing a meniscus implant for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) patients; treating an overactive bladder through foot stimulation, and attacking skin cancer with a microneedle bandage (shown at left) were the latest innovative bioengineering technologies awarded funding through the Wallace H Coulter Translational Research Partners II Program at Pitt.

Read more >

Dissecting the distinctive walk of disease: a mathematical model that examines multiple walking patterns and movements in adults older than 65

Researchers from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and School of Medicine propose a mathematical model that can examine multiple walking, or gait-related, features in healthy and clinical populations. To date, no study has brought together such a team to examine such a high number of movement features comparing healthy and clinical older adults. "A Comprehensive Assessment of Gait Accelerometry Signals in Time, Frequency and Time-Frequency Domains" was published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

Read more >

Toward identifying a viable and cost effective approach to hydrogen production

An interdisciplinary research team at the Swanson School is exploring the development of new electro-catalysts that would constitute a pioneering breakthrough in hydrogen generation by water electrolysis. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Power Sources.

Read more. >

Advancing the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the  National Institutes of Health awarded Qrono Inc. a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant to improve the treatment options for wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and fund further development of the company’s predictive modeling technology for the design of long-acting injectable (LAI) drug formulations. The research will be conducted in collaboration with The Little Lab at the Swanson School of Engineering.

Read more >

U.S. Dept. of Energy NETL-RUA Grid Technologies Collaborative seeks to advance energy needs and technologies for the 21st century

The five research university members of the Grid Technologies Collaborative (GTC) met in Arlington, Virginia to define a future research agenda and identify government and industry partners to address the needs of an aging and nearly century-old electric grid system. The University of Pittsburgh and its Swanson School of Engineering are key players in the GTC and believe its formation represents an academic and research powerhouse necessary to solve the myriad problems facing the nation’s electric grid.

Read more >

UC Berkeley Professor Jay Keasling named Bayer Distinguished Lecturer

The Swanson School's Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering this summer welcomed Jay D. Keasling, PhD, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, as the 2013 Bayer Distinguished Lecturer. Sponsored by Bayer MaterialScience, the Bayer Distinguished Lectureship recognizes excellence in chemical education, outreach and research.

Read more >

Faculty Accomplishments and Appointments

Accomplishments
Dr. Yiran Chen to participate in the National Academy of Engineering's 2013 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

Dr. Hai Li receives prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award

Dr. Piervincenzo Rizzo recognized with outstanding paper award from ASNT

Dr. Anne Robertson named ELATE Fellow at Drexel®

Dr. William Wagner awarded 2013 Senior Scientist Award from the Tissue Engineering Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS-AM)

Appointments:
Geological engineer and hydraulic fracturing researcher Andrew P. Bunger, PhD appointed Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Energy and water sustainability researcher Dr. Na Wei joins Civil and Environmental Engineering as Assistant Professor

Energy and environmental researcher Dr. Christopher Wilmer hired as Assistant Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

 

Upcoming Research Conferences in Pittsburgh

The American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) 66th Annual Conference will be held in Pittsburgh November 24-26, 2013, and hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Northeastern University.

The North American Catalysis Society (NAM24) announced it will hold its 24th annual meeting "Catalysis at the Confluence of Science and Technology" in Pittsburgh, June 14-19, 2015.

In This Issue

Pitt research team demonstrates gels that can be moved, controlled by light

NSF awards grant to Pitt and SUNY-Binghamton to explore clean energy technology through improved catalytic processes

Engineering early-stage medical technology at Pitt

Water ‘likeability’ plays a role in battery-charged objects

Coulter Foundation Translational Research Partnership Program invests $400,000 in four medical technologies

Dissecting the distinctive walk of disease: a mathematical model that examines multiple walking patterns and movements in adults 65+

Advancing the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration

U.S. Dept. of Energy NETL-RUA Grid Technologies Collaborative seeks to advance energy needs and technologies for the 21st century

UC Berkeley Professor Jay Keasling named Bayer Distinguished Lecturer

 

Faculty Accomplishments:
Dr. Yiran Chen to participate in the National Academy of Engineering's 2013 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

Dr. Hai Li receives prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award

Dr. Anne Robertson named ELATE Fellow at Drexel®

Dr. Piervincenzo Rizzo recognized with outstanding paper award from ASNT

Dr. William Wagner awarded 2013 Senior Scientist Award from TERMIS-AM

Faculty Appointments:
Dr. Andrew P. Bunger appointed Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Na Wei joins Civil and Environmental Engineering as Assistant Professor

Dr. Christopher Wilmer hired as Assistant Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

 

Upcoming Research Conferences in Pittsburgh:
American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) 66th Annual Conference

North American Catalysis Society (NAM24) 24th annual meeting

CONTACT

Swanson School of Engineering
University of Pittsburgh
3700 O'Hara Street
Benedum Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
pittengr@pitt.edu

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