Tufts University
Fall 2008

Welcome Tufts Engineering Class of 2012
Welcome Tufts Engineering Class of 2012The School of Engineering class of 2012 boasts 191 students, including an Iowa Homecoming King with a passion for computer programming and a budding NASCAR driver from Nevada. Freshman applications increased in both quality and number in 2008, breaking the 2,000 number barrier for the first time. Read more about the Tufts Class of 2012.


New Faculty Serve Up Sustainable Ideas and Practice What They Teach

New Faculty Serve Up Sustainable Ideas and Practice What They Teach We welcome our new faculty members, four of whom are working in the area of sustainability, such as Tom Vandervelde (pictured right) the new John A. and Dorothy M. Adams Faculty Development Professor. Of our seven new Professors of the Practice, two are full-time, David Vinson in Chemical and Biological Engineering and Thomas James in Mechanical Engineering-part of the School's continuing commitment to bringing industry experts into the engineering classroom.


Super Vision

Super VisionKaren Panetta, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has created a technology that could revolutionize imaging in fields as diverse as security and medicine. Using Panetta's technology developed in a new start-up company called BA Logix, airport screeners could not only see the outline of objects, but also identify what they are made of.


The Light Fantastic

The Light FantasticFio Omenetto, associate professor of biomedical engineering, uses silk to create green optical technologies with potential applications ranging from bacteria detection to new solar cells. For example, the silk optical material could be used to create holograms such as the Tufts logo (pictured right).


Summer Scholar Hsiao Detects Cancer Cells

Summer Scholar Hsiao Detects Cancer CellsThis summer, Austin Hsiao, (E09) worked with biomedical engineering associate professor Irene Georgakoudi to use light-scattering spectroscopy to detect cancer cells-technology that could one day provide noninvasive means to diagnose cervical and oral cancers.


Join us for our Engineering Alumni Reception

Our featured guest, Glenn Bell, will share his vision of sustainable design options for architecture in the 21st century.
Weds., October 22, 2008, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Cannon Design
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1400
Boston, MA
Register online by Oct. 10
Contact Jonathan Kaplan for more information
(617) 627-5493




Dean's Corner:

Greetings from Anderson Hall! Another academic year is off to an excellent start. This fall, we welcome an extraordinary group of new tenure-track faculty members, four of whom have been recruited to strengthen our programs in sustainable energy and infrastructure: Marc Hodes (ME), Luisa Chiesa (ME), Tom Vandervelde (ECE) and Babak Moaveni (CEE). Our interdisciplinary bioengineering research will also be given a boost with the addition of Assistant Professor Catherine Kuo (BME) and Michael Levin (A92), Professor of Biology and Adjunct Professor in BME. Norman Ramsey (CS) rounds out this talented group. We have also substantially increased our cohort of Professors of the Practice in the School, naming three individuals in the Gordon Institute, and two in both Chemical and Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

The year 2008 marked the retirement, after more than 40 years of service, of Professor Bob Greif (ME), a former ME Chair and beloved teacher and colleague. We hope that Bob will continue to be engaged with the School, in his capacity as Professor Emeritus, for years to come.

During the course of the year, I look forward to seeing many of you on campus or at our sponsored alumni events, the first of which is planned for Wed., Oct. 22 in Boston, Mass.

- Dean Linda M. Abriola


 Department Notes:

BME: Christopher Cannizzaro is named a 2008-09 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow.

ChBE: Y.A. Liu presents the second Gregory Botsaris Lecture on "Fundamentals and Industrial Practice of Water Reuse and Wastewater Minimization" on Mon., Oct. 20.

CEE: The Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists names Laurie Gaskins Baise as the winner of the Best Paper of the Year Award.

CS: Soha Hassoun and Kyongbum Lee (ChBE) receive a NSF grant to develop a multi-resolution modeling framework for biochemical network simulation.

ECE: Sameer Sonkusale wins Best Poster at IEEE’s Nano 2008 International Conference on Nanotechnology.

ME: Look for changes to the department website coming in 2008. Best wishes to Bob Greif in his new role as Professor Emeritus.

TGI: Tufts Gordon Institute has moved to its new offices at 200 Boston Avenue, putting students at the center of innovation at the Advanced Technology Laboratory.

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