Undergraduate Accomplishments

2019

  • Megan DiBella, a BME student that is expected to earn her bachelors in May 2021, has accepted a summer internship position for inMedical Devices at Medtronic at their office in North Haven, CT. This internship will take place over the Summer 2020 semester.
  • Jacob Gerhson and Shuofei Sun, BME undergraduate students, have received the Fall 2019 Undergraduate Conference (URC) Presentation Fund in the amount of $300 each. The URC supports faculty mentored undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity. Read more about the award here.
  • Shuofei Sun, a BME undergraduate student, has received the Fall 2019 Undergraduate Research Award in the amount of $1,000. The Undergraduate Research Award is a competitive award designed to support the expenses for students' independent research or creative work. Read more about the award here.
  • Ming Hu will present her research work in 2019 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Conference. Also, Shuofei Sun will present his undergraduate research work in 2019 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Conference.
  • BMES Video Project: BME UG, Jacob Gershon was highlighted in a recent BMES newsletter for his research in Dr. Tracy Hookway's lab. Click here to view the video.
  • Senior Capstone Project, "Preventing Rolling Veins During Venipuncture" by Julia Wilcox, Emily Szabo, Merenda Ruff, and William McInerney, was chosen to be highlighted for their work over the Fall 2018-Spring 2019 semesters. Their team created a device to prevent veins from rolling during venipuncture. The NSF I-CORPs short course helped them to identify a target market for their device for future applications. The instructors guided them in developing solid value propositions. Before the course, the students believed that people would be interested in their project if the technology worked, but the NSF I-CORPs program taught them how to evaluate and market their product to potential customers. After conducting 20 interviews with potential customers, the students have concluded that medical professionals are in need of a vein stabilization device that will increase the success rate of needle insertions during venipuncture. They now have a deeper understanding of how to bring a design to the real world.
  • Recent 2018 graduate, Jessica Funnel (BS) has received the NSF's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based Master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
  • The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of $50,000 to the Senior Design Project, entitled "I-Corps: Pressure Ulcer Prevention Pad," under the direction of Dr. Guy German. Bar Stern, Nate Fisher and Dom Pirozzi, recent BU Grads, are the biomedical engineers behind PUPP Seating. This award starts March 15, 2019 and ends August 31, 2019.

2018

  • BME 2017 Senior Design Project Update with Pressure Ulcer Prevention Pad, Inc. Big things are happening for Bar Stern, Nate Fisher and Dom Pirozzi, recent BU Grads and the biomedical engineers behind PUPP Seating!

    PUPP, a dynamic wheelchair cushion used to treat and prevent the formation of pressure ulcers, utilizes alternating technology to redistribute pressure away from high risk areas, relieving pressure points and preventing ulcer formation.

    The company is now following through with "beta tests" at nursing homes with their full functioning prototypes and are excited to receive feedback from the people who really matter, the patients and healthcare providers. Click here to watch the video!

  • Binghamton University alumni Nathaniel Fisher, Bar Stern, and Dominick Pirozzi graduated in 17′ with a BS and 18′ with a MS in Biomedical Engineering. As part of their project, they created the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Pad, and eventually PUPP, Inc., after a professor proposed the idea for their senior design project. By working with the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator and the National Science Foundation's I-Corps program, the PUPP team was able to start their market. Read more by clicking here!

  • BME Juniors get hands-on with specialized orthopedic devices, all made possible by biomedical engineering design! Dr. Eric Seybold, an Orthopedic Surgeon from Lourdes Orthopedic and Stryker Representatives presented in Dr. Hookway's course, Biomaterials.
  • Margaret Blystone, a Biomedical Engineering student and BU REU participant, has been selected for participation in the Council on Undergraduate Research's Research Experiences for Undergraduates Symposium taking place on October 28-29, 2018. Ms. Bylstone's work was supervised by Dr. Sha Jin.
  • Several undergraduate students have been chosen to present at the 2018 BMES Anunal Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Several students were part of the Binghamton University Biomedical Engineering REU program that took place Summer 2018. The students include Jacob Gershon (REU, BME), Natalie Mueller (REU), Julia Wilcox (BME), Kaitlin Enright (BME), Margaret Blystone (REU, BME), and Emma Northrup (REU, BME).
  • Junior BME major Rebecca Mancusi was recently awarded the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering in America, The Barry Goldwater Scholarship! Read more here!
  • Click here to view the article from the Press & Sun Bulletin on the 2018 Senior Capstone Projects, "Giving hope to those with ALS, cerebral palsy, other disabilities".

  • A team consisting of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Engineering students have been awarded 1st place in the Assistive Technology Competition, through the NYSID CREATE symposium. Natalie Zanco (BME) and Dong Woo (Chris) Shin (BME), among other members of the group, were awarded the $15,000 prize as part of their project, "Automatic Up-Down Door Conveyer System".

    The specific client was AVRE, which is located in downtown Binghamton, specifically in the paper manufacturing division. Upwards of 90% of the employees working in AVRE's manufacturing division are legally blind. They were tasked with creating a new output system for them which would increase their output by 60-70% while creating jobs for more legally blind employees, while making sure that the device is safe for legally blind employees to operate, and easy for them to operate and use. The team was highlighted by Spectrum News in this article.

  • Dong Woo Shin, a BME undergraduate student, has been awarded on for two Provost's Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, a huge accomplishment. This award is given to students who have excelled in research, scholarship and creative activities that extend beyond traditional coursework.
  • Rebecca Mancusi, a BME undergraduate student, recently won a poster presentation at the ABRCMS in Phoenix this past November. As a result, she will be fully funded to present her poster at the 2018 American Association of Immunology's Annual Conference in Austin, Texas in May.

2017

  • Two Senior Design Projects have been sponsored Avangrid Foundation for the 2017-2018 academic year for being energy or environment-related. The project "El Charcon Sister City Project: Waste-to-Wealth" will involve implementing a system that would help people in El Charcon, El Salvador more effectively manufacture new materials from waste. The project "Solar-powered Hydrotherapy Unit for Dogs" will involve developing a solar-powered hydro-treadmill therapy for veterinary patients, with Willow's Wings as the client. Hydro-treadmill therapy is primarily used in veterinary patients to enable early return to function and improve muscle strength after limb, neck, or back surgery or injury and improve range of motion in compromised joints. The product design will be to minimize water usage with ideally the water to be completely recycled.
  • Alana MacDonald, a BME undergraduate student, has been awarded the Undergraduate Award to Support Research and Creative Work. The funding will go towards underwrite expenses incurred during her research.
  • Two BME undergrads have been offered internship assignments for GE Healthcare as Biomedical Technicians at Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, NY. This opportunity stemmed from the NEBEC career panel that was held at Binghamton University in the spring.
  • Stephen Watt, a current BME Accelerated MS Student, shares his experience of working as a Device & Drug Delivery Systems Engineering Co-op Intern at Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Watt learned technical skills ranging from design for manufacturability concepts, 3D printing, and tolerance stack up.
  • BME Senior, Stephen Fischer has been selected to receive a Council Foundation Award, which will be given at the President's Award Luncheon. He was nominated by Professor Gretchen Mahler. To read more about this award, visit the Binghamton University Council webpage.
  • Nicole Martucci, a BME undergrad, has been awarded Honorable Mention for the Provost's Award of Excellence in Undergraduate Research due to the high-quality caliber of her research, scholarly, and creative endeavors. For more information about this award, visit the Provost Excellence page.
  • Alyssa Berkowitz and Leigha Jarett, biomedical engineering undergraduate students, have been chosen as one of the highly recognized recipients of the Chancellor's Award for the Spring 2016 semester. The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence recognizes students for the integration of academic excellence with other aspects of their lives which may include leadership, community service, arts, athletics and career achievement. Read more about the Chancellor's Award here.
  • Two BME students have been chosen for the S3IP Undergraduate Research Initiative award. Travis Blank for the project "Heterogeneous Substrates to Prolong Functionality of Compliant Electronics", under Dr. Guy German and Gabriella Shull for "Investigating the Effects of Ingested TiO2 Nanoparticles on GI Health and Function", under Dr. Gretchen Mahler. To read more about the award, visit the S3IP webpage.
  • Two biomedical engineering undergraduates have been nominated for the Chancellor's Award for the Spring 2016 semester. Along with the Chancellor's Award, Leigha Jarrett and Alyssa Berkowitz are also nominated for the President's Award for Undergraduate Excellence, an award specifically for Binghamton University students. Both committees will be meeting in late February and early March for consideration. Read more about the awards here.

2016

  • Kyrin Pollock, a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, and Matthew Gill, a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering, were selected to be TEDxBinghamtonUniversity's student speakers and will present about their virtual reality start-up Enhance VR to inform attendees why they should embrace virtual reality technology. To read more, visit the BU Pipe Dream website.
  • Two Senior Design projects have been awarded Iberdrola Foundations USA funding. These energy and environment-related projects include a Low Cost Dehumidifier for Dog Rescue Shelters and Water Generation for Developing Regions.
  • BME students and members of the Society of Women Engineers recently attended the Society of Women Engineers' National Conference in Nashville, TN. The students were able to attend lectures on advanced technologies along with attending the career fair staffed with over 250 employers. Multiple students were interviewed for job positions and internships at this department funded visit.
  • BE Senior and BU-HHMI student, Joshua Cohen, has been awarded the Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence.

2015

  • Leigha Jarrett, a Bioengineering Junior was featured in the newest edition of the Binghamton Researchers, Scholars & Artists Spotlight. The article outlines the background and research interests of Leigha as well as her ongoing education in the Bioengineering Department.
  • Bioengineering Junior, Nicole Martucci, has won the S3IP Undergraduate Research Initiative Award. This award provides Martucci the opportunity to participate as a research project assistant with Professor Gretchen Mahler for the project, Characterizing the Effects of Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Ingestion. Support for the S3IP Undergraduate Research Initiative is made possible by support from Joy and Joel D. Kellman '63 and the Empire State Development's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR).
  • A Senior Design Capstone team composed of three Bioengineering and a Mechanical Engineering student have been featured in the latest Binghamton University Magazine issue for designing a puncture-resistant device for use in abdominal surgery. This type of medical device is unique because at this time there is nothing like the teams design on the market. For more information and to review the current issue of Binghamton University Magazine.
  • Rebecca Irwin, a Bioengineering Senior, is one of the named 2014 Summer Scholars and Artists Program award recipients. Irwin's project, Investigating the Role of Outer Membrane Vesicles and Shear Stress on Biofilm Maturation Using Microfluidics earned her recognition for the Summer 2014 term.
  • Tyler Bender, a Bioengineering Senior, and his team, will head to Albany April 25th for a chance to win a share of $500,000 in start-up money at the New York State Business Plan Competition. Bender's business plan Retware, an inexpensive diabetic retinopathy diagnostics system that can be used without a physician present to conduct the test was chosen at the Regional Business Plan Competition.
  • Bioengineering Senior and Research Assistant, Yehudah Pardo has been awarded Honorable Mention for the 2014 Provost's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Pardo will be recognized at the President's and Provost's Award Ceremony held May 2, 2014.
  • PhD Biomedical Student, Xue Liu is the recipient of the 2014 Kligman Award from the International Society of Biophysics and Imagine of the Skin (ISBS). Liu has been invited to attend the ISBS conference in Mystic, Connecticut.
  • Joshua Cohen, a Bioengineering Junior, and BU-HHMI student has received the President's Award for Undergraduate Student Excellence. Binghamton University will present President's Awards for Undergraduate Student Excellence at a luncheon at the end of the Spring 2014 semester. Cohen is one of six undergraduates that will receive the award -- three juniors and three seniors. Each recipient will receive a certificate and a check for $1,000. Cohen has been working with BE Professor Mahler as an Undergraduate Research Assistant and recently spent his winter break in Honduras on a medical mission.

2014

  • David Bassen (Class of 2013): summer internship, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health in Albany, NY (NSF REU Supplemental Grant). David will return to the Wadsworth Center this summer to extend his skills in computational modeling, this time characterizing microtubule derived structures. He will also have the opportunity to learn electron microscopy.
  • David Bassen, a junior Bioengineering major in Watson College, is the recipient of a 2012-13 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He is one of 282 scholarship recipients nationwide selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,123 mathematics, science and engineering students nominated by their colleges and universities. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.
  • Christopher Keil (Class of 2012) summer internship, T-Systems Multimedia, working in project management/innovation.
  • Lisa Benison (Class of 2014): summer internship, Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering REU program, University of Maryland and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  • Jennifer Lui (Class of 2013): summer internship, Biology of Healthy Aging Division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  • Erin Barnes (Class of 2013): summer research opportunity with Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in collaboration with Professor Walker Land, the development of an ensemble processor to determine the correct diagnosis for non-small cell lung cancer.
  • Amber Ferger (Class of 2013): summer research opportunity with Howard Hughes Medical Institute, in collaboration with Professor Walker Land, the development of an ensemble processor to determine the correct diagnosis for non-small cell lung cancer.

2013

  • David Bassen (Class of 2013): summer internship, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health in Albany, NY (NSF REU Grant)
  • Wendy Yung (Class of 2012): summer internship, Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange (ERIE) REU Program, University at Buffalo
  • Noora Chaar (Class of 2012): summer internship, Binghamton University-HHMI Program: Interdisciplinary research for undergraduate majors in science and engineering
  • Jennifer Lui (Class of 2013): summer internship, SURF-IT (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in IT) REU program, University of California Santa Cruz

2010

  • Rob Atwell (Class of 2011): recipient of the Terrana Pre-Dental Scholarship for 2010-2011.
  • Michael Bush (Class of 2011): summer internship, Western Transportation Institute REU Program, Montana State University
  • Megan Brasch (Class of 2011): summer internship, Syracuse Biomaterials Institute REU Program, Syracuse University
  • Noora Chaar (Class of 2012); summer internship, Syracuse Biomaterials Institute REU Program, Syracuse University

2009

  • Douglas Eggers (Class of 2010): summer internship, Nanotechnology Center, Albany, NY.
  • Christopher Keil (Class of 2012): summer internship, Defense Security Department of EADS N.V. (European Aeronautics Defense and Space N.V.), marketing and sales.

2008

  • Matt Arisohn (Class of 2009): summer internship, New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
  • Vinny Chacko (Class of 2009): recipient of the Tau Beta Pi Scholarship for 2008-2009, the Tau Beta Pi Association
  • Kathryn Fletcher (Class of 2008): recipient of the Honorable Mention for the 2008 University Awards for Undergraduate Student Excellence
  • Laura Kinne (Class of 2009): recipient of first place recognition in the academic poster sessions, COE 2008 Annual PLM Conference and TechniFair, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
  • Linford Leitch (Class of 2010): summer internship, Quality of Life Technology Center REU program, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.

2007

  • Swati Gupta (Class of 2007): summer internship, American Cancer Society Patient and Family Services, Endicott, N.Y.
  • Daniel Kinney (Class of 2007): recipient of the 2007 Binghamton University Aswad Family Award to a graduating senior going to medical school
  • Sheila Saia (Class of 2007): recipient of the 2007 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence
  • David Levy (Class of 2008): summer internship, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University of Albany

2006

  • Giya Abraham (Class of 2006): recipient of the 2006 SUNY Chancellor's Award for Student Excellence
  • Jeremy Coleman (Class of 2007): summer internship, University of California San Diego Supercomputing Center (SDSC)
  • Swati Gupta (Class of 2007): summer internship, Sensys Medical Inc., Chandler, Ariz.
  • Angela Love (Class of 2007): summer internship, Center for Engineering in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
  • Pierce Schiller (Class of 2008): recipient of the SAE Scholarship and the 2006 Binghamton Exemplary Student Award; co-organized DriveForTheCureUSA.org, a charity cross country drive to benefit the American Cancer Society

2005

  • Elliot Alyeshmerni (Class of 2006): summer internship, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  • Mike Lever (Class of 2006): summer internship, Particle Research and Technology Center, University of Florida

2004

  • Benjamin Altman (Class of 2006): summer internship, Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Lab, Tel Aviv University
  • Dene Farrell (Class of 2006): summer internship, Santa Fe Institute
  • Joanna Hedels (Class of 2006): summer internship, Bioinformatics and Bioengineering Summer Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Michael Brown (Class of 2006): summer internship, Masonic Medical Research Laboratory