Bioengineering Students and Alumni Receive NSF Research Awards

Graduate Recipients

Brent Showalter, doctoral student in the laboratory of Dawn Elliott, associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering, and Rachel Truitt, doctoral student in the laboratory of Kenneth B. Margulies, professor of Medicine, have been awarded prestigious Graduate Research Fellowships by the National Science Foundation.

Showalter earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2009 from Brigham Young University and is interested in soft tissue biomechanics. Truitt earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from The John Hopkins University in 2010.

In addition, honorable mentions were awarded to doctoral students Nathan Crosby in the laboratory of Beth Winkelstein, associate professor of Bioengineering; Katherine Reuther in the laboratory of Louis Soslowsky, Fairhill Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and professor of Bioengineering; and Judith Kandel in the laboratory of David Eckmann, Horatio C. Wood Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care and professor of Bioengineering.

The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.  The awards provide three years of support in the form of an annual stipend, a cost-of-education allowance, international research and professional development opportunities and TeraGrid Supercomputer access.

Undergraduate Recipients

David Zhai, a senior working in the laboratory of Jason Burdick, associate professor of Bioengineering, is the recipient of an NSF Gradaute Fellowship. Zhai’s current work in the Burdick Lab involves cartilage tissue engineering with HA hydrogels. Zhai plans to attend Stanford University for his graduate studies.

Vyas Ramanan, a senior in the laboratories of Jason Burdick and Ravi Radhakrishnan, received an NSF honorable mention.  Ramanan’s current research work involves developing light-sensitive nanofiber scaffolds, and he plans to attend the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology for his graduate studies.

Alumni Recipients

Bioengineering undergraduate alumni who will receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowships as graduate students include Karen Ryall (BSE’09), currently studying at the University of Virginia and Ludovic Vincent (BSE’09), currently at the University of California, San Diego.