Welcome to the newest edition of our newsletter, Just BE. I've been gathering information from you, what you plan on doing this summer and how the last semester has treated you. Alas, we'll be saying goodbye to some of our friends and I'm sure we wish them a fond farewell and hearty good luck in their new endeavors.  Also, if you havenít done so already please make note: the URL for our BE website has changed. Please bookmark our new URL: http://web.mit.edu/be. Thanks!
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Hail to the Graduates!
Weíll miss them but for all students there comes the time to leave and go on to the promise of a new and exciting future. We thank them for being with us and wish them health and happiness in their new lives. Keep us up to date on your progress as often as possible!
Our first graduating class of Masterís in Engineering in Biomedical Engineering are:
Ricardo Brau, who will continue his studies as a student in the Bioengineering PhD program; Celestine Chang, taking a position at Merck; Tarjei Mikkelsen, and Jose(Manny) Otero.
Manny will be going on to the Fermentation & Cell Culture Group of the Merck Global Research Center.  He will be working on development of the bioprocess for the AIDS vaccine.
Receiving a Masterís in Science are Aaron Baker (BE), Helen Banava (TOX), and Andrew Levin (BE).
PhD Recipients are: Chi-Pong Kwan (TOX) and Maryann Smela (TOX).
To see photos of the event celebrating their achievements, please go to: http://web.mit.edu/be/gradphoto.html.
Congratulations to all of you!
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Award Recipients
Biomedical Engineering Society- Johnson & Johnson Excellence in Biomedical Engineering Award
The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) ? Johnson & Johnson Excellence Awards for outstanding research in Biomedical Engineering were presented to the following students:
Roshni Aggarwal, a junior in Biology from Glastonbury, Connecticut;
Raag Airan, a junior in Physics from Miami, Florida;
Aimee Brigitte Angel, a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering from Portland, Oregon;
George Gluck, a senior in Biology from Miami, Florida;
Jose (Manny) Otero, a graduate student in Biological Engineering from Greenwich, Connecticut;
Boon Tay, a graduate student in Mechanical Engineering from Singapore.

Bioengineering Undergraduate Research Award/Whitaker Research Award
The Bioengineering Undergraduate Research Award /Whitaker Research Award for outstanding undergraduate research in Bioengineering were presented to:
Roshni Aggarwal, a junior in Biology from Glastonbury, Connecticut;
Nganfong Huang, a senior in Chemical Engineering from Brooklyn, New York;
Julie Watts, a senior in Chemical Engineering from Baltimore, Maryland.

Randolph G. Wei UROP Award
Prof. Bevin Engelward is proud to announce that Tetsuya Matsuguchi, an undergraduate in her research group, was one of two MIT students awarded the Randolph G. Wei Award this year.  The Wei UROP Award is given each spring to the undergraduate who has made the most outstanding contribution in undergraduate research at the interface of the life sciences and engineering.

Whitehead Prize in Biology
The Department of Biology proudly recognizes Tetsuya Matsuguchi as the 2001-2002 recipient of the Whitehead Prize in Biology.  This Prize is awarded to a Biology major who has shown outstanding promise for a career in biological research as demonstrated by academic scholarship and research."

School of Engineering Infinite Mile Award Winner!
Congratulations to Kim Bond Schaefer on her selection as an Infinite Mile Award recipient. Kimís citation reads, in part: "Kim manages million dollar accounts to the penny, wins rave reviews from faculty members on how well she handles seminar programs, graduate student recruiting weekends and new faculty searches! Her work is exceptional both in its quality and its quantity. For example, last year she and her faculty supervisor sent out more than 400 letters of recommendation and every single letter was on time. Kim is a role model as a working spouse and parent. She works flexible hours and has been asked on a number of occasions to give talks to others in the Institute on how she manages her time".

Maryann E Smela, soon to be a PhD recipient and a member of Prof. John Essigmannís lab, attended the AACR annual meeting in April, and received the Brigid G. Leventhal Award for Women in Cancer Research.

Ada Au, graduate researcher in Prof. Linda Griffithís lab, presented a student recital sponsored by the Dept of Music and
Theater Arts in the Emerson Fellowship program on April 10th at played in Killian Hall. It is our understanding that Adaís performance was greeted with many "bravaís" and she brought down the house.

2002 AIChE William H. Walker Award Recipient
Word comes from Bob Armstrong, Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering, that Doug Lauffenburger has won the 2002 AIChE William H. Walker Award for Excellence in Contributions to Chemical Engineering Literature. Doug is receiving this award based on his intellectual leadership in combining chemical engineering with molecular cell biology and for developing innovative biotechnologies based on molecular cell level design principles. This is wonderful and well-deserved recognition of Doug's outstanding research and scholarship in this area. Congratulations Doug on this outstanding achievement!

Congratulations to all of you on the well-deserved recognition of your outstanding work!
(If Iíve missed anyone, please donít be shy. Iíll include your award in the next edition.)
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BE Faculty Named to Endowed Professorships
Tech Talk, in the June 5th edition, reports that Darrell Irvine was appointed to the Karl Van Tassel Career Development Professorship for a three-year term, beginning January 1, 2002. The chair was established in 1986 as a tribute to faculty members who pursue excellence in their teaching and research activities.
John Essigmann is the newest holder of the Leitch Professorship in Residence for a five-year term beginning July 1. The $1 million endowment will support the housemaster and a fund for residential life programs and special events at Simmons House where John and his wife, Ellen, will assume their duties as housemasters when the facility opens in Fall, 2002. The Essigmanns are, at present, housemasters at New House.
Congratulations!
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How I'll Spend (Part of) My Summer
Trevor McKee, PhD candidate in Prof. Peter So's lab, received a competitive student travel grant for biomedical engineering graduate students from the Whitaker foundation to attend the 2002 Gordon Research Conference on Lasers in Medicine and Biology this summer July 14th to 19th in Meriden, NH.
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Jose (Manny) Otero will be giving a talk at the National American Chemical Society in the Advances in Cell Culture Process Development session, this August in Boston, MA.
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So Long, It's Been Good to Know You!
Congratulations to Wogan Lab Postdoctoral Fellow, Beatriz Zayas, who has recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor at the University Metropolitana in her homeland of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  She will begin working in the School of Environmental Affairs this August, after she relocates with her husband and two children this summer.  Beatriz has been working on the Training Grant in Environmental Toxicology since her arrival in the fall of 1999.  She will be missed, but we wish her and her family all the best!
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New Fellowships for Doctoral Candidates in Biological Engineering Created by Biogen
Tech Talk reports that Biological Engineering and Biogen Inc. have announced the establishment of a fellowship program designed to train scientists for careers in the biotechnology industry, with special emphasis on the area of toxicology.
Under the program, two MIT doctoral candidates will be selected each year as Biogen Fellows. Candidates must have completed required courses and passed the written doctoral examination in toxicology or bioengineering. In addition to academic training at MIT, fellows will participate in a customized internship at Biogen. Biogen will contribute $50,000 annually for the fellowships, which will last two to three years each.
The Fellows for 2002-2003 are: Janice Lansita and Katrina Midlefort.  Congratulations!
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Can You Dig This?
Intrepid reporter, Olga Parkin files this report from her trip to the Big Dig: "Several members of the Tannenbaum Lab went on a "Big Dig Tour" on Thursday, May 16 conducted by Andy Markowsky of the the Central Artery/Tunnel Project.  In the lobby of the building we were able to view a model display of "The Big Dig" followed by a 45-minute slide show  which detailed the history and included step-by-step details of the various construction projects.  The new tunnels were built directly under and, in some cases, on top of, the existing MBTA lines which created a complex range of construction problems.  It was a very interesting presentation and Andy was great fielding the many technical questions about this project.  Guided tours of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and the first in the United States, and the new underground tunnel for Route 93 followed.  The Central Artery project has enough engineering marvels to fill a textbook. The designers and builders of the project were faced with difficult soil conditions, tight working spaces, the proximity to construction of huge glass and steel office towers and fragile old brick buildings, the need to hold up an elevated highway while tunneling directly beneath it, and generally keeping Boston open for business throughout 14 years of construction. Lab members came away from the tour with a new appreciation and understanding for the technological scope of this vast project".
For further information see the website:  http://www.bigdig.com/.
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Itís A Family Affair
For the second time, BE staff in our Headquarters office, 56-651, and other support, research, faculty and administrative staff members organized and hosted Kidís Day on April 19th. Created to familiarize children of BE members with what we do after we drop them off at school or day care, activities were designed for not only fun but for education. Mariann Murray, one of the organizers, reports: "The day consisted of demonstrations from Plasma Fusion, Laurel Ng and Arts & Crafts (Dalia Gabour and MM).  We went to the MIT Ocean Engineering Museum and played outside near Walker (on the green dot).  We also had Karaoke, which Roni (Dudley-Cowans)"hosted", and a pizza party with goodie bags". Pictures from the dayís activities, provided by Mariann, can be found on the website: http://web.mit.edu/be/familyday.html.
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Speaking of family, BE welcomes two new members: John Thomas Matsudaira, the newest addition to the household of Professor Paul Matsudaira and spouse Maureen. Warmest congratulations and best wishes!
Jacob Robert Hendricks was born to Carrie and Jason Hendricks on January 8, 2002. Sorry we're a little late with the announcement but Carrie is a graduate student in the Division and she's a tad busy right now and wasn't able to get the information to the editor until recently. Here's our wish for a healthy and happy life for both little Jacob and John!
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News from Prof. James Sherleyís Lab
Five members of the Sherley Lab (Krisha Panchalingam, Janice Lansita, James Sherley, Jean Francois Pare, and Gracy Crane) joined with
members of MIT-CBE (Carlos Semino and Georgia Panagiotakos) to give the Biological Engineering Division a presence at the March 2002 Keystone Symposium on "Stem Cells: Orgins, Fates, and Functions" in Keystone, Colorado.  The group presented four posters, and Janice Lansita delivered an outstanding talk on her research on the physicochemical characterization of immortal DNA strands.  Both Janice Lansita and Gracy Crane were awarded scholarships to recognize their excellence in research.

Several new UROPers joined the laboratory.  They include Philip Deutsch ('04; course 10), Michal Ganz ('05; course 7), and Amy Shi ('04; course 10).  Special accolades to Amy  and Roshni Aggarwal (UROP student since fall semester 2001; '03; course 7).  Amy was elected the new president of MIT's Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and was awarded a scholarship by MIT's Society of Women Engineers.  Roshni was awarded a MIT-BMES Johnson & Johnson Excellence in Biomedical Engineering Research Prize for her research to develop a new assay for detecting adult stem cells.

We also welcomed Jennifer Cheng as a new graduate student in our laboratory.

Prof. Sherley served on Science Magazine's Next Wave's "How To Get Help for Your Academic Job Search" panel at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  In March, he gave a keynote address at the New England Science Symposium sponsored  by Harvard Medical School's Biomedical Science Careers Program.  Prof. Sherley also addressed the Norwegian Trade Council and members of General Electrics Capital Services-Employers Reinsurance Group (ERC) and Financial Reassurance (GEFA) on topics in stem cell biology and therapeutic cloning.
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New Representative
Christiane Struve announces that Xinfeng Zhou, a first year Toxicology student, is taking her place as Graduate Student Council representative and sends her congratulations to him for his new position. Graduate students, faculty and staff can email him with any questions or concerns they might have about graduate school/graduate student life at: xinfeng@mit.edu.

James Camp is the representative to the Graduate Student Council from Biological Engineering. His email address is: jcamp@mit.edu.

And while Christiane is so kind in her good wishes for Xinfeng, let us congratulate her on her election as Executive Committee member at the GSC.  She is now Chair of the Committee on Academics, Research and Careers.

Congratulations to Christiane, James and Xinfeng and thank you for taking on these very important duties.
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Research News
Our faculty and their research groups have been quite busy over the last few months and MITís Tech Talk has made note of many of their findings. If you missed any of these articles, please go to the links below for further information.

"MIT Probes Cartilage on Nanoscale" from Profs. Alan Grodzinsky and Christine Ortiz: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/2002/jun12/cartilage.html

"Team Reports Source of Human Cells for Engineered Blood Vessels" from Prof. Robert Langerís Lab: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/bloodvessels.html

"New MIT Nanomaterial Could Slide into Future Soap and Beyond" from Dr. Shuguang Zhangís lab: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/nanomaterial.html

"Smart Suture is First Application of Novel MIT Polymer" from Prof. Robert Langerís lab: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/langer-suture.html

"Viruses Put to Work Making High-Tech Materials" from new faculty member Prof. Angela Belcher: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/belcher.html
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Conference Planned
The 7th US-Japan Symposium on Drug Delivery Systems will be held December 14-19, 2003 in Hawaii. Bob Langer and Mitsuru Hashida are the co-chairmen. Inquiries should be directed to Connie Beal, Symposium Administrator at cjbeal@mit.edu. More information can be found at the symposium website: http://web.mit.edu/cheme/langerlab/symposium.html.
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Job Opportunity
Hypnion is a biotech company located in Worcester, MA.  They are currently seeking Research Associates and would welcome resumes from students, upcoming graduates and alumni. The job description for this position can be located at the web site listed below.
http://www.hypnion.com/about.html#career.
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The Editor wishes to thank the myriad sources of information and is grateful to the following: Suzette Clinton, Mariann Murray, Christiane Struve, Denise McPhail, Olga Parkin, Doug Lauffenburger, James Sherley, Manny Otero, Ada Au, Bevin Engelward, Maryann Smela, Dalia Gabour, Leona Sampson, Connie Beal and Bob Armstrong for their help and encouragement.   Feel free to send email to: sorrento@mit.edu with your news. Happy Summer to you all and look for our next issue in September!
JoAnn Sorrento, Editor-in-Chief
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