2009 News Archive

Dr. Qifa Zhou, a research associate professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and Ultrasonic Transducer Resource Center (UTRC), in collaboration with researchers from the University of California at Irvine, has been awarded a $2.2 million R01 grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Professor David Z. D’Argenio was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the AAPS annual meeting in Los Angeles on November 8, 2009.

Ms. Rui Zhu, Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, received the Outstanding Modeling and Simulation Award at the American Conference of Pharmacometrics meeting on October 6, 2009 for her work entitled: Isoniazid Pharmacokinetics in HIV Perinatally Exposed Infants: The Role of NAT-2 Enzyme Maturation. Rui was one of four poster award recipients out of over 160 posters presented, and was the only student to receive an award.

The American Society for Nanomedicine (ASNM) recognized PhD candidate Jae Kyoo Lee’s research presentation, "Observing the Death of Cell on the Nanoscale: Real-time Molecular Imaging of Retinal Ganglion Cell Apoptosis under Elevated Pressure", by a “Young Investigator Award” at its inaugural conference, October 22-25, 2009 (Potomac, Maryland).

The Biomedical Engineering Society has selected Xiwu Cao, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering, to receive a Graduate Research Award for his paper, entitled "Dependence of Retinal Ganglion Cell Responses on Textures of Natural Scenes". This paper will be presented in the form of a platform presentation at the 2009 Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in Pittsburgh (October 7-9).

Lisong Ai, a PhD student in biomedical engineering, has been awarded a prestigious predoctoral fellowship by the American Heart Association. The fellowship will support Ai’s research project, entitled “A Real-Time Model to Assess Vascular Oxidative Stress and Mechanically Unstable Plaque”.

Nicholas Wettels, a third-year Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering, was awarded a NASA GSRP fellowship for 2009 to work on the Robonaut project at Johnson Space Center.

The 13th Annual Fred S. Grodins Symposium of graduate student research from the Viterbi School’s Department of Biomedical Engineering took place on Saturday, April 4 at a new venue this year – the Los Angeles Convention Center. As in the past, this year’s event was organized by a committee of BME doctoral students selected by department chair Michael Khoo.

BME Advisory Board members, Dr. Robert Greenberg and Dr. Jonathan Lasch, have been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. The AIMBE College of Fellows consists of individuals who are the outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry and government. These leaders in the field have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education.

Dr. Qifa Zhou, a research associate professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and Ultrasonic Transducer Resource Center (UTRC), in collaboration with researchers from the University of California at Irvine, has been awarded a $2.2 million R01 grant from National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The highly selective medical honor society recognizes Tzung "John" Hsiai's achievements in biomedical research.

The ISI Project Leader/Epstein Department professor talks about making 21st century grid computing techniques into useful tools for clinicians.

"Ted Berger, Danny Cohen, Bart Kosko and Gerhard Kramer are four very talented and exceptional individuals with outstanding records of academic achievement," noted Dean Yannis C. Yortos.

Professor David Z. D’Argenio was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the AAPS annual meeting in Los Angeles on November 8, 2009.

In a one-day seminar, a faculty panel shared their experiences, discussing the benefits of a career in academia with more than 100 doctoral candidates.

Ms. Rui Zhu, Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, received the Outstanding Modeling and Simulation Award at the American Conference of Pharmacometrics meeting on October 6, 2009 for her work entitled: Isoniazid Pharmacokinetics in HIV Perinatally Exposed Infants: The Role of NAT-2 Enzyme Maturation. Rui was one of four poster award recipients out of over 160 posters presented, and was the only student to receive an award.

Subu Goparaju was one of the "Infoscions" who attended the recent “thought sharing and collaboration event that brings together the best academicians, researchers, practitioners and thought leaders” at the USC Viterbi School.

Tzung "John" Hsiai hopes to help clinicians distinguish cardiac emergencies requiring immediate surgery from chronic problems manageable with drugs and lifestyle change.

The American Society for Nanomedicine (ASNM) recognized PhD candidate Jae Kyoo Lee’s research presentation, "Observing the Death of Cell on the Nanoscale: Real-time Molecular Imaging of Retinal Ganglion Cell Apoptosis under Elevated Pressure", by a “Young Investigator Award” at its inaugural conference, October 22-25, 2009 (Potomac, Maryland).

Faculty members from the Ming Hsieh and Computer Science departments teamed up with a Keck School professor to win the Best Technology Award at a recent conference on implantable medical devices held at USC.

The Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN) has launched a website that highlights its broadened focus, including services for the entire biomedical community and enhanced data-sharing and analysis tools and capabilities.

Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will support a wide range of Viterbi School research in numerous engineering disciplines

Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman brought his message that current methods of teaching subjects like physics, chemistry and engineering are inefficient to about 100 USC faculty members -- and left behind continuing interest.

Mark Humayun has been elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine for his groundbreaking work to restore sight to the blind.

The Biomedical Engineering Society has selected Xiwu Cao, a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering, to receive a Graduate Research Award for his paper, entitled "Dependence of Retinal Ganglion Cell Responses on Textures of Natural Scenes". This paper will be presented in the form of a platform presentation at the 2009 Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in Pittsburgh (October 7-9).

Five-month old Charlotte Aquarelle Bayona Chew was the youngest listener to Dean Yannis C. Yortsos' September 23 report to engineering faculty and staff

The Ming Hsieh Department professor's new responsibilities include student recruitment and retention.

Andrea Armani and Ellis Meng have been named to the 2009 class of the TR35, an annual list of the world's top young innovators selected by the editors of Technology Review, the much admired MIT magazine.

Eighteen interns from all over the U.S. spending the summer doing individual research with Viterbi School professors reported on their research.

The Voice of America Hindi language video channel focuses on the success of students from IIT Kharagpur in the Viterbi School's summer undergraduate research program

New MS degrees, new short courses, 5-year terminal masters programs and much more are part of changes embodied in a new division, the Viterbi School Office of Master's and Professional Programs, headed by Associate Dean Kelly Goulis

The Viterbi School of Engineering has made education for engineering professionals a top priority, ranking alongside graduate research and undergraduate study.

Dozens of the talented undergraduates spending summer at the Viterbi School working intensively with faculty gathered on a sunny Wednesday for burgers, hotdogs and conviviality.

A new study suggests controlling muscles in even simple movements taxes our minds to capacity, countering a long-held belief that an inability to complete dexterous tasks results from properties of the muscles themselves.

Lisong Ai, a PhD student in biomedical engineering, has been awarded a prestigious predoctoral fellowship by the American Heart Association. The fellowship will support Ai’s research project, entitled “A Real-Time Model to Assess Vascular Oxidative Stress and Mechanically Unstable Plaque”.

Gödel prizewinner Shang-Hua Teng comes to USC from Boston University; Dean Yortsos also names Kim to lead EE/E, extensions of chair terms in BME, Astani, and EE-Systems, and an interim appointment in AME.

Work by Dr. Mark Humayun and collaborators including Armand Tanguay of the Ming Hsieh Department was a featured segment on the evening newscast, and on MSNBC.

Selected engineering students at USC, Duke University, and Olin College who follow a special program with five challenge-related elements will receive a special honors designation along with their diplomas.

Nicholas Wettels, a third-year Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering, was awarded a NASA GSRP fellowship for 2009 to work on the Robonaut project at Johnson Space Center.

Dean Yannis C. Yortsos, now a member of the elite Chinese institution's advisory board, signed an agreement creating a new joint research center on "Green and Smart" energy IT

In a ceremony in Beijing, Deans Yannis C. Yortsos and Shiyi Chen signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a unique link between their two schools.

The White House named Charles F. Bolden Jr. (MS - Systems Management '77), a former combat pilot, Marine Corps major general and veteran space shuttle commander -- and USC trustee as the space agency's next administrator.

Building on decades of basic research, a team led by BME's Ted Berger has won a 4-year $16.4 million DARPA grant to restore lost memory function.

Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos and Technion Senior VP Paul Feigin signed a memorandum of understanding at a meeting in Haifa in early May.

Terence Sanger, a pediatric neurologist, receives concurrent joint appointments in several USC departments.

The Viterbi School shines brightly at USC’s 126th Commencement, and at the Viterbi undergraduate and graduate ceremonies where standardv bearer Torey Marshall and 2056 others won degrees

A soft-spoken biomedical engineering grad with an electrical engineering emphasis will speak at the May 15 commencement ceremony as USC's 126th valedictorian.

Ross Mead (CS) and Samantha Cunningham (BME) have been named National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellows, a distinction that includes three years of funding in their fields of expertise.

Five Viterbi faculty and Associate Dean Margie Berti gave more than 100 doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows tips on academic careers.

This is the State of the School speech delivered by Senior Associate Dean John O'Brien at the April 23 Faculty-Staff Luncheon, with photos of all the award winners.

BME professor Ted Berger will work with LAS and the French pharmaceutical discovery firm Rhenovia Pharma to find a strategy for creating effective drugs to regulate a key neural system.

The Klein Institute for Undergraduate Engineering Life encourages students like Michelle Dee to develop talents beyond those taught in engineering classes.

Biomedical Engineering Department Chair Michael Khoo presided over the 13th Fred S. Grodins Graduate Research Symposium, presenting a wide range of exceptional student talent.

On the Today Show, Senior Associate Dean Maja Mataric‘ discusses the promise and potential of "socially assistive robotics," a term she invented, in the treatment of ASD.

The 13th Annual Fred S. Grodins Symposium of graduate student research from the Viterbi School’s Department of Biomedical Engineering took place on Saturday, April 4 at a new venue this year – the Los Angeles Convention Center. As in the past, this year’s event was organized by a committee of BME doctoral students selected by department chair Michael Khoo.

Thomas Reed, Don Paul,and Narayana Murthy received honors at the 2009 Awards Banquet; Rachel Lauren sang, and a good time was had by all.

Diane Ainsworth, a science writer for the Viterbi School of Engineering, died March 29 in her Altadena home, victim of a brain aneurysm. An on-campus memorial will be held April 13.

Imaging the soft tissues of the vocal tract in real-time could explain some of the mysteries of human speech production.

Chief Technology Officer Aber Whitcomb will work with teams of students developing new social website applications, which will preview on his company's popular portal.

A $5 Million NIH grant is fueling Kirk Shung's team's work on next-generation medical soundwave imaging

Complete coverage of the meeting held March 2-3 at Duke University with the Viterbi School and Olin College as co-sponsors and Dean Yannis C. Yortsos summarizing.

The Viterbi School's Roger Ghanem and Demetrios Spanos are bringing together "leading scientists from physics-based modeling, network science and social networks" for a two-day meeting.

This polyhedron is ready to download! (You can also catch up on what happened at the March 2-3 Summit at Duke University).

The Viterbi School's 'best of the best,' including six NAE members, gather to congratulate George Olah and Robert Scholtz for their election to engineering’s most prestigious organization.

Half Century Trojan Day was a homecoming of sorts for 16 silver-haired Trojans, all of whom graduated from USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering 50 years ago or more.

Five Viterbi School women graduates share their experiences making the transition to professional life in a lively Q & A with undergraduate juniors and seniors.

Two years in the making, a project to pump fresh water into two towns in rural Honduras may break ground this spring, thanks to the Viterbi School's undergraduate engineering students.

BME Advisory Board members, Dr. Robert Greenberg and Dr. Jonathan Lasch, have been elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. The AIMBE College of Fellows consists of individuals who are the outstanding bioengineers in academia, industry and government. These leaders in the field have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education.

The Epstein Department professor/ISI project leader will lead a five-year effort to make a wide range of biomedical data more accessible to physicians and researchers.

A first-of-a-kind national engineering conference, to be held March 2-3, 2009, is designed to address key issues in sustainability, health, national security and quality of life.