Jill
Nelson to Receive 2014 Mason
Teaching Excellence Award
Jill
Nelson, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical &
Computer
Engineering, has been selected as a recipient of a 2014 George
Mason University
Teaching Excellence Award.
The award will be presented to her
at the upcoming Celebration of Teaching Excellence. Monday, April 21st, from 3:30pm-5:00pm Center for the Arts, Main Lobby --------------------------------------------------------------
Seminar:Bioengineering Dept.:Apr
3, 1pm
Title:Artificial Cells:Mimicking and Optimizing Cell
Functions Speaker: Faculty
candidate Dr. David
A. LaVan, National Institute of Standard and Health
Thursday,
April 3, 2014 1:00
PM ENGR
3507
Abstract
I
will present work on the use of synthetic protocells to study cell
interactions
along with the use of micro-technologies to measure cell and
biomaterial
properties. We would like to understand how the electrical,
mechanical and
biochemical properties of a cell affect its function using a
reduce system to
eliminate unknowns associated with its complicated environment.
We have
been creating easily modifiable artificial cells that allow for
direct control
of constituents and cell properties to study their role on cell
function and
interactions. I will show work related to artificial cells that
mimic
natural electrogenic cells and membranes followed by work on an
artificial cell
designed to inactivate viruses and will introduce our newest
research direction
with artificial cells.
Biography
David
LaVan received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from
the University
of Florida and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The Johns
Hopkins
University. He did post-doctoral training with Bob Langer at MIT
working
in bioMEMS and biomaterials and was a member of the faculty at
Yale University
before moving his laboratory to NIST in 2008. He is currently a
Project
Leader at NIST working on the development of high-rate,
high-sensitivity
nanocalorimetry sensors as well as the development of artificial
cells as a
means to mimic basic cell functions and to measure and study
carefully
controlled cell interactions. --------------------------------------------------------------
(The
NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program is a new NSF graduate
education
initiative. This solicitation is active for one year, but future
NRT
solicitations are anticipated. The last competition for the
Integrated Graduate
Research Traineeship (IGERT) program was held in 2013; no future
IGERT
competitions are planned.)
The
NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed to encourage
the development
of bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for
STEM graduate
training that ensure that graduate students develop the skills,
knowledge, and
competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The NRT
program
initially has one priority research theme - Data-Enabled Science
and
Engineering (DESE); in addition, proposals are encouraged on any
other
crosscutting, interdisciplinary theme. In either case, proposals
should
identify the alignment of project research themes with national
research
priorities and the need for innovative approaches to train
graduate students in
those areas. NRT projects should develop evidence-based,
sustainable approaches
and practices that substantially improve STEM graduate education
for NRT
trainees and for STEM graduate students broadly at an institution.
NRT
emphasizes the development of competencies for both research and
research-related careers. Strategic collaborations with the
private sector,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies,
museums, and
academic partners that enhance research quality and impacts and
that facilitate
development of technical and transferrable professional skills are
encouraged.
Creation of sustainable programmatic capacity at institutions is
an expected
outcome. Proposals accordingly are expected to describe how
institutions will
support the continuation and institutional-level scaling of
effective training
elements after award closure.
Each
institution may submit up to two proposals. If an institution
submits only one
proposal, it can be in either DESE or another theme. If an
institution submits
two proposals, at least one must be in DESE. In any case, the
traineeship
theme(s) should be interdisciplinary.
--
===============================================================
Stephen G. Nash
Senior Associate Dean
Volgenau School of Engineering
George Mason University
Nguyen Engineering Building, Room 2500
Mailstop 5C8
Fairfax, VA 22030
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Phone: (703) 993-1505
Fax: (703) 993-1633
http://volgenau.gmu.edu/web/volgenau/senior-associate-dean