2008 Award Winner Profiles
Chloe Funkhouser
First Place: Materials Structure (Poster Presentation)
"I have participated in two Engineering Graduate Symposia as a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering, and both were very positive and beneficial experiences for me. The Symposium is a great way to gain experience giving presentations while in a comfortable environment with familiar faces, and my participation has helped me become more confident with my presentation skills at larger venues. Beyond presentation practice, the Symposium is also a wonderful opportunity to get a glimpse of the cutting-edge research going on in the College of Engineering in fields outside of my own.
'At this year’s Symposium, I presented my research on structures in lipid membranes called lipid rafts. These structures play an important role in many cell processes like signaling and infection by pathogens. My investigation into the dynamics of lipid-raft-like structures in model membranes is largely done using computer simulations, though I am also performing experimental work to complement my simulation results regarding how these structures can be affected by altering the shape of the membrane."
Carolyn Phillips
First Place: Computation (Oral Presentation)
"Presenting my research at the Engineering Symposium was a fun and educative experience and a great opportunity to hone professional skills!
'After several years working as an engineer in the US Navy, I returned to being a full-time student in the Applied Physics Program at UM in 2006, pursuing a Doctoral degree in Applied Physics and Scientific Computing. I am on a Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, and I started doing research in the Glotzer Group for Computational Nanoscience and Soft Matter in 2007. What I love about computational science is how interdisciplinary it is. In my research, I have worked on macromolecular self-assembly and nanoparticle design, models of radiation damage in materials, mathematical models of particle packing, and even methods of high-performance computing performed on video game graphics cards."
Eric Tkaczyk
First Place: Biomedical Engineering (Oral Presentation)
First Place: Waves (Oral Presentation)
"The University of Michigan has been a fantastic and utmostly supportive environment for combined clinical and research training. The spirit of collaboration between the brilliant engineers on north campus and the outstanding physicians at the medical school is very inspiring. It has been a great pleasure to learn the fundamental principles of both fields here and then to help move the frontiers of medical technology forward through exciting interdisciplinary projects.
'Additionally, I feel very honored to have received the prizes at the Engineering Graduate Symposium. It was a pleasure to learn about the fantastic work of other graduate students here in the College of Engineering as well as to share my own. I am delighted with the recognition the awards bring to our research focused on the medical application of lasers in the fight against cancer. This work is possible with the joint efforts of my colleagues and collaborators both at the Medical School and in the College of Engineering. I would especially like to thank my co-authors and advisors in both CUOS and at M-NIMBS for their contributions and also acknowledge the MD/PhD dual degree program for its support. "
