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WPI and MCPHS Expand Longstanding Partnership with New Degree Pathways

cbwamback — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), two nationally recognized institutions with complementary strengths in health science and biomedical engineering, are expanding their academic partnership with new degree pathways. Building on a long-standing relationship, this new agreement creates streamlined pathways for students to pursue advanced degrees across disciplines such as pharmacy and biomedical engineering鈥攚hile remaining immersed in Worcester鈥檚 thriving academic and innovation ecosystem.

The expanded partnership promotes collaborations of mutual interest and benefit and formalizes a series of articulated degree programs that will allow qualified undergraduate students from one institution to seamlessly transition into graduate programs at the other. These pathways are designed to help students accelerate their education, broaden their career prospects, and contribute to the evolving landscape of healthcare, life sciences, and technology.

Students graduating from WPI with degrees in biology, chemistry, or related STEM fields will now have streamlined access to advanced degrees at MCPHS, including the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program. Similarly, MCPHS students completing degrees in molecular biology, biotechnology, or pharmacy will be able to pursue graduate-level studies at WPI in biomedical engineering.

The agreement comes at a pivotal moment, as interdisciplinary knowledge and collaboration are increasingly essential to addressing global challenges. With Worcester emerging as a regional hub for biotechnology, medical research, and advanced manufacturing, WPI and MCPHS are uniquely positioned to train professionals who will drive innovation and improve lives.

鈥淏y creating clear, cross-institutional pathways that connect WPI鈥檚 strengths in biomedical engineering with MCPHS鈥檚 expertise in pharmacy and health sciences, we are preparing students to advance from rigorous undergraduate programs into specialized graduate study,鈥?said WPI President Grace Wang. 鈥淭hese programs will produce highly skilled professionals ready to make real impact, from leading breakthrough medical research to developing innovative biotech and pharmaceutical solutions that improve health and fuel the growth of the life sciences economy.鈥?lt;/span>

鈥淭hrough this agreement, this partnership reflects the spirit of collaboration that defines Worcester鈥檚 higher education ecosystem. MCPHS is proud to strengthen our long-standing partnership with WPI, creating new opportunities for students to seamlessly advance their education and careers at the intersection of healthcare, life sciences, and technology,鈥?said Richard Lessard, president of MCPHS.

The degree pathways feature clearly defined academic journeys, streamlined admissions processes, and personalized advising from faculty and admissions liaisons at both institutions. Students will benefit from an efficient transition between institutions to study in the heart of Worcester, a city rich with opportunity, innovation, and a strong sense of community.

Students enrolled in these programs must meet GPA and course prerequisites, and final admissions decisions will be handled by the relevant program at each institution. Details for each program pairing will be available on the WPI and MCPHS websites, ensuring transparency and consistency.

This agreement reflects a shared mission to empower students, support workforce development in the region, and strengthen the city鈥檚 position as a center of academic and professional excellence.

Q&A with Christina Bailey-Hytholt

leckelbecker — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Christina Bailey-Hytholt鈥檚 research explores something so ordinary that it is often discarded when no longer needed yet so critical that it sustains life.

The placenta.

Recently named to the Leonard P. Kinnicutt Professorship, Bailey-Hytholt 鈥?5 is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering who focuses on using engineering approaches to advance women鈥檚 and prenatal health. She concentrates specifically on problems of the placenta, a temporary organ that forms in the uterus during pregnancy to provide nutrients and oxygen to a developing baby.

Some of her work is considered exploratory, but she鈥檚 also interested in developing models of the placenta for research and developing particles that package and deliver therapies to patients.

Her research has captured attention from funders and others. In 2024, Bailey-Hytholt was awarded a three-year, $502,999 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for early-career researchers to determine the relationship between placental cells known as trophoblasts and the biomolecules they secrete, called exosomes, that are important for cell communication. In 2022, Forbes named her to its 30 Under 30 Class of Innovators.

Bailey-Hytholt joined the WPI faculty in 2022 after receiving her PhD in biomedical engineering at Brown University and completing postdoctoral research in genomic medicine and biologics drug product development and manufacturing at Sanofi. Her research has been supported by the NSF, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and the Amnion Foundation. She is affiliated with WPI鈥檚 Department of Biomedical Engineering.

From left, Christina Bailey-Hytholt and students Emily Lei '27 and PhD student Kerstin Andrews '25

Q: Did you always want to be a researcher?

A: I always gravitated toward healthcare. During middle and high school, I volunteered at a nursing home for several years. When I arrived at WPI as an undergraduate in chemical engineering, I thought I would later go to medical school. Then I worked in the lab of Terri Camesano (dean of graduate studies) and had the best experience. She and the graduate students working in her lab encouraged me to think about pursuing research and my PhD. I didn鈥檛 know what graduate school and becoming a researcher really was until my experience working in a lab. At the same time, I had some health challenges of my own. I realized that there are many things we don鈥檛 have answers to in a clinical setting, and new research is important to advance medicine.

Q: How did you decide to focus your research on women鈥檚 unmet health needs?

A: Women鈥檚 health is an area that I can relate to and feel I can be an advocate for, which led to my passion for this area of research. However, research into women鈥檚 health as an engineer really wasn鈥檛 on my radar until a few things came together during my first year of graduate school鈥攐pportunities, exciting projects, and good mentors. There was an opportunity to contribute to a prenatal diagnostic project, and that project spurred ideas about using engineering skill sets to study the placenta. I also was fortunate to be an NSF fellow and to have advisors who supported me. Pursuing these projects, I really became passionate about the subject and saw that there were not many engineering approaches being used to advance prenatal and women鈥檚 health. On a personal level, I recently went through my own pregnancy and had a healthy daughter, so I saw firsthand how important research is for prenatal health.

A researcher holds a clear container that is used to measure the surface charge of nanoparticles in solution.

Q: What does chemical engineering have to do with human health?

A: The words 鈥渃hemical engineering鈥?may typically conjure up images of a person wearing a hard hat and working in an industrial plant, but chemical engineers work in many different fields. Many chemical engineers work in health-related fields such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Chemical engineers learn to solve problems involving complex systems and processes, and human health involves complex systems and processes. Chemical engineering concepts such as material properties, mass balances, transport, kinetics, thermodynamics, and more are crucial to designing therapeutics and cell models, which are important in advancing human health.

Q: What is the goal of your three-year NSF-funded project?

A: The goal of this project is to study and identify the relationship between the environment that trophoblast cells, the main cells in the placenta, are grown in and how they communicate with each other. Trophoblasts invade the endometrium, which is the membrane that lines the uterus, to anchor the placenta in place and ensure adequate blood flow. Trophoblasts also secrete factors that allow cells in the placenta to communicate with each other. The placenta is not a well-understood organ, so my lab is looking at how the environment in the placenta鈥攕uch as the presence of growth factors or hormones鈥攊nfluences invasiveness and impacts what trophoblasts secrete. It鈥檚 important to expand knowledge about the placenta because it is a critical organ for developing babies and there are studies that suggest placental health impacts the lifelong health of babies and mothers鈥攕o really, everyone. This award also financially supports graduate and undergraduate students in the lab. We have a great team working on this important project.

Q: As a graduate of WPI, what is it like to return here as a faculty member?

A: I love it. It鈥檚 awesome to be back in the same research building where I got started. I also think a lot about the mentors I had as an undergraduate, how they influenced my career decisions, and how I can give the undergraduates in my research group a similar experience. I want to give them the opportunity to own their research and enjoy an immersive experience. In the classroom, I can relate to students taking the chemical engineering courses that I teach, because I was in the same seat as them not so long ago. I thought the seven-week terms were fast paced as a student, but they seem to fly by even faster now as a faculty member!

WPI Researcher Receives CAREER Award for Project Focused on Fibrosis

leckelbecker — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher Catherine Whittington has been awarded a prestigious CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop three distinct laboratory models for the study of fibrosis in pancreas, skin, and uterine fibroids.

Whittington, an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, was awarded $629,998 from the NSF for the five-year project. The models she develops could lead to research advances in the understanding and treatment of fibrosis, a condition that occurs when an injury results in too much scarring that stiffens tissue and threatens to disrupt the normal functioning of organs. Chronic pancreatitis, keloid scars, and uterine fibroids are all the result of fibrosis.

鈥淭here is much to learn about fibrosis so that better treatments can be developed,鈥?Whittington said. 鈥淏etter laboratory models for pancreatic, skin, and uterine fibroid tissues could lead to an improved understanding of factors at the cellular level that lead to fibrosis and how interventions could interrupt or reverse that process.鈥?lt;/span>

Models are representations, such as physical objects or mathematical equations, that represent real-world phenomena. Researchers use models to study a problem, test ideas under controlled conditions, and make predictions.

Whittington will develop models composed of materials such as collagen and human cells that represent the tissues of interest. The combined materials will be placed in wells on laboratory plates about the size of an index card and then exposed to hormones, varied mechanical inputs, and other environmental factors.

鈥淭hese models will be small, but they will allow us to systematically ask questions and make discoveries about how different chemicals and forces contribute to the process of fibrosis,鈥?Whittington said.

Building Better Bioadhesives for Long-Term Medical Implants

leckelbecker — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

A Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researcher is developing a new class of medical adhesives by bringing together hydrogels and glue-like polymers to safely and reliably connect human tissues to therapeutic devices implanted in the body, such as pacemakers, insulin pumps, and artificial joints.

Jiawei Yang, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering who is affiliated with the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has received a prestigious $644,659 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to create bioadhesives that can provide strong, stable adhesion and comply with the mechanical demands on biological tissues.

鈥淢edical devices and human beings are made of very different materials,鈥?said Yang. 鈥淢edical devices are mostly made of hard materials, such as metal or plastic. Human tissue is generally soft and wet. There is a critical need for better adhesives that are soft and wet, like human tissues, to knit together tissues and devices. Better adhesives can work better with the body and would significantly improve healthcare and quality of life for patients.鈥?lt;/span>

Researchers in Jiawei Yang's laboratory display a stretchy hydrogel and vial of liquid polymer.

Yang will develop bioadhesives with two layers鈥攁 transparent solid hydrogel layer and a clear liquid adhesive layer. Yang will develop a modular system of hydrogels that are tailored to the mechanical properties of target tissues and polymers that can merge with human tissues. Together, the hydrogel-polymer bioadhesives will provide fast, strong, stable, and deep adhesion in the body.

As part of his five-year project, Yang will collaborate with Dr. Steffen Pabel at Massachusetts General Hospital to develop a hydrogel heart patch loaded with medications to treat atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat. He also will create education and research programs about hydrogels for children and college students. PhD student Jiatai Sun will work on the project with Yang.

鈥淭here are many potential applications for new bioadhesives,鈥?Yang said. 鈥淭hey might be used to pair with electrodes that are implanted in the body to treat Parkinson鈥檚 disease or manage and treat heart failure. They also could be combined with therapeutic agents to heal damaged cartilage or generate healthy new tissues.鈥?lt;/span>

Hydrogels are materials composed of water and networks of polymers, which are very large molecules. Wound dressings, contact lenses, and absorbent materials in diapers are all examples of hydrogels.

Hydrogel bioadhesives have been mostly used in emergency medicine to temporarily patch injuries, close wounds, and seal tissues. Yet they are less suited to long-term use in the body, specifically in implantation, because they cannot provide strong and stable adhesion while matching the mechanical properties of target tissues in the body, Yang said.

鈥淢echanical properties of human tissues vary significantly. Brain tissue is extremely soft and needs an extremely soft hydrogel, while a hydrogel used with cartilage needs to be stiff enough to flex and bear weight,鈥?Yang said. 鈥淥ne size does not fit all when it comes to bioadhesives.鈥?lt;/span>

CAREER Awards support early-career researchers at colleges and universities as they launch their professional activities and lay the groundwork for future research. Yang joined the WPI faculty in 2024 after earning his PhD at Harvard University and working as a research fellow at Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

WPI Awards Seed Grants to Early-Stage Research Projects

leckelbecker — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

WPI has awarded $203,457 in grants from the Gapontsev Family Collaborative Venture Fund to three faculty-led teams focusing on research into energy-saving window coatings, advanced sensors to detect chemical and biological substances, and a wound-healing, antibacterial biomaterial that is activated by light.

The one-year awards will fund early-stage, interdisciplinary research that could lead to bigger projects, external collaborations, and future funding proposals.

鈥淪eed grants provide critical early support for projects with great potential,鈥?says Bogdan Vernescu, vice president and vice provost for research and innovation. 鈥淚 am delighted to congratulate the recipients of these awards, and I want to thank the VPG Foundation for catalyzing discovery and innovation at WPI through their support.鈥?lt;/p>

The Gapontsev Family Collaborative Venture Fund was made possible through the generosity of the VPG Foundation, which was established by the family of Valentin Gapontsev, founder of IPG Photonics. He received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from WPI in 2001 in recognition of his contributions to the field of photonics and the photonics industry. The VPG Foundation gift of $645,000 supports 鈥淏eyond These Towers,鈥?WPI鈥檚 most ambitious and comprehensive campaign since its founding in 1865.

The new awards represent the third round of funding from the Gapontsev Family Collaborative Venture Fund.

WPI Develops Innovative Robotic System to Enhance Kidney Transplant Screening

jcain — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers believe a new robotic technology they鈥檙e developing can help save lives by improving the process of matching kidney donors with people awaiting a transplant. Their approach seeks to advance medical evaluations that determine whether a donated kidney is viable to be transplanted.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 90,000 people in the United States are on a kidney waitlist; each day, 12 die before a transplant can happen.

While a shortage of donors is one reason for the long waitlist, another major factor is the number of donated kidneys that get discarded. Assessing a kidney for transplant involves examining the organ after it鈥檚 been removed from the donor to ensure the kidney is free of disease or structural anomalies.

Current methods for this assessment include either a biopsy, which involves a review of cells taken from a small sample of the kidney, or optical coherence tomography (OCT), a light-based handheld imaging technology that can provide a high-resolution snapshot of a limited section of the organ.

Xihan Ma, robotics engineering PhD student, and Haichong (Kai) Zhang, associate professor of robotics engineering and biomedical engineering

The assessment process risks wasting the organ because these exams take time and provide information about only a small portion of the kidney; both factors may hamper clinicians鈥?ability to accurately assess the organ and approve it for transplant while it is still viable.

Haichong (Kai) Zhang, associate professor of robotics engineering and biomedical engineering, and Xihan Ma, a robotics engineering PhD student, are using innovations in medical robotics to address this problem.

鈥淲ith our robotic system, we can capture a scan of the whole kidney,鈥?said Zhang. 鈥淲ith current approaches, the area of the kidney that can be assessed is inherently limited by either the size of the biopsy needle or the size of the OCT imaging probe, and thus the assessment of the organ is biased by which small part of the kidney the operator chooses to focus on.鈥?lt;/span>

Zhang and Ma have developed a robotic OCT system, which is a fully automated method of imaging an entire donated kidney to help a clinician make an assessment. The system was developed at WPI鈥檚 Medical FUSION (Frontier Ultrasound Imaging and Robotic Instrumentation) Lab.

鈥淥ur motivation is to think about how we can streamline the process used to evaluate the viability of donated kidneys to be more reliable and accurate, and to not waste kidneys that potentially can be used to save lives of patients,鈥?said Zhang. 鈥淲e are integrating the strengths of medical robots to make imaging of donor kidneys more accessible and less user-dependent and to acquire images over a wider area of the organ, which can provide more concise and direct feedback to clinicians so they can make better clinical decisions.鈥?lt;/span>

WPI Provides High School Students Biomedical Engineering Experience

jcain — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Getting an early start in a field can shape a person鈥檚 path in life. That鈥檚 the premise of MeDHigh, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) summer program that hosted seven high school students from Worcester for four weeks in June and July. During the free program, the students participated in a hands-on experience that explores the design and production of medical devices for global health and provides professional development opportunities. The program seeks to encourage high school students 鈥?including those from groups that are underrepresented in the life sciences industry 鈥?to consider STEM education and careers.

鈥淭he goal of this program is to get high school students up to speed on professional development and give them a taste of what they could be working on in the biotechnology industry,鈥?said Solomon Mensah, assistant professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department and the director/founder of MeDHigh. Mensah, who grew up in Ghana and is affiliated with The Global School and WPI鈥檚 master of science in global health program, said he was inspired to create this summer program to address, among other things, underrepresentation in the life sciences workforce. 鈥淚 came to biotechnology late in my academic career. I want people to find out as soon as possible that biotech and medical device development is a potential career path.鈥?lt;/span>

(L-R) Associate Professor Dirk Albrecht, Assistant Professor Solomon Mensah

During the program, students worked in teams to design a product to address real-world biomedical challenges. They used engineering principles and techniques and learned the product development process including needs finding, stakeholder analysis, and the creation of design specifications. Along the way, they were guided by Mensah; by Dirk Albrecht, associate professor of biomedical engineering and of biology and biotechnology; and technical director/co-founder of MeDHigh; by the program鈥檚 implementation director Priscilla Nkwantabisa; and by program facilitators Richmond Nyamekeh and Kayla Amegbe.

The group was split into three teams. Each team created its own device and delivered a presentation about their work product on the final day of the summer program. The three projects aimed to address a significant need in under-resourced regions: a drone to deliver simple medical supplies to remote areas, a water filter to provide drinkable water for people with low incomes, and a solar-powered device to sterilize equipment for obstetrics and gynecology in places where electricity is unavailable.

Jessica Chijioke

鈥淭his program has opened my eyes and helped me figure out ways to solve problems,鈥?said Jessica Chijioke, a junior at Worcester Technical High School, whose team used PVC pipe, a mesh plate, sand, pebbles, activated carbon, and ceramic balls to create a water filter, and used pH test strips to evaluate the system鈥檚 effectiveness. 鈥淚t was challenging to make the products work, and not just be for display.鈥?lt;/span>

For Darrien Hubert, a junior at Worcester Technical High School, the close collaboration with professors Mensah and Albrecht was especially valuable. They urged his team to consider transporting lighter materials with the drone to address the impact of weight on battery life. 鈥淭his program teaches you to keep an open mind and not to be stuck on your original idea, because then you won鈥檛 be open to brainstorming,鈥?said Hubert. 鈥淭he professors always try to help you in situations where you think you won鈥檛 be able to figure things out.鈥?lt;/span>

Darrien Hubert

MeDHigh gives students the chance to practice what they鈥檒l do when things don鈥檛 go as planned. 鈥淎 big part of engineering is handling failure and also troubleshooting,鈥?said Albrecht. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how students learn and build better devices. But troubleshooting isn鈥檛 often taught or described鈥攊t鈥檚 a systematic process to turn 鈥業t doesn鈥檛 work鈥?into 鈥業 know why it didn鈥檛 work, and I know what to do next.鈥欌€?lt;/span>

Interspersed with days in the laboratory filled with wiring, plotting out product design, and testing configurations were days focused on building professional skills. The participants received assistance building resumes from the program鈥檚 leaders, heard from guest speakers in the biotech industry, and visited life sciences facilities including labs at WPI and Northeastern University. A goal of the program is to prepare students for internship opportunities next summer.

Andres Perez Luiz

鈥淭hey鈥檙e teaching us professionalism and how you should present yourself and things you could use in the business world,鈥?said Andres Perez Luiz, a junior at Worcester Technical High School. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to take all of that away with me because it鈥檚 very useful for my future and in the world in general.鈥?lt;/span>

The curriculum for MeDHigh, now in its second year, was developed by Mensah and Albrecht, with support from Abigail Holmes 鈥?4 biomedical engineering (BS) and operations and supply chain analytics (MS). Student participants receive a stipend and all the supplies they need, and are provided breakfast and lunch daily when on campus.

The program is funded by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, with WPI providing the program and lab spaces. 鈥淓ngaging Massachusetts high school students is a key strategy for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center as we aim to develop students鈥?interests and skillsets, increase awareness of life sciences careers, and build a diverse STEM workforce pipeline,鈥?said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Vice President of Education and Workforce Programs Ryan Mudawar. 鈥淲e are grateful to have WPI as a partner on this endeavor to continue to grow our Central Massachusetts life sciences cluster and extend our global leadership as the life sciences hub.鈥?lt;/span>

Part of a student-designed solar-powered device to sterilize medical equipment

Mensah said a survey of this year鈥檚 MeDHigh participants found the program raised students鈥?awareness of life sciences as a possible career path. 鈥淪ome of them were not even thinking about that when they entered the program,鈥?said Mensah. 鈥淚n just a few weeks, their mindset has completely changed.鈥?lt;/span>

Program facilitator Richmond Nyamekeh, a graduate student in operations and supply chain analytics, echoed the sentiment and said the students are considering how the career path could benefit others, 鈥淭hey're making something that could help in the medical field and for people in underdeveloped countries. They鈥檙e learning that when they grow up, they can make great impacts in the community and in the world at large.鈥?lt;/span>

Douglas Amagyei

After four weeks focused on developing a medical equipment sterilization device, Douglas Amagyei, a sophomore at Doherty Memorial High School, said he鈥檚 grateful for the hands-on nature of MeDHigh. 鈥淚've never had an experience before where I could work on and build my own projects. After this program, I鈥檓 thinking of going into biomedical engineering because I've seen what we are capable of doing and I realize this is life-saving work that could truly change lives and help people.鈥?lt;/span>

Game On: WPI Builds the Next Generation of Biomedical Researchers

leckelbecker — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is taking a cue from the world of recreational sports by launching a program to recruit, train, and coach undergraduates to become the next generation of biomedical researchers.

U-RISE@W蟺, which started in April 2024 and is supported by a $1,636,820 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will provide tuition and stipend funding, research opportunities, and academic and personal support to 15 students from populations underrepresented in biomedical research over five years to prepare the students for advanced studies and careers in research. The program is expected to improve the retention and graduation rates of WPI undergraduates from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds.

WPI researchers participating in U-RISE include, from left, Jagan Srinivasan, Carissa Olsen, Kristen Billiar, and Catherine Whittington.

鈥淟onger-term research experiences are game changers for undergraduates,鈥?said project director Kristen Billiar, John Woodman Higgins Professor of Engineering and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. 鈥淏y spending time in laboratories and working on projects over time, students make academic gains and develop confidence that they can pursue careers in research. To connect more students from diverse backgrounds to these research experiences, we are leaning on the lessons of recreational sports and teamwork by recruiting, drafting, coaching, and training undergraduates for research careers.鈥?lt;/span>

Under the program, up to 25 qualified first-year students who express interest are invited each year to participate in lunches and laboratory meetings to learn more about research and meet faculty one-on-one. They are 鈥渄rafted鈥?to small teams led by faculty members who act as 鈥渄raft-year鈥?coaches. Students formally apply to the program and a faculty laboratory at the end of their first year. Three students will be accepted each year.

Students accepted to U-RISE@W蟺 conduct research in faculty laboratories for the next three years while also completing coursework. Faculty advisors and graduate-student mentors guide each undergraduate student鈥檚 research. Separately, each U-RISE@W蟺 participant is assigned to a new 鈥渃ohort coach鈥?who helps the student develop a 鈥済ame plan鈥?for personal growth and success. The program aims to develop a fun and supportive environment, much like that of recreational sports, by coaching and mentoring students as they practice new skills, overcome losses, gain resilience and self-efficacy, and celebrate successes.

U-RISE@W蟺 is funded through the NIH鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement. The NIH initiative aims to promote broad participation in the biomedical research workforce to improve research, foster innovation, increase equity at educational institutions, decrease health disparities, and boost the nation鈥檚 competitiveness in global markets.

Elizabeth Ryder

WPI鈥檚 program will capitalize on the university鈥檚 strength as a leader in project-based learning. Projects and teamwork that combine theory and practice are integrated into coursework at WPI, where all undergraduates complete an interdisciplinary project with societal impact and a senior capstone project. The Council on Undergraduate Research awarded its 2023 Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments to WPI for the university鈥檚 commitment to fostering a culture of innovation, inquiry, and academic excellence.

A total of 45 faculty members in nine academic departments at WPI have agreed to participate in U-RISE@W蟺. Faculty members who will work with Billiar as assistant directors are Carissa Olsen, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Elizabeth Ryder, professor in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology.

鈥淚 had an opportunity to do funded research as an undergraduate, and I know how important it is for students from underrepresented populations to experience research firsthand and learn that it is possible to pursue research as a career,鈥?said Olsen.

2024 Annual Awards Honor Faculty and Teaching Assistants

jcain — Mon, 06 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

The 2024 Faculty Honors Convocation, held April 26 in the Rubin Campus Center Odeum, celebrated outstanding WPI faculty members and teaching assistants. Awards were presented during the ceremony to recognize excellence in areas including innovation, teaching, service to community, research, and academic advising. Here are the winners:

Karen Troy, professor and associate department head in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, received the Board of Trustees Chair鈥檚 Exemplary Faculty Prize. The award honors excellence across areas of faculty performance, including teaching, research, and scholarship. Troy was recognized for inspiring and mentoring students, exposing them to the excitement of lab experimentation, and researching biomechanics, bone strength, and risk factors for bone stress injury. Read the award citation here.

Greg Lewin, assistant teaching professor and associate head in the Department of Robotics Engineering, received the Trustees鈥?Award for Outstanding Teaching. The award recognizes faculty who display excellence in teaching and outstanding professional contributions. Lewin was recognized for his engaging approach to presenting introductory robotics, for helping students in the lab, and for being invested in the success and well-being of students. Read the award citation here.

Jamal Yagoobi, the George F. Fuller Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, received the Trustees鈥?Award for Outstanding Research & Creative Scholarship. The award recognizes outstanding teaching, research, and creative scholarship, academic advising, and service to the community. Yagoobi was recognized for his significant contributions to the understanding of drying and thermal processes and connecting industry and academic research. Read the award citation here.

Leonard Albano, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, & Architectural Engineering, received the Trustees鈥?Award for Outstanding Academic Advising. The award recognizes the guidance and mentorship offered by academic advisors through stages of professional and personal development. Albano was recognized for always leaving his door open for students, going out of his way to make students feel seen, and helping them grow as people and professionals. Read the award citation here.

Mark Richman, associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and WPI鈥檚 Secretary of the Faculty, received the Denise Nicoletti Trustees鈥?Award for Service to Community. The award honors the memory and spirit of service of the first tenure-track female faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the co-founder of Camp Reach, a summer program which introduces girls to engineering and science. Richman was recognized for supporting and elevating people in the WPI community. Read the award citation here.

Joseph Aguilar, assistant professor of teaching in the Department of Humanities & Arts, Kate McIntyre, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities & Arts, and Rose Bohrer, assistant professor in the Computer Science Department, received the Romeo L. Moruzzi Young Faculty Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Education. The award honors the memory of a longtime faculty member who was a key player in bringing tenure to WPI and creating the WPI Plan, which revolutionized undergraduate education on campus. Aguilar and McIntyre were recognized for their work to make creative writing thrive at WPI. Read the award citation here. Bohrer was recognized for advancing computer science education at WPI through a redesign of a programming language course and integration of theory with social and ethical considerations. Read the award citation here.

Rebecca Gilchrist, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, received the Teaching Assistant of the Year Award. The award honors the contributions graduate students make to the quality and success of WPI鈥檚 curriculum. Gilchrist was recognized for teaching with humor and skill and allowing students to leave the fear of failure behind. Read the award citation here. Alexandra Harrison, a graduate student in the Department of Chemical Engineering, received honorable mention for her excellent support of students and faculty.

Student Work on Robotic Surgical Instrument Honored at International Conference

jcain — Thu, 02 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Amazing things can happen when you answer a phone call and say 鈥測es鈥?to joining a team. Just ask four seniors who developed a prototype of a robotic surgical instrument for their Major Qualifying Project (MQP) and won a Best Paper Award in January at the International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics (AROB) in Beppu, Japan.

Their journey began last year when Joshua Kleiman 鈥?4, a mechanical engineering and industrial engineering double major, called to ask three students to join him and do their MQP together in Japan. 鈥淚鈥檇 worked with them on projects before, so I knew they were good teammates. And our double majors fit well together,鈥?says Kleiman. Nicholas Johannessen 鈥?4 (robotics engineering and mechanical engineering), Cameron Crane 鈥?4 (robotics engineering and biomedical engineering), and Calvin Page 鈥?4 (robotics engineering and mechanical engineering) accepted the invitation.

Kleiman was inspired to do the work in Japan by his friend Charles Manger 鈥?3, who started the project in 2022 by doing an initial design and analysis of the instrument at Kyoto University of Advanced Science (KUAS) with Professor Sajid Nisar in the university鈥檚 Novel Intelligent Systems & Advanced Robotics (NISAR) Laboratory. Kleiman says Manger was amazed by the experience working on the project in the lab in Japan.

Charles Manger

In the fall of 2023, Kleiman, Johannessen, Crane, and Page continued Manger鈥檚 work with Nisar. The team also began working with three WPI project advisors: Adam Powell, associate professor of mechanical & materials engineering and director of WPI鈥檚 Kyoto, KUAS MQP Project Center; Sharon Johnson, industrial engineering program director and professor of operations and industrial engineering; and Yihao Zheng, assistant professor of mechanical & materials engineering. The four students updated the design to address functional challenges and sourced or created individual parts and joints. They then modeled, tested, and ultimately built a prototype of the cable-driven robotic surgical instrument.

The novel design is comparable to a human arm, which allows a surgeon to operate the robotic system remotely and move it in five independent ways. A baseplate houses motors, gears, and cables that drive joints in the instrument. These parts allow the shoulder to roll, the elbow to pivot, and the wrist to roll. Axles and gears in the wrist joint allow two forceps to be manipulated to open, close, and grip. The high degree of independent movement allows for precision, dexterity, and versatility, all of which are critical components of minimally invasive surgery.

A grape is gripped by the forceps of the surgical instrument.

The team鈥檚 goal for the project is to improve minimally invasive surgery, which features smaller incisions, faster recovery times, and reduced costs. Page says the design allows the tool to reach around obstructions 鈥渨hich can really open the window to new opportunities. This tool could create an avenue for minimally invasive robotic surgery in parts of the body where maybe before a procedure would鈥檝e had to be done by a traditional surgery method.鈥?The team says other design benefits include the separate baseplate and arm, which allows for a smaller incision and easier sterilization.

The team created prototypes of multiple tools and parts for the surgical instrument.

Given the seven-week time frame for the project, the students relied heavily on rapid prototyping to construct models and identify areas where changes needed to be made. To source parts, they used 3D printed objects, visited local hardware stores, tapped into the NISAR lab鈥檚 inventory of screws and bolts, and collaborated with others in the lab who were there doing different research. 鈥淲e worked in a foreign environment, in a lab full of international students from Asia, Europe, and the Americas,鈥?says Johannessen. 鈥淚 was proud of how our team adapted to the environment of being in a completely different culture on the other side of the world without any connection or having been there before.鈥?KUAS has more than 300 students from over 40 countries, with half from outside of Japan.

It was KUAS Professor Nisar who encouraged the team to submit a research paper for AROB 2024. Crane presented the research paper, 鈥?lt;/span>Design and Kinematic Evaluation of a 5-DoF Robotic Surgical Instrument,鈥?on behalf of the group. That meant joining the conference virtually from Worcester at 3 a.m. A few weeks later, an email informed the team they鈥檇 been chosen by conference organizers for a Best Paper award. 鈥淚t was really nice to get this award,鈥?says Crane, who feels the recognition validated the team鈥檚 creativity. 鈥淚t shows you can think outside the box and do things in a way that鈥檚 a little unconventional, including how we bought fishing lines to serve as test cables and found unique parts and tools, and still be remarkably successful. We鈥檙e trying to, even if not directly, start a butterfly effect that one day could help save somebody鈥檚 life.鈥?lt;/span>