In a Nutshell: Buckeye Engineering briefs
Buckeye Engineering issue 32 news briefs
Engineer wins 2021 President’s Prize
The Ohio State University has selected two graduating seniors as recipients of the 2021 President’s Prize for their projects dedicated to helping underserved patients and community partners through the power of education and sustainable practices.
Dominique Hadad, an industrial and systems engineering major, and Christina Allen, majoring in international development and human nutrition, each will receive a $50,000 living stipend and up to $50,000 in startup funding through the President’s Prize, the highest university recognition bestowed on exceptional students committed to social change. They will tap into Ohio State’s global community of alumni, supporters and partners while working with faculty mentors and other experts to launch their projects.
“Christina and Dominique represent the best of our Buckeye family,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson. “They are brilliant, hard-working young women who have chosen to selflessly dedicate themselves to improving health and environmental outcomes in our community. I am excited to see all they will accomplish.” Read the full story.
Fueling the need for speed
It’s hard to imagine riding a motorcycle at a speed of 228 mph, but that is exactly what rider Max Biaggi did on November 3, 2020 when he and the Voxan Wattman team broke 11 world records for the world’s fastest electric motorcycle.
Voxan Wattman is run by Venturi, lead sponsor of Ohio State’s Buckeye Bullet, the world’s fastest electric vehicle. So it was no surprise when Venturi owner Gildo Pastor called on Ohio State to help break yet another speed record.
Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Lead Engineer Prashanth Ramesh and Visiting Scholar Faissal El Idrissi, along with graduate student Yatin Khanna and undergraduate Noah Holleyfield, collaborated with Voxan Motors engineers to design, fabricate and test the battery pack for the record-breaking motorcycle. Read the full story.
Student coaches help peers excel
Ohio State student Martha Cibasu wouldn’t be a chemical engineering major today without the support she received through the Academic Coaching in Engineering (ACE) Program.
“I wouldn’t have stayed in engineering if it wasn’t for ACE,” Cibasu said. “Being able to spend time with people who understand the same struggle as me, who have been through the same classes and get help was extremely helpful.”
ACE provides peer-assisted tutoring and supplemental instruction led by upper-class engineering students to diverse and women students to help them succeed. On average the program helps more than 100 students per year, said Edwin Lee, who manages ACE. Read the full story.
A magnetic force against cancer
A meeting of the minds between engineering and medicine at Ohio State has the potential to help improve future therapies and treatments for one of the most deadly forms of brain cancer – glioblastoma.
As a member of the Cancer Biology Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James), Radiation Oncology Assistant Professor Monica Venere studies the biology of glioblastoma. Her lab focuses on a subset of cells within glioblastomas called cancer stem cells, which are the most malignant cells and drive tumor recurrence. Recently it was discovered that the malignant cancer stem cells absorb more iron than the rest of the tumor cells. This finding presents the possibility that the increase in iron can make the cancer stem cells more magnetic.
Enter Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor Jeffrey Chalmers, whose research focuses on the interaction of magnetic forces and cells. The two met while Chalmers was running an analytical lab at the OSUCCC – James. Venere needed help with cell separation, and they started talking about their respective research. That conversation lasted four hours and a partnership was formed. Read the full story.
