Sept. 2, 2020
Summer 2020 Media Report
MSU researchers have created for the first time a miniature human heart model in the laboratory, complete with all primary heart cell types and a functioning structure of chambers and vascular tissue. “These minihearts constitute incredibly powerful models in which to study all kinds of cardiac disorders with a degree of precision unseen before,” said Aitor Aguirre, the study’s senior author and assistant professor of biomedical engineering.
Brinkwire
dBusiness Detroit
Medical XPress
NewsMax
MSUToday
Yahoo Finance
Changyong Cao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering:
• Forest fire detection - A team of MSU scientists designed and fabricated a remote forest fire detection and alarm system powered by nothing but the movement of the trees in the wind. Lead author is Changyong Cao, who directs the Laboratory of Soft Machines and Electronics, is an assistant professor in the Packaging School and in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
dBusiness Detroit
Futurity
Good News Network
MSUToday
New Atlas
Science (AAAS magazine)
Science Daily
Yahoo! News
• MSU engineers have designed a humanoid hand that has safe but firm interaction with fragile objects. The team is led by Changyong Cao, the director of the Laboratory for Soft Machines and Electronics and an assistant professor in the packaging, mechanical engineering, and electrical and computer engineering.
dBusiness Detroit
Explica
The research team of Lamp Endowed Chair John Dorgan is developing new styrene-free bio renewable resins with broad applicability in the construction of countertops, bathroom fixtures, windmill blades, and boats. Harshal Bambhania, a PhD student in chemical engineering, is helping advance the “Drop-in-bowl” prototype to modernize vanity and kitchen counters.
Centered (Bio Tech News)
Midland Daily News
MSUToday
Phys.Org (United Kingdom)
Xiaoming Liu, professor of computer science and engineering, has been elected a fellow of the International Association of Pattern Recognition and will be recognized at the International Conference on Pattern Recognition in Milan, Italy, in January.
MSUToday
MSU’s Scale Up Research Facility (SURF) in Detroit’s Corktown will have a significant role in two of the 55 projects, valued at $139 million, from the U.S. Department of Energy announced July 16. SURF will work with Ford ($7.5 million) and General Motors ($7.5 million). Ray Boeman directs SURF.
Composites World
dBusiness Detroit
Detroit News
Energy.gov
University Distinguished Professor Anil Jain:
• #1 ranking in world – University Distinguished Professor Anil Jain has the world’s top H-index ranking for computer science and electronics. According to Guide2Research, his H-index of 188 is based on an examination of 6,000 profiles.
Big News Network
BioMetric Update
CEO World Magazine
MSUToday
• Criminals trying to evade law enforcement with face masks might be in for a surprise. University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Anil Jain told USA Today that it depends on what part of the face is covered. “Using eyes alone, you can do 75 percent of the job.”
Detroit Free Press
USA Today
• “A protestor may not be visible in all of the CCTV cameras,” Jain told Digital Trends. “[Authorities] could ask the public to share images of the protestors which may have been captured on the smartphones of the bystanders. But, given the crowd density, that may be problematic.”
Digital Trends
• The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, the first graduate-level, research-based artificial intelligence (AI) university in the world, has opened its admissions cycle. Jain serves on the board of trustees.
Trade Arabia Business News
Ramakrishna Mukkamala, professor of electrical and computer engineering:
• NIH-supported research helps shape the future of blood pressure measurement. Ramakrishna Mukkamala, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at MSU, is leading a team of scientists that developed, with partial funding from NHLBI, smartphone-based devices that can monitor blood pressure using the pressure of a person’s index finger.
NHLBI News
• Will cuffless blood pressure measurement make the sphygmomanometer obsolete?
Nobody at MSU paid much attention to bioengineer Ramakrishna Mukkamala, PhD, after he received an NIH grant to study pulsed wave technology to better calibrate measures to blood pressure. That changed when he developed a stand-alone blood pressure app that landed him in the Wall Street Journal, and garnered the attention of major tech companies.
Medscape
MSU researchers Tammy Reid Bush and Amber Vocelle are developing a method for detecting arthritis earlier, possibly delaying and preventing the loss of thumb function, surgery, and more. Bush is an associate professor of mechanical engineering.
dBusiness Detroit
MSUToday
MSU Foundation Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Peter Savolainen:
• MSU has been awarded a $349,954 grant from the NSF to establish a Research Experience for Undergraduates, or REU, Site in sociomobility. MSU Foundation Professor Peter Savolainen is the PI. The three-year program will provide research and learning opportunities for students, in addition to leading to applied research and workforce development benefits for industry.
MSUToday
• Peter Savolainen will be awarded the Institute of Transportation Engineers 2020 Transportation Safety Council Edmund R. Ricker Individual Award in August. He is an MSU Foundation Professor and associate chair of graduate studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
MSUToday
Mi Zhang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering:
• Mi Zhang has been recognized with the Amazon AWS Machine Learning Research Award for his work on Automated Machine Learning. This is MSU’s first AWS Machine Learning Award.
MSUToday
• A Q & A on federated learning
MSUToday /Faculty Voice
The research team of Lamp Endowed Chair John Dorgan is developing new styrene-free bio renewable resins with broad applicability in the construction of countertops, bathroom fixtures, windmill blades, and boats. Harshal Bambhania, a PhD student in chemical engineering, is helping advance the “Drop-in-bowl” prototype to modernize vanity and kitchen counters.
Centered (Bio Tech News)
Midland Daily News
MSUToday
Phys.Org (United Kingdom)
Bradley Marks has been named chairperson for the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, or BAE. The appointment is for two years. BAE offers joint academic programs spanning the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and College of Engineering.
dBusiness Detroit
MSUToday
Researchers claim new way of hacking into virtual assistants using ultrasonic waves: The study, named BrowsingAttack, was headed by MSU assistant professor of computer science and engineering Qiben Yan. Yan advised TechXplore that the analysis group used inaudible vibrations that may be dispatched via any arduous and flat floor (particularly tabletops) to activate voice assistants as much as 30 feet away.
Digital News
A concern has arisen from crowd control tactics involving respiratory irritants used by some law enforcement agencies for crowd control. "We know it's going to exacerbate respiratory symptoms and secretions," said Jade Mitchell, an associate professor of biosystems engineering who specializes in biological risk assessment.
WACH 57 Columbia, S.C.
WJLA TV 7, Washington, D.C.
WWMT 3, Kalamazoo/Grand Rapids
Two MSU researchers will develop a multi-objective optimization tool to help agencies make better informed management decisions for the Chesapeake Bay watershed with a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Co-leads on the project are Kalyanmoy Deb, the Koenig Endowed Chair and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Pouyan Nejadhashemi, an MSU Foundation Professor in the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.
MSUToday
Technology Century (Engineering Society of Detroit)
Students
Chelsea Boodoo, a PhD student in biomedical engineering, and Daniel Puentes, a PhD student in physics, have stepped up their science storytelling on their Sci-Files podcast during the pandemic. The show, which often features Spartan Engineering students, specializes in putting science into layman’s terms.
City Pulse
Ti’Air Riggins is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the recipient of the National Institutes of Health Blueprint Diversity Specialized Award in Neuroscience.
MSUToday Student View
Computer science junior Aditya Ashok was featured on Detroit WXYZ TV 7 on the Virtual Intern Experience. Garth Motschenbacher, the college’s director of employer relations, said this group is currently providing "virtual" seminars, workshops and boardroom sessions to 58 students in EGR 393, Engineering Experiential Education - Virtual. The class is offering an alternative for students whose internships were cut short or cancelled due to COVID-19.
WXYZ TV 7 Detroit
Alumni
Kimberly Keaton Williams has been appointed as the chief diversity officer for the health system at McLaren Health Care in Grand Blanc. She received a BS from MSU in applied engineering sciences.
dBusiness Detroit
Incoming Students
Twins from Ontario’s Neyaashiinigmiing First Nation are headed to MSU this fall to attend the same school their father graduated from. Neebeesh and Neebin Elliott enjoyed summer and football camps at MSU and now will study biology (Neebeesh) and computer engineering (Neebin).
CBC Canada
