SCENIUS is a term coined by Brian Eno for the blending of creativity and
science. “When buoyed by scenius, you act like a genius. Your like-minded peers and the entire environment inspire you,” observes technologist Kevin Kelly.
the application and admissions process. I think Stan is going to make a great researcher and his enthusiasm is selfevident. But on top of it he is a very nice young man. I think the college and the university are lucky to have him.” Young, lanky, and energetic, Gregory transferred to UGA after completing his master’s at Virginia Tech. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before coming to UGA, he was focused on impact biomechanics and bioinstrumentation. For Gregory, who is surrounded by fascinating pieces of fabricated electronics and tools as he walks through the lab, that choice was specific and personal—not about the gadgetry. “It’s all about the advisor.” He headed to Georgia based upon one vital piece of information: the reputation of the lab manager, Zion Tse. Before transferring from Virginia, he visited the campus and interviewed the professor to confirm what he hoped—that Tse is visionary who supports his students. Tse previously worked for Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he developed systems for cardiac MRI-guided catheter surgery, ECG and surgical navigation. Prior to coming to the United States, he developed a robotic system to
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perform prostate cancer biopsy under MRI guidance at the Imperial College of London’s Mechanical Engineering Department. More recently, Tse was awarded UGA’s Innovative Instruction Grant for “Do-It-Yourself Approach for Learning Engineering Physiology.” Well-satisfied with their interview together, Gregory decided to finishing his graduate studies at Georgia. Tse says it is a pleasure to be his doctoral advisor. “Stan is new to my lab, but he is undoubtedly a talented researcher,” says Tse, who also calls Gregory a mature student researcher “who will become a top-notch scientist in medical robotics.” Tse adds that “due to his strong training and practical experience in building ‘cool’ gadgets, Stan is our lab guru in electronics and he is passionate in helping people around him.” Gregory is one of three doctoral students presently conducting engineering research in Tse’s lab. He comes from a line of engineers. “My grandfather (as well as my great-grandfather) was a mechanical engineer in New York,” he explains. “My grandfather did serve in the Army Corps of Engineers. My mother and father are both mechanical engineers. My mother worked on the thermal protection systems for Space Shuttle
Columbia for a period of time in the late '80s.” His parents now own Gregory Enterprises in Burlington, N.C., performing construction defect and forensic consulting as well as other engineering services. The research of the UGA Medical Robotics Lab is devoted to MRI. MRI technology employs a high-powered magnet in order to construct two and three dimensional images that are much more detailed. Also, they are safer, as they do not use ionizing radiation. Although Dr. Raymond Damadian is credited with doing a great deal of the earliest developmental work in magnetic resonance, two radiologists (working independently of one another) further developed his ideas and beat Damadian to the marketplace. Although commonly used today, MRI is a complex concept. “I think the best way to think about MRI is this,” Gregory explains. “Different parts of your body contain different amounts of water. The MRI magnetic field aligns the water molecules in your body so that they all point in the same direction, and then a pulse flips them in the opposite direction. The MRI then allows everything to relax; the water molecules flip back. Energy is released