GRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
NEWSLETTER Volume 10, Issue 1
Summer 2020
ALUMNI UPDATE Every summer newsletter we feature one of our outstanding Parks alumni, but we thought this summer we would do something different. At Parks College, we understand that innovation and creativity are strongly rooted in diversity—diversity of ideas and diversity of people. That is why we are so proud to say that Parks’ graduate programs attract international students from around the world. We caught up with two international alumni—Ruud Schrijver and Mozhdeh Imaninezhad—to hear about their experience at Parks, and what they have been up to since graduating. Ruud Schrijver started his program Fall 2017 and graduated in December 2018, advised by Dr. Sridhar Condoor, with a Master of Science in Engineering. Ruud accomplished in a year and a half what most students take 2-3 years to do. His master thesis title was “3d printing technology and prosthetic heart valves – opportunities and challenges”. The research was focused on how to use 3D printing in creating better prosthetic heart valves. In collaboration with Cardinal Glennon hospital, it was what Ruud describes as a very challenging and interesting experience. Ruud says, “I have dissected a heart of a pig and basically put a hose in there to make 3d picture of the heart valve using a rotational angiograph while wearing a lead shirt. We discovered some very promising leads during our research and have presented it at a conference of the American College of Cardiology.” See page 5 for more about Ruud.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Mozhdeh Imaninezhad started her program Fall 2014 and graduated December 2017, advised by Dr. Silviya Zustiak, with a PhD in Engineering, concentrating in biomedical engineering. Her research was in biomaterials and tissue engineering and her dissertation was titled “Development of Hydrogel-carbon Nanotube Composites for Neural Growth and Regeneration: An in-vitro Study.” Mozhdeh’s dissertation involved incorporating knowledge in physics, inorganic chemistry, fluid dynamics, and microfluidics. Dr. Zustiak says that Mozhdeh’s ability to figure things out independently, trouble shoot, and find help when needed really ‘raised the bar for the rest of my lab.’ During her time at Parks, she earned 2 patents, was nominated for the Outstanding Graduate Award twice, and was the primary author on at least 7 publications. She was active in the lab, often spending 9+ hours every day, including some holidays and weekends, according to her advisor. Mozhdeh currently resides in California with her husband and son. See page 4 for more about Mozhdeh.
Alumni Features Message from the Associate Dean Awards News Graduates
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MESSAGE FROM THE ASSOCIATE DEAN
RIYADH HINDI, PH.D., P.ENG., F.SEI, F.ACI Parks’ Graduate Education & Research office is excited to share with you our Summer 2020 newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading our news! Our 2020 graduating class includes 49 students—10 Ph.D. and 39 M.S. degrees. We received 21 applications for our accelerated B.S.-M.S. engineering program this spring and are progressing 17 B.S. graduates into the M.S. portion of their accelerated program this fall. Of the almost 70 applications we have processed for the Fall 2020 semester, about a third of them will start their program this fall. During the 2019-2020 academic year, we hosted a visiting scholar from China, Aolin Li, who is working with Dr. Chi Hou Lei on modeling and simulation of lithium ion batteries. Our office processed paperwork for an additional 7 visiting scholars to arrive Spring or Summer 2020, who have unfortunately been delayed due to the pandemic. Many of these visiting scholars came out of our collaboration with the Cultural Attaché of the Iraqi Embassy, and reinforce our values of research and scholarship. We look forward to welcoming these and other visiting scholars when we can, hopefully Fall 2020, as we feel enriched by the input from and collaboration with international and local colleagues. Parks is committed to increasing diversity in our graduate programs, and our incoming Fall 2020 class is comprised of about 25% female graduate students, and about 50% international graduate students. We are continually looking for and implementing new ways to make our graduate programs attractive, welcoming, and valuable for a diverse student body. We welcome your input as we prepare our engineers and aviators for the challenges of tomorrow. Last Fall at an October Seminar, we invited our Graduate Advisory Board to lead a panel on current graduate programs’ concerns and issues. The Panel asked a few questions and bounced it around the room for feedback. Nicole Mispagel, Graduate Programs Assistant, moderated the discussion and took notes to share with program coordinators later. Our Graduate Advisory Board was so pleased with the open discussion and ideas for growth that they would like to make the event an annual tradition. Graduate students, Triston Cooper, M.S. student in Electrical & Computer Engineering, and John Pasquesi, M.S. student in Computer Science, have aided in pandemic efforts by 3D printing face shields to provide our first responders and frontline health care workers with the proper protective equipment (PPE). We are proud of the efforts of our students to live the mission during these uncertain times. We have learned many lessons this spring when the pandemic changed our world, seemingly overnight. We have watched Parks faculty and students adjust to online learning and seen how physical distancing has delayed research and graduation plans. We are so proud to be part of the Saint Louis University community and of how we have come together during this difficult time. Although the situation has changed some of the ways we do things, we are committed to the same quality education that aligns with our values and mission. Our graduate students continue to be our highest priority, and we look forward to serving you all in person, this fall. On behalf of Parks Graduate Education, I wish you a great summer!
Riyadh Hindi, Ph.D., P.Eng., F.SEI, F.ACI Professor and Associate Dean Graduate Education and Research
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2020 OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT AWARD The outstanding graduate student award recognizes one Parks College graduate student who exemplifies academic excellence, research distinction and a commitment to the mission of Parks College and Saint Louis University.
Our Parks’ Outstanding Graduate Student for 2020 is Jen Tennison. Jen is an extremely talented engineering doctoral student and researcher who has secured 3 notable fellowships during her time at SLU— the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the National Science Foundation CADRE Fellow, and the SLU Diversity Fellowship. Jen entered Parks with a background in psychology, and since then has taken many courses in engineering and computer science, an exhaustive effort that many would not have undertaken. She brings her unique, interdisciplinary point of view to every interaction, from faculty to lab mates and even undergraduates through mentoring and teaching assistant opportunities. Within the last year she has published 3 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Her research on touchscreens with sensory feedback brings technologies once out of reach into the hands of many. Her advisor shares that Jen is brilliant yet humble, helpful, hardworking, and enthusiastic. Her peers share she is a pillar in the lab, setting the bar in terms of expectations and attitude as a graduate student at Parks. Jen truly exemplifies SLU’s mission of being for others and “engineering for the benefit of society”, by ensuring that all students, regardless of ability, have the opportunity to succeed in STEM disciplines. Please join me in congratulating Jen Tennison as Parks’ 2020 Outstanding Graduate Student.
2020 OUTSTANDING GRADUATE FACULTY AWARD The outstanding graduate faculty award honors an individual Parks College faculty member whose dedication to our graduate students and demonstrated commitment to excellence in graduate education and mentoring have made a significant contribution to the professional development of graduate students at Parks College. The Parks Outstanding Graduate Faculty Member for 2020 is Dr. Jalil Kianfar. According to his students, Dr. Kianfar is an extremely knowledgeable researcher and knows how to nurture those research passions and skills in his students. He has a steady stream of graduate students who finish their programs without delay, due to his ability to help them formulate good research topics and stay on track. His advisees praise his weekly check ins and regular communications for being clear and motivating. Dr. Kianfar’s style enables students to make decisions and discoveries on their own. Not only does Dr. Kianfar help his students become more sophisticated researchers in their discipline, but he assists them in developing the interpersonal skills necessary for success. His students regularly give him high ratings in course evaluations and share that he challenges them intellectually and encourages critical thinking. His research interests—transportation systems, engineering education, and smart cities and systems—allow for interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty and students outside of civil engineering. Dr. Kianfar has completed several successful research grants and was awarded 2 more within the last year. Recently, he and his students authored 2 book chapters and 2 journal articles, with an additional 5 journal articles for review. He has been consistently nominated for this and other awards, so we are proud to award the 2020 Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award to Dr. Jalil Kianfar.
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ALUMNI UPDATE: MOZHDEH IMANINEZHAD What attracted you to Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, & Technology? While I was searching to find a fit for my area of interest, I found Dr. Silviya Zustiak’s lab and emailed her. She agreed to meet with me and talk about the research area in her lab. Once I met with her and talked with her, I instantly knew that this is the lab that I would love to conduct research toward my degree. Before accepting my PhD admission, I met with Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Dr. Riyadh Hindi, which finalized my decision to attend SLU and get my degree here. He is eager to help all the students to assure quality education and is very supportive. Was your experience at Parks your first experience in the United States? No, first, I got my Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Illinois University and then I joined SLU to get my PhD degree. What are you up to now? After graduation, I joined Keysight Technologies in Santa Clara, CA as a post doctorate scientist and shortly after, I found my dream job and joined ThermoFisher Scientific in South San Francisco as a Scientist in Clinical Sequencing Division to work on Next Generation Sequencing. What about your experience at Parks prepared you for your current position? The research area that I worked on in Dr. Zustiak’s lab including instruments and having access to wide range of resources at SLU prepared me for biotech industry. Throughout my time at SLU, not only did she help me publish my research results in prestigious journals, but she also helped me to establish a great collaboration with faculties from different schools and build great connection in different conferences. Everyone at SLU that I encountered was willing to help me to reach my goal to prepare me to land a position in a reputable company like ThermoFisher Scientific. Also at SLU, we had great program resources and facilities compared to similar schools which made SLU great school for me to pursue my graduate studies. Are you currently conducting any research or special projects? Currently, I am working on multiple projects on the Ion Torrent Next Generation Sequencing platform to design and develop novel technologies and new candidate for DNA delivery. The Ion Torrent Oncomine DX Target Text is the first targeted next-generation sequencing in Vitro diagnostic test for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), simultaneously delivering multiple biomarker results for multiple targeted therapies from one sample within four days. I am also supporting products in ThermoFisher Scientific’s development pipeline that will reduce the time to answer from 4 days to 1 day, giving cancer patients a faster route to targeted therapies. If you can find the specific mutation, you can find the targeted therapy to fight it per person. With our technology, you can sequence multiple patient’s DNA at the same time, instead of sequencing them separately. Another advantage is that, you can just use a liquid biopsy or tissue to be used directly with our technology, instead of extracting the DNA or RNA first and then sequence it. So, our technology doesn’t need an expert to do the job, anyone at the hospital or clinic can load the sample on the machine and the rest will be done on the tool. Our focus is mainly on the instrument and its design. We get the samples— which could be just one drop of blood—and help the hospitals and clinics behind the scenes to improve the technique and problem solve. What are your future plans? I am working in one of my dream companies and working on projects, which make me excited to go to work every day. A lot of kits we were ordering in Dr. Zustiak’s lab were from ThermoFisher, so I’ve thought about them a long time. I am planning to continue working in ThermoFisher Scientific and be one of the leaders on the projects to help cancer patients in the near future.
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ALUMNI UPDATE: RUUD SCHRIJVER What attracted you to Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, & Technology? When I started looking for where to do my graduate studies, the first thing I looked for which country. I wanted outside of Europe and in an English-speaking country. I thought the USA is culture wise the most interesting choice. A company in the Netherlands further recommended three universities in the US. Based on quality, mindset and overall experience I chose SLU. Was your experience at Parks your first experience in the United States? My parents lived in Cedar Rapids (IA) for two years when I was very young; my sister was born in the U.S. After graduating High School in the Netherlands, I did the American Conservation Experience in Arizona and California for three months. This program was very exciting, you got to camp in national parks where you work on setting up trials or working on ways to get rid of invasive species. So, Parks is not my first experience but living in the United States is different. I once again noticed how friendly and helpful the people in the U.S. are. What are some challenges you faced as an international student? I did not experience many challenges since culturally the U.S. is not that different from the one in the Netherlands. Also, SLU has some excellent programs for new international students. I joined the International Friends group and I played on the SLU golf team. The challenges I did have were the cultural details which are very normal for Americans but not at all for someone who did not grow up there. Things like how you drive around in the U.S., what time to show up for a 4-hour long baseball match, what Mardi Gras is. These things were challenging but always fun to find out. What have you been up to since graduating from Parks? After graduation, I went back to the Netherlands to be with my family at Christmas. In fact, I met my girlfriend during the first semester of my time at SLU and she was also from the Netherlands. Who would have guessed that I had to go to the U.S. to find a girlfriend from the same country as me? Now we live together in Groningen, a city in the north of the Netherlands where she is still studying. Currently I am employed at Philips as a project manager. It is very different from my research at SLU but still interesting because of the challenges involved when managing projects. I have a team of 8 people, but we have a matrix organization so only one person falls directly beneath me on the org chart. It’s a bit challenging, but very interesting, managing resources and people working on multiple projects. What about your experience at Parks prepared you for your current position? My master thesis helped me prepare by planning a project for a year and how to follow through, manage stakeholders and create commitment. One course at SLU I thought was very interesting: Corporate Entrepreneurship by Steve Epner at the Business School. This course explained how to be entrepreneurial when you are already employed at a company. The lectures, guest speakers and course material are things I still think of weekly at my current position. What are you working on now? What’s next for Ruud? Currently I do not have any academic projects or plans. What I am working on is starting a business with a friend of mine. This plan originated at the Incubator of SLU and the Venture CafÊ in Saint Louis. Regrettably, it was put on hold during my final semester at SLU and the whole process of moving in together and a new job. Now everything has more quieted down I am picking it up again. The plan right now is to work for Philips until around summer 2021 in Groningen and so my girlfriend can finish her Bachelors. Then the plan is to go abroad for a year to work and study. This will probably be a country in Asia to experience living in a completely different culture. After that the idea is to live in Utrecht, a country in the middle of the Netherlands. Like all plans we will see what will happen in the future but that is the rough plan for now. Hopefully next year I can visit SLU, to see some friends again and to look how the University has changed since I have left.
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NEWS Abdul Alliu, Aviation Science Ph.D. student (pictured left), has been busy the last 3 months actively flying medical equipment from China to the U.S. and other countries. He is a captain on the B747-400 for Atlas Air and is currently in Seoul, South Korea. He is also working on the final chapter of his dissertation and hopes to defend and finish this summer. His dissertation title is “PowerDistance in the Cockpit: A Study of the Effect of Age and Seniority on the Communication Aspect of Crew Resource Management Among Nigerian Pilots.” Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. students, Natalia Ziemkiewicz, Eileen Robertson, Houston Linder, and Andrew Dunn, and M.S. student Gabriel Haas attended the TERMIS (Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society) Annual Conference & Exhibition December 2019 in Orlando, Florida. All 5 students presented posters and had several opportunities to network with other students, academics, and employers. Natalia Ziemkiewicz’s poster (pictured right), titled “Laminin-111 Enriched Fibrin Hydrogels Support Myogenic Activity in a Rodent Model of Volumetric Muscle Loss,” was in the Top 10 highly scored abstracts. This spring, Dr. Riyadh Hindi was named a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute. To be eligible for such an honor, a person must be a member of the Institute for at least 15 years and “made outstanding contributions to the production or use of concrete materials, products, and structures in the areas of education, research, development, design, construction, or management,” according to the organization. “In addition, a Fellow shall have made significant contributions to ACI.” We are proud of Dr. Hindi’s service to bettering our infrastructure and constructing our world. 6
We would like to congratulate our faculty—Dr. Chris Carroll (civil engineering), Dr. Yan Gai (biomedical engineering), Dr. Jenna Gorlewicz (mechanical engineering), Dr. Srikanth Gururajan (aerospace engineering), Dr. Andy Hall (biomedical engineering), and Dr. Jalil Kianfar (civil engineering)—for becoming tenured Associate Professors. All 6 faculty members have been and continue to be active in research and in supporting graduate students. The Parks community is lucky to have their combined expertise.
Nick Schaper, M.S. student in Engineering Physics, was scheduled to present at the 2020 March Meeting for the American Physical Society with an abstract titled “Designing Nano-Biocomposite Materials Using CVD Grown CNTs and ZnO Nanostructures for Hybrid Interfaces and Hydrogel Environments with Future Biomedical Applications.” Marc Mezzacappa, M.S. student in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, was also slated to present with an abstract titled “In-situ Measurement of Strain Evolution in 2D Materials on Flexible Substrates Using Raman Spectroscopy.” Unfortunately, the meeting was canceled the week before but Nick is working on a manuscript with his advisor, Dr. Irma Kuljanishvili, for submission later this year.
Osama Mohammed (pictured left with Dean Michelle Sabick), PhD student in Civil Engineering, has recently accepted a job offer as a Senior Traffic and Transportation Engineer for a consulting engineering firm based in the Chicago area. He passed his Doctoral Oral Examination with distinction Fall 2019 and plans to defend his dissertation this summer. He was recently inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit Honor Society. He also won a 2020 Innovation Challenge at SLU in Geospatial Technology and Geospatial Information Systems with his project titled “Spatial Prediction of Freeway Accidents Using Machine Learning Technique.”
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR RECENT AND PROPOSED GRADUATES FALL 2019
Ghadah Alhasan – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Jayaram Jacob Chapin – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Andrew Hall Jacob Crapps – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Natasha Case Hugo Gonzalez – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Scott Sell Joseph Krebs – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Natasha Case Zhiyu Kuang – M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Huliyar Mallikarjuna Jennifer Mathews – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Michelle Sabick Kianoosh Sattari – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Chi Hou Lei Jacob Switzer – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Michael Swartwout Michael Elsenrath – Ph.D. in Aviation Science; Advisor: Dr. Terrence Kelly Amy Morris – Ph.D. in Civil Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Ronaldo Luna Gregory Pasken – Ph.D. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Jianfeng Ma Saahil Sheth – Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Silviya Zustiak
SPRING 2020
Joshua Brocksmith – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Jayaram Jonas Dailide – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Andrew Hall Surya Deepak – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Jayaram Gerald Dumar – M.S.in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Mark McQuilling Kevin Farmer – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Raymond LeBeau Pratik Madhusudan Hiwase – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Jianfeng Ma Jinming Liu – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Silviya Zustiak Marc Mezzacappa – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Chi Hou Lei Andrew Oliver – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Michelle Sabick María del Carmen Pinzón Huepa – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Gary Bledsoe Pee Suthisripok – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Andrew Hall Kyle Jerome Vogt – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Silviya Zustiak Zhao Zhanyi – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Mark McQuilling
SUMMER 2020
Abigail Avila – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Scott Sell Qi Chen – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Yan Gai Allison Clancy – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Silviya Zustiak Gabriel Haas – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Koyal Garg Brannan Hutchinson – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Silviya Zustiak Andrew Thomas Jones – M.S. in Civil Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Chris Carroll Chionye Joseph Okwuashi – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Jianfeng Ma Benjamin Schmidt – M.S. in Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Sanjay Jayaram Sohaan Swaminathan – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Gary Bledsoe Jhih Heng Wu – M.S. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Yan Gai bdul Ateiza Alliu – Ph.D. in Aviation Science; Advisor: Dr. Terrence Kelly Yue Dong – Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Yan Gai Andrew Dunn – Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Koyal Garg Lindsay Nichole Hill – Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Silviya Zustiak Sana Syed – Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering; Advisor: Dr. Chris Carroll 7
OFFICE OF GRADUATE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH ADDRESS: 3450 Lindell Blvd. McDonnell Douglas Hall St. Louis, MO 63103 PHONE: 314-977-8306 EMAIL: parksgraduateprograms@slu.edu WEBSITE: slu.edu/parks