Tulane School of Science & Engineering FY14 Annual Report

year

re review

in year in

TULANE SCHOOL OF

SCIENCE & ENGINEERING a year in review

view2013-2014 2013-2014

by the numbers

21%

362

OF TULANE SCIENCE SCHOLARS PARTICIPANTS ENROLL AT TULANE,

SCHOOLS SERVED ANNUALLY

73%

IDENTIFY STEM MAJORS

68%

GRADUATE IN A STEM MAJOR

K-12 STEM 13,350 STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THROUGHTOUT THE NEW ORLEANS AREA INVOLVED IN TULANE STEM PROGRAM SINCE 2006

Research Grants

152

SSE STUDENTS VOLUNTEERED FOR K-12 STEM PROGRAMS

$15,437,449 AWARDED TO SSE IN FY 2014

$2,923,908

$1,673,729

ENVIRONMENT

TRANSDISCIPLENARY

$1,438,307

$9,401,505

ENERGY

HEALTH

8

START-UP COMPANIES FROM SSE-INITIATED TECHNOLOGIES

24

10

LICENSING AGREEMENTS OVER THE PAST 3 YEARS

Technology Commercialization 16 PATENT FILINGS/YEAR FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS FROM SSE STUDENTS AND FACULTY

APPLICATIONS FROM ACROSS TULANE IN SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, MEDICINE, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND BUSINESS.

7

NOVEL TECH CHALLENGE SEMINARS TO INSPIRE CREATING IDEAS

letter from the dean

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k-12 stem education

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undergraduate experience

technology and commercialization

8 ......... research and graduate education

what’s inside

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9 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � leadership donor honor roll 11 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

how you can help

$7,813 SSE CLASS OF 2013

STARTING SALARIES AVERAGED HIGHER THAN ALL OTHER TULANE GRADS

Undergraduate Experience 10:1 RATIO STUDENT TO FACULTY

$48,376,754 ENDOWED

SCHOLARSHIPS

FOR SSE STUDENTS

33% OF TULANE’S ENDOWMENT SUPPORTS SSE SCHOLARSHIPS

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letter from the dean

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Dear friends, We are proudly celebrating another year of success for the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering. Please know that your support directly impacts this success.

The mission of our School is to create an environment in which our students and faculty can engage in learning, discovery, collaboration and innovation. We place our emphasis on four themes and the intersection of those themes: undergraduate education, research and graduate education, K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and technology transfer and commercialization. The pages that follow are organized around these themes and highlight just a few of our many accomplishments during the 2013-2014 academic year.

The model of an integrated science and engineering school is working and you are helping to make it happen.

In today’s competitive global economy, breakthrough scientific discoveries are fueling engineering innovation at an accelerating pace. A quote that has been referenced in numerous recent articles about the relationship of science and engineering goes as follows. “Without science, engineering would have no roots. Without engineering, science would bear no fruit.” In the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, the latest scientific discoveries fuel engineering innovation and contemporary engineering challenges inspire scientific discovery.

Please accept my sincere thanks for all that you do to help us accomplish so much. Without your support, our ability to be at the forefront of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education would not be possible.

With Gratitude,

NICHOLAS J. ALTIERO

Dean, School of Science and Engineering

– RICHARD MAYER Member of the School of Science and Engineering Board of Advisors Retired senior technology associate, Dow Chemical Company

Science draws high school students to campus Elizabeth Lefrere, a senior at De La Salle High School in uptown New Orleans, would like nothing more than to major in psychology at Tulane University. So when she learned about the 2014 Science Scholars Program at Tulane, she knew she wanted to spend at least part of her summer on the uptown campus — and earn three hours of college credit in the process.

She applied to and was accepted into the “Exploring Psychology” session, and just as the flyer promised, she had the opportunity to examine a real human brain.

“I’ve never had an experience like this,” Lefrere said. “I had to handle a human brain. I’m just surprised I didn’t freak out.”

Exploring Psychology was one of three sessions

offered this summer to high school students with exceptional talent in the sciences and mathematics. The other sessions are Material Sciences and Engineering and Basic Neuroscience. To be accepted, students had to submit a transcript, teacher recommendations and an essay.

For the first time, the program included a residential component for out-of-town students.

“We did this as a way to serve students from out of state who are thinking about Tulane as a possible college choice,” said Michelle Sanchez, director for the K-12 STEM Education Outreach Program in the School of Science and Engineering. “We had about 10 students living on campus throughout the summer.” STEM programming is in demand.

They included Logan Smith, a rising sophomore from Orange Beach, Ala. Smith is an aspiring surgeon who hopes to attend Tulane to major in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology.

That he has been able to experience campus, even for a brief time, “has been a cool and exciting opportunity,” he said.

headliney k-12 stem education here

For the Unites States to retain the economic power from technological breakthroughs, it is essential for young students to be inspired and prepared to enter the STEM workforce. Tulane’s involvement increases the likelihood that they will pursue STEM educations and careers.

Thanks to the generosity of donors like Richard (E ‘79) and Susan Mayer and Steve (E ‘78) and Shirley (NC ‘77, B ’78) Dehmlow, the Tulane Science Scholars Program was able to award need-based scholarships to local students who wouldn’t have been able to attend otherwise.

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undergraduate headliney goesexperience right here

ONE OF A KIND . . .

Computer science makes a comeback Brenan Keller delights in playing the role of guinea pig. He can’t think of a better, more practical way to prepare for his future than completing a degree in the fledgling coordinate computer science major in the School of Science and Engineering.

“My goal is to be covered on the business and technology front,” says Keller, a senior business major. “My ideal job would be product development or project management for a technology company like Google or an entrepreneurial venture.”

Thanks to the Provost Michael Bernstein, support from the School of Science and Engineering’s Board of Advisors, and other alumni, Keller and others are well on their way to a successful career. This is largely due to the emphasis to create the program from Nick Altiero, dean of the School of Science and Engineering, and the enthusiastic support of Jim Mead (E ’81), Bob Grossman (A&S ’79), and Tom Burke (A&S ’74, M ’78) to introduce the coordinate computer science major during the 2013-2014 academic year.* Tulane eliminated the computer science major as part of its Plan for Renewal after Hurricane Katrina. Ever since Altiero has been determined to bring it back.

“The coordinate major idea came out of a star-filled task force that I established to advise on how best to return computer science to the curriculum,” Altiero says. “In addition, we envision a bachelor’s program in computer science at some point, but our priority is to get a doctoral program started.”

The coordinate major requires students to major in another discipline, take 30 computer science credits, and to complete a final project that applies computer science as an enabling technology to their other major.

It is essential for a 21st century research institution to offer computer science. It is by applying computer science to the world around us that many of the innovative advancements will be discovered. * Starting with a coordinate major sets up the department to have maximum reach across the university.

The Center for Anatomical and Movement Sciences (CAMS) gives Tulane biomedical engineering students a unique approach to premedical, or pre-clinical education.

In addition to the hands-on experience of human cadaver dissection, students are also able to view and participate in ground-breaking surgical demonstrations performed on cadavers, which is a huge differentiator for Tulane undergraduates.

“We offer an innovative approach to teaching anatomy, physiology, and biomedical engineering,” says Mic Dancisak, senior professor and the center’s director. “I don’t know of another school that gives students the opportunity to participate in these kinds of surgeries and procedures.”

A gift from the Almar Foundation is giving biomedical engineering students the opportunity to further their understanding of human anatomy. This gift will allow CAMS to purchase a mini C-arm, which converts x-rays into visible images and allows students to easily visualize their procedures.

Gifts like those from the Almar Foundation make it possible to create exciting new opportunities for students by enhancing the depth of the

S ES S E

students’ lab experiences.

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Bright ideas will fuel a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation at Tulane University School of Science and Engineering thanks to a grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation. Funding from the Foundation is supporting the first-of-its-kind Novel Tech Challenge at Tulane University. The challenge will ask students to solve a technical problem in an innovative and “novel” way. The Novel Tech Challenge is unique because students will not only come up with a solution to solve a real-world problem, but they will be asked to build their prototype or start creating the solution.

“The work that undergraduates are doing is significant and very impressive,” says John Christie, executive director of the Office of Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Development at Tulane. “In the past five years we have seen a real increase in the creation of things that will make the world a better place.”

The comprehensive challenge launched this fall to We believe the Novel inspire students to become involved in the technology innovation process. Selected ideas will form interdisciplinary Tech Challenge teams to assist the innovator, while faculty and alumni mentors will provide guidance to the students on the technological will inspire aspects of the submission. More than 20 alumni have signed up to participate as both mentors and judges. The challenge winner will students to apply receive a $5,000 grand prize.

“Our graduates have been involved in start-up companies what they have learned across the country,” says Altiero. “When I speak with them, they often wish they could have started that process and learned more in the classroom about the culture of innovation while they were at Tulane. This challenge will give our students a venue to do just that.” to the development The challenge is part of the bigger mission of the School of Science and Engineering to take technology from the lab to the of new technologies market place. The challenge is the first piece to a comprehensive technology innovation center that would teach and employ the and possible market fundamentals of technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. Altiero hopes that this innovation center would act as a applications. catalyst for regional economic growth, social development and job creation.

– Spokesperson, The Burton Morgan Foundation was interested in funding the Burton Morgan Foundation Novel Tech Challenge because it speaks to their mission as well as the school’s. “It will also provide students with the opportunity to receive constructive and critical input that will drive their ideas forward and give them a taste of the rigors of pitching to a tough audience!”

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technology commercialization

Challenge inspires a culture of innovation

research and graduate education

B I O I N N O V AT I O N . . .

A hallmark of graduate research The work of our graduate students continues to reach new heights as our students embark on breakthroughs in research and innovation.

Derek Dashti, a doctoral student studying bioinnovation, was named a University Innovation Fellow, a prestigious national honor that enables him to bolster entrepreneurial activity on campus.

Among other things, Dashti is helping students obtain funding for their ideas, devices, and designs, working to open incubator space to support the development of entrepreneurial companies, and planning seminars where students can learn about patents, grants, and other issues. Dashti’s assistance was integral in helping the startup company, Tympanogen, take innovation honors across the country.

The Tympanogen team of Elaine Horn-Ranney, who received her PhD in biomedical engineering in May, and Parastoo Khoshakhagh, a student in the biomedical engineering doctoral program, created Perf-Fix a gel patch to repair chronic perforations in the tympanic membrane of the ear. Currently the

T O P S IN G E O CHE MI S T RY When Karen Johannesson, a geochemistry professor, received a letter from the International Association of Geochemistry that she would be joining the world’s most

only treatment for the condition is surgery, which offers only a 40 percent success rate. Tympanogen’s gel patch, however, has a success rate of up to 95 percent and costs a fraction of the surgical solution.

Among the honors that Tympanogen has received is the top prize at the Tulane Business Model Competition, the NASA HH&P prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition, and the fifth place overall prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition.

“I take great pride as part of a national movement to ensure students gain the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge to compete in the entrepreneurial economy of the future,” says Dashti.

Dashti’s work and Tympanogen are just two examples of how the School of Science and Engineering are making strides in graduate research and innovation. The research accomplishments would not be possible without endowed doctoral fellowship gifts from visionary supporters like Thomas (E ’79, G ’82) and Helen (E ’80) Armer and John (G ’63, G ’65) and Katherine (NC ’60, G ’64) Trebellas.

famous geochemists as an IAGC Fellow, she was pleased beyond words.

The honorary title of IAGC Fellow is bestowed annually to scientists who have made significant contributions to geochemistry.

“It really surprised me, because they only give out two worldwide.

It’s a lot of relatively well known people, so I don’t know if I belong there,” says Johannesson.

Johannesson, who is on faculty in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is considered an international author-

ity in the behavior of rare earth elements in the hydrosphere and their potential impact on human health.

Work like Johannesson’s is made possible through the support of donors like Michael (A&S ’63) and Matilda Cochran, who created the Cochran Family Professorship to support research and teaching within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Their gift will help continue the momentum of our talented faculty members.

AND ENGINEERING IS GRATEFUL TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES AND FOUNDATIONS INDIVIDUAL GIVING . . .

Anonymous Donors Amy and Nicholas Altiero Helen (E ‘80) and Thomas (E ‘79, G ‘82) Armer Kimberly and Joseph Bavaria (E ‘79, M ‘83) Leslie and Steve (A&S ‘92) Bennett Ellen Berkowitz (NC ‘78) Robert Bland (E ‘48, E ‘49) Usha and Warren Bourgeois (E ‘78, M ‘82, R ‘87) Ashley and Edgar Bright Sally Corning and Edison Buchanan (E ‘77) Susan and Bob Buesinger (E ‘78) Betty and Allan Bundy (E ‘58, E ‘60) Jacquelyn and William Burk (E ‘71, E ‘75)

THAT GAVE GIFTS AND MADE Kathryn and George Gokel (A&S ‘68)

PLEDGES OR PLEDGE PAYMENTS

Patricia and Charles Goodman (G ‘67, E ‘71)

Marina (E ‘78) and Anthony (A&S ‘78, B ‘79) Gregorio Jannith and Lawrence Gros (E ‘80) Elisabeth Cohen and Robert Grossman (A&S ‘69) Ashlyn (E ‘86) and Lyle (E ‘86) Hall Agatha and Gerald Haydel (E ‘52) Cindy and Thomas Hinds Pierre Holloway (E ‘49) Marilyn and Samuel Huffman (E ‘86)

Sharon and Alan Calkins

Sabrina (E ‘88) and Vincent Johnson

Earl Calkins

Pierce (UC) and Hans (A&S ‘63) Jonassen

Sue Carlisle (G ‘65, G ‘68) Mary and William Carroll (G ‘75) Madeline and Philip Closmann (E ‘44) Mathilda and Michael Cochran (A&S ‘63) Susan M. Couvillon Shirley (NC ‘77, B ‘78) and Steven (E ‘78) Dehmlow Sharon and James Dillard (E ‘85, E ‘87)

Miriam John (E ‘72)

Curt Killinger (E ‘91) Shirley and George Kleinpeter (E ‘70, E ‘74) Judith Kron (E ‘77)

Susan and Richard Mayer (E ‘79) Ann and Wayne McDonald (E ‘60) Anne and John McGaha (E ‘70) Catherine (NC ‘80) and Kevin (A&S ‘77) McMichael Dina and James Mead (E ‘81) Mary and Tommy Meehan (E ‘83) Wesley Miller (E ‘51) Rebecca and Robert Morris (A&S ‘59) Margaret and Bradford Moss (E ‘79) Wiley Mossy (E ‘43) John Mueller (E ‘70) Drusilla Burns (NC ‘75) and Herb Nelson (A&S ‘75) James Nix (E ‘78) Susan (E ‘80) and John (E ‘80) Noel

Alden Laborde*

Doris O’Connor

Karen and Monroe Laborde (E ‘69, M ‘73)

Kay and James Orth (E ‘73)

Peggy and John Laborde (E ‘71, B ‘73)

Michael Palmieri (E ‘00) Maria and Curtis Pellerin (A&S ‘77)

Sally (NC ‘78) and Jay (B ‘78, L ‘78) Lapeyre John Larkin (E ‘69)

Emily and Bob Feiner (E ‘91)

Kaye and Henry Lartigue (E ‘60)

Ann Flowerree (NC ‘69)

Jean-Marc Levy (E ‘83)

Elaine Flowerree (NC ‘44)

Gayle (NC ‘49) and Robert (E ‘49) Longmire

Jane (L ‘77) and David (A&S ‘74, L ‘77) Flowerree

FISCAL YEAR 2014.

Joan and John Gray (E ‘71, E ‘73)

Catherine and Thomas Burke (A&S ‘74, M ‘78)

Jennifer Jericho-Capezio (NC ‘79) and Joseph Capezio

OF $1,500 OR MORE IN

Richard Mallinson (E ‘77)

Nancy and Kenneth Ford (G ‘87)

Susan and Alan Mansfield

Stephanie Kute (E ‘95, E ‘96) and Samir Ghadiali (E ‘97, G ‘00)

Marta and Bill Marko (E ‘81, E ‘83)

leadership circle honor roll

TULANE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE

Yvonne and Shepard Perrin (E ‘83) Charles Pickering Kimberly and Rusty Pickering (E ‘91) Mary and Robert Pierpont (E ‘46) Cathy (G ‘78, SW ‘89) and R. Hunter Pierson Karen and Harry Quarls (E ‘74) Karthik Ramaswamy Andrea and Andrew Resnick Donna (E ‘85) and

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leadership circle honor roll

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In dividu a l G i v i n g c on ti n u e d . . .

Bryan (E ‘85, G ‘92) Reuter

Thomerson (G ‘65)

Marilee and Franz Vogt (E ‘66, E ‘71)

Mary Riess (NC ‘40, G ‘46)

Sam Threefoot (A&S ‘43, M ‘45, F ‘50)

Valerie and Bennett Roth

Diana and Mark Tipton (A&S ‘78)

Germaine and Bob Vorhoff (E ‘72, B ‘77)

Rhonda Rowland (E ‘99)

Katherine (NC ‘60, G ‘64) and John (G ‘63, G ‘65) Trebellas

Michele and Bobby Ryan (A&S ‘79, G ‘88) Amy and Ronald Sachs (A&S ‘84) Carol and Martin Schiel (A&S ‘75) Claudette and Rich Schmidt (E ‘66, E ‘67) Ricki Slacter-Kanter (NC ‘78) and Joel Kanter (A&S ‘78)

Michael Valliant (E ‘58)

Marla Schaefer and Steven Weishoff Ruth and James Whiteside (E ‘64) Sue Winchester (E ‘85)

Rae Victor (NC ‘63)

Russell Wong (E ‘79)

thank you for our fundraising success . . .

INDIVIDUALS

Leilani (E ‘87) and Edward Stritter

$1,266,843

C O R P O R AT I O N S & F O U N DAT I O N S

$866,318

ANNUAL FUND

$447,213

PLANNED GIFTS

$118,892

Jamie and George Swan (E ‘69, G ‘71, G ‘74) Lauren and Wayne Teetsel (A&S ‘87, B ‘90) Kathleen and Jamie

M ATC H I N G G I F T S

$97,346

C O R P O R AT E A N D F O U N DAT I O N G I F T S A N D G R A N T S . . .

American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund The American Ornithologists’ Union American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Audubon Louisiana BCP Engineers and Consultants BP - The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Conservation Endowment Fund of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums Chevron U.S.A. Incorporated Conservation, Food & Health Foundation Conservation, Research and Education Opportunities International Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund

Entergy Corporation

National Geographic Society

Florida Native Plant Society

ORX, Exploration Inc.

Highland Technology, Inc.

Phillips 66 Alliance Refinery

INEOS Olefins and Polymers USA

Project Golden Frog - Proyecto Rana Dorada and the Panamanian Golden Frog Species Survival Plan

The Jacobs Foundation Society for Research on Adolescents Innovative Small Grants Fund JRS Biodiversity Foundation Lockheed Martin Michoud Operations Macular Degeneration Research Fund of the BrightFocus Foundation James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative in Studying Complex Systems Nalco Chemical Company NARSAD Young Investigator Grant of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list.

Please contact Nicole Graas at 504.314.2800 or ngraas@tulane.edu with any corrections or questions.

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Beatty and William Watts (E ‘64, E ‘67)

Usha Ravi (L ‘94) and Anantharaman Vaidyanathan (E ‘87, G ‘92)

Laura Starks (E ‘80) Michele Cooper and Scott Sullivan (E ‘87)

Aixa Alfonso and Andre Walker (E ‘89)

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Schlumberger Shell Exploration & Production Company Sigma-Aldrich Corporation Simons Foundation Sun Drilling Products Corporation URS Corporation Vaxiion Therapeutics, Inc. Waldemar S. Nelson and Company Incorporated Willbros Engineers, LLC

EXECU TIVE ED U CATION

PA R T N E R S H I P S . . .

A vital component of successful research universities

PHIL A N THROPY

Increasingly, universities are effectively partnering with industry around topics that are of strategic interest to both parties. At the Tulane School of Science and Engineering, it has become very clear that strong partnerships are not based solely on philanthropy. Long lasting corporate partnerships focus on mutually beneficial interactions providing value added to both the company and the university – including future employees, sponsored research, new technologies, scientific consultants, employee training/executive education, economic development and joint university – company proposals for federal funding.

A strategic corporate partner, then, is one who is engaged at multiple levels across not only the school, but the university as a whole. Moreover, a corporate partner engages because the interaction is of benefit to the company in reaching its goals – and often of benefit to its bottom line.

In the year in review, corporate partners have: • Served as capstone partners: posing real life, real time questions in chemical engineering and engineering physics and working with a team of students to find answers.

• Participated in and sponsored the Tulane Engineering Forum.

• Have sent employees to serve as volunteers and judges at robotics and science fair competitions.

STU D EN T RECRU ITIN G & EN G AG EM EN T

corporate relations

COL L EG ES, SCHOOL S & RESEA RCH CEN TERS

COMMERC IAL IZATION, INTEL L EC TUAL PROPERTY, L IC ENS IN G & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

RESEA RCH COL L A B ORATION S & J OIN T F ED ERA L PROPOSA L S

• Recruited our students as interns and as employees.

• Sent a group of Tulane’s female engineers to a national conference to interact with industry and peers.

• Sponsored undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research.

• Provided awards for top students.

• Joined us in an endeavor to bring a National Network for Manufacturing Initiatives to the state of Louisiana.

• Formed part of a series of workshops on university-industry collaboration in the life and coastal sciences hosted by the Regional Planning Commission.

• Served as invited lecturers at department seminars and colloquia.

• Joined panels designed to help our students find career paths.

As the School of Science and Engineering continues to form and deepen its corporate partnerships, we want you to know that your assistance in navigating your place of employment makes all the difference in the experience of our students.

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how you can help

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