Like pasta, the pursuit of global environmental sustainability takes many shapes. In a paper titled “Morphing Pasta and Beyond” published as the cover story in the May 2021 issues of Science Advances, researchers found a way to redesign noodles as flat structures that transform into three-dimensional shapes when cooked. Considering humanity’s appetite, it is a breakthrough that could move us toward a green future. Continue Reading
News
Undergraduate Research in Physics: Experiments and Experience
A physics and mathematics major works side by side with professors and graduate students on complex research
Hong Beom Lee ’23 loves challenges, and with the physics research that he does, there are plenty of challenges to take on. Lee is a sophomore studying physics and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. He’s part of a team of 15 graduate and undergraduate students working on research projects with Professor Jennifer Ross. Continue Reading
Professors Ren and Zhang Awarded NIH Grant for Catheter Research Project
For the 75 million people who require a urinary catheter, urinary tract infections are a serious concern. Catheters are prone to colonization by bacterial and fungal pathogens, which causes antibiotic-resistant infections. An infection can also lead to pH changes in the urine and block a catheter due to stone formation with potentially fatal consequences. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) that are antibiotic resistant cause 13,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
College of Engineering and Computer Science professors Dacheng Ren, Stevenson endowed professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and associate dean for research and graduate programs; Teng Zhang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Huan Gu, research assistant professor and Upstate Medical University’s Dmitriy Nikolavsky, MD, associate professor of Urology, were awarded an National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant for a project aiming to engineer a new urinary catheter using smart biomaterials to reduce catheter associated complications. Continue Reading
Producing Visionary Ideas: Hehnly uses a trifecta of grants to probe the origins of disease
A century ago, the great Victorian polymath D’Arcy Thompson famously blended science and art to understand how forms arise in biology. Today in the heady corridors of the Life Sciences Complex, a Syracuse University biologist carries on the tradition using new and emerging technologies. Continue Reading
Bio-Art Mixer: Where Art and the Sciences Meet
In bio-art, artists and scientists use living tissues, bacteria and organisms to produce intriguing creations. These works are often intended to inspire conversations and action related to the environment, ecology and the effects of human interaction on nature. At Syracuse University, an interdisciplinary group of faculty have created an event called the Bio-Art Mixer, which brings together professors, graduate students and the general public to share innovative research, foster ideas for new art and research projects, and view new science-inspired art works from leading bio-artists around the world. The event is open to science and art enthusiasts, and anyone interested in finding out more about this emerging art form. Continue Reading
Bioengineering Ph.D. Student Receives National Recognition for Breakthrough Molecular Computational Tool
Nandhini Rajagopal’s accomplishments are massive even though her research focuses on small molecules. As part of biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia’s research group, the Ph.D. student has focused her work on minute interactions between protein molecules in the biological cells that make up all living things. These interactions between proteins are essential since proteins are the building blocks of all living things. Rajagopal’s work is entirely computational and as part of her research she developed a new algorithm that could determine how two different protein molecules would interact. Continue Reading
Teaching Breathers: Ideas to Create Mental Space for Instructors and Students
A teaching breather — a temporary and intentional pause in instruction during the semester — can help students refocus in your course and give you some extra catch-up time for research or mentoring. To create a teaching breather, consider the following strategies: Continue Reading
Wellness day reflection: Re-Spark your joy for research
Take a few minutes on the upcoming Wellness Day to reconnect with who you are as a scientist, or of course on any day you need a moment of reflection. Get away from screens. You might go for a walk or have your favorite drink while you reflect on one of these questions. Continue Reading
Peter Calvert lands $2.6 million NIH grant and prestigious national innovation award
An Upstate Medical University researcher and professor has been awarded a five-year $2.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for his work studying diseases that cause blindness. Continue Reading
Keeping SARS2 Out of the Cell
As vaccines are distributed worldwide to fight the pandemic, important research at Syracuse University may uncover ways to block it and similar viruses in the future. Alison Patteson, assistant professor of physics, and Jennifer Schwarz, associate professor of physics, recently completed a study that tested the ability of certain antibodies to block SARS2 from entering cells by way of cell-surface vimentin, a protein that is also a pathway for the virus to enter the body. The study was funded by a $196,000 National Science Foundation RAPID Response Research initiative grant. Continue Reading