Winners of the Three Minute Thesis® (3MT) competition have been announced by the Graduate School. 3MT is a research communication competition that challenges graduate and doctoral students to deliver a compelling oration on the nature, significance and interests of their dissertation or master’s thesis research in three minutes or less. Continue Reading
News
Heidi Hehnly and Renée Crown University Honors Program presents ‘The Value of Beauty and Beauty in Science’
Is there beauty in science? What insights can arise from viewing scientific theories through a lens of beauty? How does such perspective bring value to individuals and society?
These are among the interdisciplinary questions to be explored at the Renée Crown University Honors Program inaugural symposium, “The Value of Beauty and Beauty in Science.” On Tuesday, April 4, a panel will engage in discussion from 2 to 4:40 p.m. in 214 Slocum Hall, followed by a reception from 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. at the Syracuse University Art Museum in the Shaffer Art Building. Continue Reading
Engineered Magic: Wooden Seed Carriers Mimic the Behavior of Self-Burying Seeds
Before a seed can grow into a tree, flower or plant, it needs to successfully implant itself in soil – a delicate and complex process. Seeds need to be able to take root and then remain protected from hungry birds and harsh environmental conditions. For the Erodium flower to implant a seed, its stalk forms a tightly wound, seed-carrying body with a long, curved tail at the top. When it begins to unwind, the twisting tail engages with the ground, causing the seed carrier to push itself upright. Further unwinding creates torque to drill down into the ground, burying the seed.
Inspired by Erodium’s magic, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Teng Zhang worked with Lining Yao from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and a team of collaborators to engineer a biodegradable seed carrier referred to as E-seed. Continue Reading
Alison Patteson Named Cottrell Scholar
College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professor Alison Patteson has been recognized with a 2023 Cottrell Scholar award, a prestigious national honor that ranks her among the country’s best faculty researchers and teachers from the fields of astronomy, chemistry and physics. A faculty member at Syracuse University since 2018 and a member of the BioInspired Institute, Patteson researches cell migration and how cells navigate and respond to their environment.
Ross Receives Prestigious Distinction from the American Association for the Advancement of Science
A Bioinspired Institute member has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Jennifer Ross, professor and department chair of physics, was elected by the AAAS Council for her efforts on behalf of the advancement of science. She will be honored at a ceremony to be held this spring in Washington, D.C. Continue Reading
Acharya Uses Powerful Computing to Help Identify Potential New Treatments for Coronaviruses
Coronaviruses, such as the one that causes COVID-19, have numerous protruding spikes salting their surfaces. When a coronavirus raises one of these spike proteins—like opening a finger to full length—it becomes capable of invading a human cell. The pointed spike can insert its key-like domain into a keyhole protein (ACE2) in the outer wall of a human cell, binding to it. And the spike protein becomes a gateway for infecting a cell. Continue Reading
Nature-Inspired Designs Could Offer Solutions for Global Challenges
Bioinspired research draws from the natural world to develop solutions for global challenges. But it can be difficult to turn these research ideas into actual materials and methods that can be applied to real world problems in areas like construction, energy and health care. That’s why Lisa Manning, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and director of the BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University, led a workshop in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October to explore new paths to transform this research into industry applications. Continue Reading
A ‘Paw’sitively Innovative Discovery
Bioinspired Institute biologist Austin Garner is part of a team who investigated how polar bear paw design principles can help improve traction in human-made products like tires and shoes. Continue Reading
Nangia and Ren Part of Collaborative Team Researching Preventing Infections in Engineered Tissue and Implantable Devices
Advancements in biomedical devices such as knee and hip implants, heart valves, pacemakers, dental implants, stents and catheters have improved quality of life for patients worldwide. These devices, however, introduce foreign material into a patient and are prone to chronic infections. Through a new grant, a cross-disciplinary group of experts will collaborate to develop new approaches to prevent device-associated infections and enhance the use of these implants. Continue Reading
Walk this Way – Robotics in Motion with Zhenyu Gan
The Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) recently made headlines with the hiring of two prized recruits. Only the firefighters in question weren’t humans; they were robots. Robot dogs, to be exact. Continue Reading