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Please see the invitation for applications below from Dr. Han Bao.
Stacie I. Ringleb, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center
Old Dominion University
1030 University Blvd.
Suffolk, VA 23435
phone: (757) 686-6230
fax: (757) 686-6214
sringleb@odu.edu
I would like to inform you that we are looking for applicants for an
endowed Chair in Bioengineering at Old Dominion University. This faculty
position at the full professor level will be placed within my Department
of Mechanical Engineering. It is expected that the successful candidate
will provide leadership in developing research and educational programs in
Bioengineering. Details of this position are available in the Chronicle of
Higher Education and the ME Magazine in their respective September issues.
The ad can also be viewed at insidehighered.com, higheredjobs.com and
science.com. While visiting these web sites, please use the keyword
“Bioengineeringâ€.
The purpose of this letter is to provide some insights to this challenging
and rewarding leadership position and Old Dominion University. Located in
historic Norfolk, Va., the 188 acres of the Old Dominion University campus
stretch from the Elizabeth River to the Lafayette River. Although situated
in a metropolitan setting, the University offers a small-college look and
feel, with tree-lined walkways, a mix of old and new buildings, and
colorful gardens and ponds. Founded in 1930 as a division of the College
of William and Mary, Old Dominion University has grown into its own over
the years and is now one of only 101 public universities with a
Carnegie/Doctoral Research-Extensive distinction.
The Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology (BCET) is a
catalyst for the economic development of Hampton Roads. To this end, the
college has established a number of centers to serve as catalysts for
enterprise development. These centers include the Applied Research Center
(ARC), the Center for Advanced Engineering Environments (CAEE), the Frank
Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics, the Langley full Scale Wind Tunnel
(LFST), the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), the Virginia Applied
Technology and Professional Development (VATPDC), the Virginia Modeling
and Simulation Center (VMASC) and the National Center for System of
Systems Engineering (NCSOSE). Besides the centers mentioned above, there
are seven Institutes within the sphere of responsibility of BCET: Coastal
Engineering, Lean, Ship Maintenance, Repair and Operations, Laser and
Plasma Engineering, Sustainable Development, and Multidisciplinary
Parallel and Vector Computation. The centers’ and institutes’ activities
can be perused on the college’s web site (http://www.eng.odu.edu).
The faculty and students in the Mechanical Engineering Department have a
sustained interest in biomechanics research. Research programs in injury
modeling have been developed recently in collaboration with faculty from
the Modeling and Simulation Center, the Exercise Science, Sport, Physical
Education and Recreation Department, and physicians from the nearby
Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Last semester, our department offered a
graduate course in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics for the first time, and
just graduated a doctoral student recently with a dissertation entitled,
“Shaken Baby Syndrome: Retinal Hermorrhaging, a Biomechanical Approach to
Understanding the Mechanism of Causation.†The department also established
the Dynamic Environment Simulation (DES) Laboratory, in September 2006,
which houses a six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) motion simulator owned by the
Combatant Craft Division (CCD) of the NSWC. The simulator can generate a
6-g environment with a payload of 400 pounds for a traveling distance of 6
feet and a speed of 20 feet/sec. The focus of the laboratory is in dynamic
responses of high-speed and high- performance craft structure, equipment,
and personnel in high seas; particularly, shock control and mitigation to
minimize equipment damage and human injury. One current research project
is to investigate muscle fatigue and fracture thresholds relative to
repetitive impact loading.
Besides the support of the department in the development of his/her
research and educational programs, the successful applicant can expect
full collaboration with other research facilities at ODU with current
involvement in bioengineering and biomedical engineering. One such
facility is the Applied Research Center (ARC), which has extensive
capabilities in laser-material interaction and laser-based sensors. This
facility and expertise could be of interest to research in the area of
laser-tissue interactions and laser-based biosensors. Also, the material
characterization and thin-film fabrication capabilities at ARC can be of
significant use to a faculty interested in biomaterials, biomedical
microsensors, and nanodevices. Please consult the web site:
www.eng.odu.edu/arc
Another facility of interest is the Frank Reidy Research Center for
Bioelectrics, which was established in 2002 as the first research center
in bioelectrics in the world. It has more than 20 researchers with
expertise in engineering, physics, and biology working in
state-of-art-laboratories in the 14,000 ft2 center. Research topics range
from fundamental studies of electric field and plasma effects on
biological cells to commercial applications. The wide range of applied
research topics, from water decontamination to tumor treatment, is evident
in the more than 100 publications which have been published by researchers
in the Center over the past five years. On a national level, the Center is
the focal point of a Multidisciplinary University Initiative on the effect
of intracellular wideband and narrowband radiofrequency radiation with
members at Eastern Virginia Medical School, MIT, Washington U., U. Texas,
and U. Wisconsin. Internationally, the Center coordinates an International
Consortium on Bioelectrics including groups in United States, Japan and
Germany. Please consult the web site: www.eng.odu.edu/bioelectrics.
The Virginia Modeling and Simulation center (VMASC) is a
multi-disciplinary modeling, simulation, and visualization collaborative
research center managed through the Office of Research at Old Dominion
University. VMASC supports the University’s Modeling and Simulation (M&S)
graduate degree programs, offering multi-disciplinary M&S Masters and
Ph.D. degrees to students across the Colleges of Engineering and
Technology, Sciences, Education, and Business. With more than one hundred
industry, government, and academic members, VMASC furthers the development
and application of modeling, simulation, and visualization as an
enterprise decision-making tool and promotes economic development. Current
projects include Simulation Integration, Interoperability, and
Composability, Homeland Security, Visualization and Virtual Environments,
Medical Modeling and Simulation, Human Behavior Modeling, Human Factors,
and Human Machine interface. Please consult the web site: www.eng.odu.edu/
vmasc.
Finally, the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) is located in Norfolk
within 3 miles from ODU. EVMS and ODU share research programs in
biomedical technology, public health, clinical psychology, ophthalmic
technology, and medical modeling and simulation.
As presented above, we have all the essential elements (attitude,
facilities, support, personnel) to initiate a great program in
bioengineering. We strongly encourage applications from those individuals
who want to share our interests in this challenging and growing field.
Please help us by sharing this letter with any individual who may be ready
to assume a leadership role in bioengineering and may consider applying
for this position.
Sincerely yours,
Han P. Bao, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Mitsubishi Endowed Chair in Manufacturing Engineering
Email: hbao@odu.edu
Tel: (757) 683-4922
FYI: Ad can be found in
1 Chronicle of Higher Education www.chronicle.com
2 ME Magazine, September 2007 Issue
3 Inside Higher Education www.insidehighered.com
4 Science www.science.com
Keyword: Bioengineering