I am pleased to announce that this
spring has been marked by exceptional recognition given to two of our students—and by extension to their
faculty mentors. Mechanical engineering junior Phillip Hannam (pictured right) was awarded a prestigious
Truman Scholarship, one of only 65 nationally. He is an active member of our outstanding Engineers Without
Borders chapter (directed by Professor Deborah Goodings of civil engineering), and is
leading a project to install solar-powered water pumps in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Heather
Bradshaw, a mechanical engineering junior focused on developing the next generation of spacesuits
in Professor David Akin’s Space Systems Lab, received a highly competitive Goldwater Scholarship.
Overall, we see a continuing upward trend in the quality of our students, including those who applied for
admission this coming fall: on the 1600 scale, their 25th-75th SAT percentile range was 1300 to 1430.
A Portrait of Generosity
A highlight of this year’s Fischell Festival—our annual conference celebrating advances in
bioengineering—was the opening of the new 7,400 ft2, $7.6 million bioengineering wing in the Kim
Engineering Building, made possible by the generosity of Robert E. Fischell and his family.
The new wing houses offices and work spaces such as the Biomaterials Engineering Laboratory, directed by
Associate Professor Bruce Yu, and the Biophotonic Imaging Laboratory, directed by Assistant
Professor Yu Chen. The ceremony was led by Fischell Department of Bioengineering Professor
and Chair William Bentley, with remarks by Provost Nariman Farvardin,
Robert E. Fischell, his wife Susan Fischell, and his son David Fischell.
Dr. Fischell told the audience that he was thrilled to learn the department established in his family’s name
had the highest number of incoming freshmen among all Clark School departments, and that these students had
the highest average GPAs on campus. The event concluded with the unveiling of a portrait (pictured left) of Dr. Fischell
and sons David, Scott, and Tim, now displayed in the bioengineering office suite.
Your Gifts Help Us Lead the Great
Expectations Campaign
In FY 2008, donors to the Clark School contributed gifts ranging from the hundreds
of dollars to the millions, exceeding our fiscal year goal and continuing our leadership of the university’s
Great Expectations campaign. To date, our donors have given the Clark School a total of $132 million, or 71
percent of our $185 million goal. Some recent noteworthy contributors include Raytheon Company,
General Motors Corporation, BAE Systems, Vestas Technology R&D, Seagate Technology LLC, Toshiba Corporation,
Texas Instruments, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, AFCEA-Bethesda Chapter, Hung C. "Jimmy" Lin, Anik Singal, Barbara G. Hulka, the Scholl
Family Foundation, the John and Maureen Hendricks Charitable Foundation, the Salzberg Family, Irina Krayterman, and the Family and Friends of Sarah E. Gingrich Firebaugh. I strongly encourage everyone who is
considering making a gift to the campaign to contact the Clark School’s development office for more
information.
The Search for a New Dean Continues
President Mote and Provost Farvardin have not yet
concluded the search for the new Clark School dean. Until that time, I am pleased to continue in my interim
role and I count on your ongoing support in moving the Clark School forward.
Herbert Rabin
Professor and Interim Dean
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