Speakers

Sally Gerrish, Director-Student, Alumni & Industrial Relations, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University

Sally Gerrish directs the Academic Office at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She has held this position since 2004 and works closely with students at all levels as they prepare for the next step in their careers. Sally came to Georgia Tech in 1999 and first worked with the NSF Engineering Research Center, GTEC- Georgia Tech- Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues as the Education Coordinator. Before this, Sally spent 14 years with the Indiana University Career Development Center in roles of Assistant Director of Student Employment, Associate Director for Career Services and Senior Associate Director for the Center.
Sally did her undergraduate work at the University of Illinois and her graduate work at Illinois State University, receiving her M.ED.

Ms. Esther Bolding joined the National Science Foundation staff in 1978, serving in several management positions throughout the agency. Ms. Bolding is currently the Program Manager for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the Division of Engineering Education and Centers of the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Established in1986, the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program is a Foundation-wide program that supports active research participation by undergraduate students in research in most fields of science and engineering. The REU program is a major contributor to the NSF goal of developing a diverse, internationally competitive, and globally-engaged science and engineering workforce. The REU program is considered to be one of the most effective avenues for attracting talented undergraduates to and retaining them in careers in science and engineering, including careers in teaching and education research.

NSF also engages in a partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD) to expand undergraduate research opportunities in DoD-relevant research areas through the REU Sites program. In 2009, Ms. Bolding initiated a partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) to expand undergraduate research opportunities in the area of geothermal energy. Ms. Bolding manages over 125 ENG REU site programs which engage 1500 undergraduates each year with faculty and graduate mentors on carefully defined projects aligned with the research programs of the host institution.

Ms. Bolding has received numerous awards from the National Science Foundation for her program management and leadership. In 2009, she was honored by the Foundation with the Director’s Equal Opportunity Achievement Award for her strong leadership of the REU program and commitment to the tradition of equal opportunity by promoting its principles and actions within the Foundation as well as in the scientific and engineering communities. Also in 2009, Ms. Bolding and the ENG Merit Review Training Team received the NSF Director’s Award for Merit Review Excellence and the Gen-3 ERC-team of which she was a member received the NSF Director’s Award for Collaborative Integration. Most recently, Ms. Bolding was the recipient of the prestigious NSF Director’s Superior Accomplishment Award for strong leadership of the REU Program and commitment to the ENG Directorate’s outreach efforts.

Ken Tran graduated from the University of Virginia (11') with a B.S. in biomedical engineering, receiving one of the engineering schools' Outstanding Student Awards. During his undergraduate studies, Tran worked in the U.Va. Ophthalmology Research Lab developing novel retinal imaging systems, and also spent a summer at the University of Cape Town researching low cost methods for diagnosing tuberculosis. One of his major achievements was winning first place in the U.Va. Entrepreneurial Cup for pitching a business plan to set up a nationwide diabetic retinopathy-screening network. He was selected among over 180 teams and awarded $20,000 to launch the business. Tran is now the co-founder and vice president of product development for RetiVue Inc., a company he helped start to commercialize low cost retinal camera technology.

Michael J. Danilich, PhD is Director of the Biomedical Technologies Group at Luna Innovations. He has BS and MS degrees in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, all from Case Western Reserve University. His graduate research was focused on the preparation and characterization of novel functionalized coatings and modified polymer surfaces for blood contacting, cardiovascular, and other soft tissue applications. In his post-doctoral studies, he used the atomic force microscope to measure the near surface force fields that control the early events (protein deposition and conformational changes) in surface-induced thrombosis. After his post-doctoral studies, he was employed as a Research Engineer at Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s Homer Research Laboratories. His responsibilities included technical support of and interaction with personnel in the high-speed continuous mill environment and monitoring and development of numerous novel surface technologies, including anti-microbial coatings. Since joining Luna Innovations in 2003, Dr. Danilich has led numerous R&D programs in the areas of wound healing, regenerative medicine, and combat casualty and trauma care and now leads the Biomedical Technologies Group with an annual operating budget of approximately $2M.