Distinguished Alumni Banquet

Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Time: Reception at 5:45 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Place: J.W. Connolly Ballroom, Alumni Hall

Join us as we honor our 2007 Distinguished Alumni:

• John A. Jurenko, 2007 School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus
• The Honorable Michael Bilirakis, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
• Dennis P. Yeskey, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Thomas D. Mino, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Aldo Zini, Department of Industrial Engineering
• Craig Staresinich, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
• Michael J. Fasolka, Distinguished Young Alumni Award

Read more about the 2007 University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Banquet.

School of Engineering Student Named Rhodes Scholar

A University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering student has been named a Rhodes Scholar by the Rhodes Trust.

Daniel Armanios, a Pitt Honors College student from Marietta, Ga., majoring in mechanical engineering and political science, was chosen as a 2007 Rhodes Scholar. Armanios is among only 32 U.S. students selected, making Pitt one of only five U.S. public universities with a 2007 Rhodes Scholar. It is the only Pennsylvania school (public or private) to win, and the only public university in the nation to win in both 2006 and 2007.

In addition , Daniel Armanios is the only undergraduate engineering student to be named a Rhodes Scholar in 2007.

Read more about Daniel Armanios, 2007 Rhodes Scholar.

Balazs Published in Science Twice in One Month

The work of Anna Balazs, Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Robert von der Luft Professor, was featured in Science twice during the month of November 2006. Science is on the record as stating it only publishes about 8 percent of the papers it receives.

Balazs was lead author on the article titled “Nanoparticle Polymer Composites: Where Two Small Worlds Meet” which appeared in the November 17, 2006 issue, and co-author of an article about pulsating gels in the November 3, 2006 issue. She also wrote a paper with several undergrads that was published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Recently, Dr. Balazs was awarded the Women in the Material World Award by the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania.

Read about Dr. Balazs’ doubleheader in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, or more about her research on the Swanson School of Engineering news site.

Professors Sacks and Wagner Among 2006 Scientific American 50

Michael Sacks, William Kepler Whiteford Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, and his colleague William Wagner, professor of surgery, chemical engineering, and bioengineering and deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, were selected by Scientific American magazine to be part of the 2006 Scientific American 50.

They received this honor for their research contributions to the development and biomechanical analyses of novel cell microintegrated biodegradable scaffolds that mimic many of the critical properties of cardiovascular tissues. The announcement appeared in the December 2006 issue.

Read more about Sacks and Wagner.