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Biomedical Engineering Faculty

Below is a short description of each faculty member’s activities and interests. More information can be found on each faculty member’s web page.

Stan Cronk (http://www.coes.LaTech.edu/bme/bme%20subpages/cronk%20_home.htm)

Position: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, LouisianaTech University

Interests: Rehabilitation engineering and human factors.

Activities: Studies of interaction of persons with disabilities with assistive technology systems. Improvement of these interactions by increasing throughput and decreasing fatigue. Dr. Cronk examines human-computer interaction problems, particularly for persons with disabilities and for senior citizens.

Walter Besio (http://www.latech.edu/~walterb)

Position: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, University of Miama

Interests: Rehabilitation Engineering

Activities: As a direct family member of a deceased C_4-5 quadraplegic, Dr. Besio’s lifetime goal is to develop novel medical devices to enhance the lives of ill persons and to inspire students who will further advance the field. He has had 12 years of professional experience in industry developing electronic and medical devices from prototype through scale up to the market.

Paul N. Hale, Jr. (http://www.latech.edu/tech/engr/faculty/bme/hale.htm)

Position: Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Dean for External Programs, Director of the TechnologyTransfer Center, Academic Director of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Degree: Ph.D. Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University

Interests: Rehabilitation engineering, human factors engineering, clinical engineering, and biomedical engineering design.

Activities: Dr. Hale was named Outstanding Biomedical Educator in 1993. Dr. Hale has served on advisory committees and review panels for state and federal agencies, and is on the Board of Directors of the Biomedical Engineering Society and RESNA. He is currently the Academic Director of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Don Haynie (http://www.latech.edu/~haynie)

Position : Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Physics

Degree: Ph.D. Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University

Interests: Biothermodynamics, protein engineering, artificial cells, protein folding and stability, and electromagnetic bioeffects.

Activities: Development of red blood cell substitutes and sustained-released drug-delivery systems, creation of robust biocompatible microcapsules, measurement of the biological effects of short-duration electromagnetic pulses (ultra wide band pulses).

Steven A. Jones (http://www.latech.edu/~sajones)

Position: Associate Professor and Program Chair, Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of California at San Diego

Interests: Biofluid mechanics and biomedical signal analysis.

Activities: Applications of Doppler novel ultrasound methods to disease diagnosis, studies of hemodynamic effects on platelet adhesion, and hemodynamic modeling of vascular access grafts. Dr. Jones is examining methods for the evaluation of platelet function that involve the adhesion of platelets to microchannels. He is also studying the role of platelet-derived Nitric Oxide on platelet adhesion.In the area of Doppler ultrasound, he is examining the use of multiple-receiver Doppler instruments for the improvement of singal-to-noise ratios of velocity measurements.

Cheng Luo (http://www.latech.edu/tech/engr/faculty/bme/luo.html)

Position: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D. Solid Mechanics, University of California, Berkeley

Interests: Design, modeling and fabrication of micro/nano systems and their applications to the biomedical field.

Activities: Current projects include minimally invasive drug-delivery microsystems, biosensing technology for rapid parallel detection of five food-borne pathogens, biomimetic grip and slip sensors for neuroprosthetics, and fabrication of nano-scale devices using conventional UV micromanufacturing techniques.

Michael J. McShane (http://www.latech.edu/~mcshane)

Position: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University

Interests: Biomedical optics and micromanufactured biosensors.

Activities: Development of noninvasive devices for monitoring, diagnosis, therapy, and imaging. Fluorescent sensors for monitoring of cell function in vitro. Nanosphere-based sensors for glucose monitoring.

Stanley A. Napper (http://www.latech.edu/tech/engr/faculty/bme/napper.htm)

Position: Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Director, Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Sciences and Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Sciences

Degree: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University

Interests: Artificial intelligence and expert systems, rehabilitation engineering, systems physiology, mathematical modeling and computer simulation, biomedical engineering design.

Activities: Dr. Napper has developed capabilities in the application of mathematical modeling and artificial intelligence to problems of biomedical engineering. His activities include research in application of expert systems in rehabilitation, mathematical modeling of physiological systems, and cognitive orthoses. He currently serves as the Acting Dean for the College of Engineering and Science and as the Director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Sciences (CyBERS).

Daniel D. Reneau

Position: Professor of Biomedical Engineering and President of Louisiana Tech University

Degree: Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Clemson University

Interests: Oxygen Transport, Physiological Modeling and Microelectrodes

Activities: Dr. Reneau founded the Biomedical Engineering department at Louisiana Tech University and currently serves as president of the university.

Charles J. Robinson (http://www.cybers.latech.edu/cjr.html)

Position: Max T. Watson Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Micromanufacturing

Degree: D. Sc. Electrical Engineering, Washington University

Interests: Alterations in motor control after central nervous system injury, augmentative techniques to restore function after motor system paralysis, quantification of falling potential in the elderly and in amputees, biomedical and rehabilitation instrumentation, technology for rehabilitation applications, and somatosensory and urological neurophysiology.

Activities: Dr. Robinson is recognized nationally and internationally for his contributions to biomedical engineering and rehabilitation engineering. He was recognized with the IEEE Richard M. Emberson Award in 2001 for outstanding sustained contributions to the Institute’s technical objectives through innovated enhancements in society and corporate leadership, technical publications, conferences, membership development, and transnational outreach.

Mesut Sahin (http://www.latech.edu/~sahin)

Position: Assistant Professor Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

Interests: Neural Interfaces, neural prostheses, functional electrical stimulation, neural recording and neural signal processing. Spinal cord neural circuitry, neuromuscular factors in obstructive sleep apnea.

Activities: Extraction of motor signals from the spinal cord, neural prostheses for obstructive sleep apnea, floating micro-stimulators for neural prosthetic applications, and autonomic control of heart rate variability in obstructive sleep apnea patients.

Roy W. Schubert (http://www.latech.edu/tech/engr/faculty/bme/schubert.htm)

Position: Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Degree: Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

Interests: Adaptation of the heart to physiological stress. The metabolic protective mechanism in short-term hypoxia.In vivomicrosensors for intracellular measurement of Oxygen, Nitric Oxide and other materials.

Activities: Optimization of a microfabricated oxygen sensor. Characterization and adaptation of this sensor for detection of nitric oxide. Special processes/devices for making micro-scale bubbles that are filled with physiological gases.

Sidney Sit

Position: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Institute for Micromanufacturing

Degree: Ph.D. Biophysics/Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University

Interests: Micro/Nanoscle Biomaterials Interfaces. Nanobiotechnology. High throughput system and combinatorial approach for the rational design of biomedical polymers. Surface modification and characterization. Molecular and cellular engineering.

Activities: Mechanistic elucidation of cell-protein-material interactions on a nanometer and molecular scale. Fabrication of nanopatterned surfaces for controlling cell-material interactions. Cell micromechanics on polymeric surfaces. Synthesis and characterization of interfacial properties of molecules for resisting protein adsorption.

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