Graduate Students Honored At 2018 Crest & Fest

The 2017 Harding Bliss Prize for exceptional achievement in research in Engineering & Applied Science was awarded to Amanda Pellowe, a graduate student in the lab of Anjelica Gonzalez, the Donna L. Dubinsky Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering.

In her nomination, Gonzalez wrote that Pellowe’s work has made a significant impact in the fields of leukocyte biology, vascular biology, and biomedical engineering.

“Her intelligence, well-developed analytical skills, and ambitious nature are assets that have served as a solid foundation for her success in our graduate program,” Gonzalez wrote.

Gonzalez also noted that Pellowe founded the Yale Chapter of Many Mentors, an organization that encourages young women and minorities to pursue and attain degrees in STEM fields.

“As an advisor and mentor, this is amongst the most rewarding experiences to have, to see a young scientist be enthusiastic enough about her own work to encourage others to pursue research as well,” she wrote.

Maria E. Parente, manager of Yale UNiversity Pathways to Science, wrote that Pellowe’s outreach efforts have “brought hundreds of students to campus, offering hands-on demonstration, guidance in college decisions, and more.”

“It is clear from my experience working with Amanda in her various roles that she is incredibly passionate and dedicated to making science accessible to any young person who is interested,” Parente wrote.

The Henry Prentiss Becton Graduate Prize, awarded for exceptional achievement in research, usually goes to one recipient. But the judges this year were so impressed by the amazing accomplishments of Chanhee Boo, in the lab of Prof. Menachem Elimelech, Roberto C. Goizueta Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, and Xiang Guo from the lab of Hong Tang, Llewellyn West Jones, Jr. Professor of Electrical Engineering & Physics, that the two graduate students were named co-winners.

In their nomination, Jaehong Kim, department chair of chemical & environmental engineering, and Paul Van Tassel, director of graduate studies, praised Boo for his creativity, independence, and willingness to take on challenges.                                                        

“Chanhee is a rising star with an exceptional promise to become a leader in the field of membrane separations for water purification,” they wrote.

Another nominator, Chinedum Osuji, associate professor of chemical & environmental engineering, gave kudos to Boo for his work in membrane distillation and membrane fouling. In particular, Boo developed a novel membrane that “offers the possibility of improving process performance not just by preventing liquid water entry into the membrane, but also resisting oil or organic species entry as well.”

“His work has real impact, as it has provided important new process and materials-level understanding for membrane distillation, membrane fouling, as well as the performance of draw solutions for osmotic heat engines,” he wrote.

Osuji, also noted that Boo is a prolific researcher.

“His research productivity has been extraordinary, and he stands out, even in a group - the Elimelech group - well known for its productivity,” Osuji wrote.                                              

In Guo's nomination, Hong Tang praised him as a “deep thinker” who has mastered the many steps in the cross-disciplinary nature of his field of photonics.

“As director of graduate studies in the department of electrical engineering, I have the privilege to interact with graduate students of all background and performance levels,” Tang wrote. “Xiang is one of the best students I have ever interacted with in my past 12 years of academic career.”

Tang also credited Guo for his many accomplishments in the lab, including the development of a second harmonic generator with which he established a world-record efficiency in generating second harmonic light with micro-optical resonators. That was followed by his work on chip-scale photon pair sources and, more recently, his development of the first dual band frequency combs.

“These findings have firmly established our group’s leading role in the general nonlinear optics area, placed Yale at forefront of this cutting-edge research area and further allowed our group to win a number of research grants (totaling $1.3 million),” Tang wrote.