Professor wins prestigious NSF award

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by Dan Cole

BYU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering continues to build success as faculty members gain accolades from The National Science Foundation.

Professor Brian Jensen won the National Science Foundation CAREER award, which totals the third CAREER award in two years for the established department. Jensen’s current work focuses on improving microscale genetic lances or tiny spikes that can inject DNA into other cells.

Electrical forces are used to attract DNA to the surface of the spikes then inject them into host cells.  Researchers can then reverse the polarity of the electric charge and insert the DNA into a cell’s genetic code.

Larry Howell, a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department and colleague of Jensen, noted the award’s importance.

“This is one of the most prestigious awards the National Science Foundation gives especially for younger faculty members,” Howell said. “It means a lot for Dr. Jensen personally and professionally. For the department it raises the level of credibility nationally. The exciting things with this research is there is an opportunity for it to really make a difference in the world. Particularly in the world or areas of health research, specifically related to genetic diseases.”

Tim McLain, department chair, noted how ambitious the award is.

“The CAREER award is designed to credit top young faculty in the country,” McLain said. “It’s a highly competitive and prestigious award.”

The award consists of a $400,000 grant over five years giving the opportunity for Jensen to mentor more students.

“Mostly I’m excited to use this award to work with students,” Jensen said. “That’s what I love about my job, and this award just gives me more opportunities to do that.”

Jensen attributed the success of the department to a unified faculty staff.

“The strong focus of the department is on the students and helping students to succeed,” Jensen said. “And that attracts the kind of people that we want in the department. I’ve been really impressed by my colleagues here in the department and how focused they are helping students. I think that has been really attractive to the kind of people we want to have come here.”

The department draws from a wide array of faculty; some are alumni of the university while others are drawn from the professional field.  The BYU environment is the contributing factor in the success of gaining quality faculty members.

“It’s really amazing the quality of candidates that we are getting for the Mechanical Engineering Department,” Howell said. “We hire very talented people. It’s such a  great environment with the opportunities to combine secular and spiritual. We also have such outstanding students, not only in the classroom but in the lab.”

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