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 November-December 2007      
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Honor Roll


Upcoming Events

Dec. 1: Pre-Concert Reception
6:30 p.m., Chaney Library, Riggs Alumni Center
Invited guests will hear a presentation from Susie Farr, executive director of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in advance of the annual holiday concert. For more information call 301.405.1416.

Dec. 1: Holiday Concert
8 p.m., Delkelboum Concert Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
Repeat performance Dec. 2, 3 p.m.
The Maryland Chorus, William Culverhouse, music director, celebrates the 40th anniversary of this annual holiday tradition with seasonal favorites and celebrated choruses from Handel's oratorios. The program will feature a tribute to Dr. Paul Traver, founder of the University of Maryland Chorus.

Dec. 19: Winter Commencement
7 p.m., Comcast Center


Securing a Faculty Competitive with the Best
Bentley Named Fischell Distinguished Professor

s Maryland builds one of the strongest bioengineering departments in the nation, it must first attract, then retain some of the best minds that are gravitating to this exciting new field. One such star is William Bentley, an internationally recognized scholar and chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering. In recognition of his sustained and influential scholarly work in bioengineering, Bentley has been named the inaugural Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor.

The renewable five-year professorship is part of the $31 million endowment established by Fischell and his sons that created the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Robert E. Fischell Institute of Biomedical Devices. The professorship provides resources and prestige to build collaborations and significantly advance the research agenda.

"I am especially honored to hold a professorship in the Fischell name," stated Bentley. "It's a name that stands for exceptional ingenuity and expertise, a commitment to improving life for millions of people, and enormous generosity. I will do my best to live up to it."

Bentley and his colleagues are applying the quantitative systems approach of engineering to the study of cells, subcellular systems and systems of cells. Their research will ultimately contribute to the development of better tools and techniques for the prevention, treatment and diagnosis of disease.

“In order for the next generation of biomedical devices to perform more efficiently and effectively, there must be a close interaction between engineering and human physiology,” says Bentley. A good example of his team's work is studying the viability of magnetic nanofactories, biochemical machines that act like cells in the body. Using magnetism, these tiny devices could detect a bacterial infection, produce a medication using the body's own materials, and deliver a dose directly to the bacteria. The drug would do its work only at the infection site, avoiding the side effects that may arise when an antibiotic travels throughout the body in search of infections.

This is just one example of the amazing research that Bentley and the growing bioengineering faculty are conducting. Their work in areas fundamental to modern medical practice, including cardiovascular mechanics, cellular and metabolic engineering and nanobiotechnology, will impact the future for all of us.


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Black Dots

Published by the University of Maryland 2007