2013-2014 Innovation Career Development Professors Announced
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
At Boston University, we have always believed in the progression of groundbreaking research into commercially viable solutions. There could be no greater way, we believe, to democratize the advances achieved here for the broader public and no greater advertisement for the possibilities and promise offered by this institution.
Since 2008, BU has had the pleasure of recognizing outstanding Assistant Professors whose translational research is likely to lead to future licensed technology through the Innovation Career Development Professorship. Endowed with proceeds from our Office of Technology Development, these professorships allow the University to reinvest a portion of the income it receives from the licensing of intellectual property to support faculty who are truly taking their research to the next level.
As with our Peter Paul, Stuart and Elizabeth Pratt, Reidy Family, and Ralph Edwards Career Development Professorships, which we announced last week, the Innovation Career Development Professorship includes a three-year, non-renewable stipend designed to support scholarly or creative work, as well as a portion of the recipients’ salaries. Nominations are submitted by the academic deans, and awardees are selected by the Office of the Provost.
This year’s Innovation Career Development Professors were cited for their outstanding research track records, the innovative and highly translational nature of their work, their interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches, and their exciting visions for future exploration. I am delighted to announce that this year’s Innovation Career Development Professors are:
Ramesh Jasti, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
Ramesh Jasti’s interdisciplinary research bridges organic chemistry and materials science to explore the synthesis of the basic building blocks of carbon nanotubes. A recent NSF CAREER Award winner and Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, he received his doctorate in Organic Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and performed his postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, and The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Ahmad Khalil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering
A Deputy Director of BU’s Center of Synthetic Biology, Ahmad Khalil’s research in systems biology and quantitative synthetic biology seeks to understand how cells process and transmit information. A recent winner of ENG’s Award for Teaching Excellence and an Institut Mérieux Research Grant Award, he received his doctorate and Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
Please join me in congratulating these talented educators for this achievement, and in wishing them the best of luck with their teaching and research in the years ahead.
2013-2014 Innovation Career Development Professorship Awardees – 9.17.13