Photos from the evening...
Rochester Engineering Society
Announces Recipients of Annual Awards
Kevin Parker, Ph.D., Named 2009 Engineer of the Year
April 10, 2010 – The Rochester Engineering Society (RES) named Kevin Parker, Ph.D, the 2009 Engineer of the Year and Nathan Gnanasambandam, Ph.D., the 2009 Kate Gleason Young Engineer of the Year during its annual Gala held Saturday at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
Dr. Parker is the dean emeritus of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Rochester and is now the William F. May professor of engineering in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and a secondary appointment in the Biomedical Engineering Department. With nearly 30 years affiliation with the university, he has made an impact on both the local engineering community and the global medical imaging field. Over the last 20 years he has mentored numerous PhD students many of which now teach at the University of Rochester and at RIT. Dr. Parker developed a new system aimed at detecting minute tumors of the liver, prostate and spleen. The research describing the system was cited as the best paper in 1990 by the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. More than a dozen companies have licensed several of the 13 patents he holds for his innovations.
In addition to serving as the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, he operated his own business and continued to teach. His business, which he still runs today, focuses on imaging organs, joints and cartilage. His work in the field of biomedical ultrasound led to the development of signal processing techniques used in rendering more accurate medical images. The techniques, later named Blue Noise Mask, were later used in halftone imaging print technology which has revolutionized the printing device industry, worldwide. Virtually every printer used today has incorporated this technology. He helped to spearhead the development of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Rochester which in 10 years, has 18 full-time faculty.
Presenting the award to Dr. Parker was Wendy Smith, President of the Rochester Engineering Society and Vice President of Engineering at Optimation.
Nathan Gnanasambandam, Ph.D., Named 2009 Young Engineer of the Year
Dr. Gnanasambandam is a member of Research and Technology Staff at Xerox Corporation, He graduated in 2007 with a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Pennsylvania State University and is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board at a National Science Foundation research center and serves as the Xerox liaison for two university collaborations. Nathan is described as having the unique ability to develop creative solutions in undefined spaces and then combine those solutions with practical business capabilities. His technical contributions are demonstrated in the 23 peer-reviewed papers in international conferences and publications and 13 patent applications in progress. He has been recognized for his innovations inside Xerox with a Technology Incubation Award and Inventor Award and outside by the IEEE. Nathan keeps active in professional societies at the national level by organizing tutorials, reviewing papers, and mentoring students.
Presenting the award to Dr. Gnanasambandam was Dr. Satish Kandlikar, Gleason Professor of Mechanical Engineering, RIT and the 2008 Engineer of the Year. The Kate Gleason Young Engineer of the Year Award is endowed by the Gleason Foundation to annually recognize and honor the outstanding achievements of a Rochester-area engineer, 34 years of age or younger, in the early stages of their career.
The four finalists for the Engineer of the Year award represented a distinguished group of Rochester-area engineers. In addition to Dr. Parker the other finalists were:
Timothy Treadwell, Research Fellow at Carestream Health Research and Innovation Labs
Gary Passero, founder and chairman and CEO of Passero Associates
James McIntosh, PE, Rochester City Engineer
The four finalists for the Young Engineer of the Year award include a talented group of engineers who have made significant contributions to the field. In addition to Dr. Gnaaasambandam the other finalists were:
Cheryl Cheng, Image Quality Assurance Engineer, Eastman Kodak Company
Michael Walker, a mechanical engineering supervisor at Gleason Works
Adam Cummings, a Civil Engineer with MRB Group
Additionally, over $40,000 in engineering scholarships were presented to 26 high school and college level students to encourage and support engineering as a career choice for young people.
Also in attendance were the the Honorable Maggie Brooks, Monroe County Executive, and Deputy Mayor, the Honorable Patricia Malgieri In their remarks to the nearly 300 Gala attendees both Brooks and Malgieri noted the importance of engineering professionals to the economic vitality of Monroe County and the City of Rochester. This theme was reinforced by keynote speaker Jean Claude Brizard, Superintendent of the Rochester City School District who shared his insights regarding Opportunity and Capitalization.
The RES serves the field of engineering in the Rochester-Monroe County area and is comprised of corporate, affiliate societies, and individual members. RES promotes and celebrates excellence, innovation, cooperation, professional growth and fellowship in the engineering, scientific and allied professions.
|
