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As part of the College’s new Interdisciplinary Seminar Series in the Life Sciences, mechanical engineering professor Michael W. Plesniak will discuss his cardiovascular-flow-related research program 3 p.m. March 20 in Oechsle Hall, room 224.
Plesniak, the Eugene Kleiner Professor for Innovation in Mechanical Engineering at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, N.Y., will present “Biomedical Fluid Dynamics: From Phonation to Cardiovascular Flows.”
According to Plesniak, flow in the human body is designed to be laminar and regular. A few exceptions where turbulence plays a role are speech production and pathological flow in the circulatory system. An overarching motivation for studying hemodynamics and speech production is to facilitate surgical planning, such as enabling physicians to assess the outcomes of surgical procedures by using faithful computer simulations. The seminar will focus on his research program, where the goal is to investigate the fluid dynamics stimuli of pathological flows on the endothelial cells lining the arteries.
Plesniak recently completed a term as the Director of the Fluid Dynamics & Hydraulics program at the National Science Foundation and was elected a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2006. He has authored more than 150 conference papers, articles, and publications and has presented at numerous seminars and conferences. He earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University in mechanical engineering.
The Interdisciplinary Seminar Series in the Life Sciences has come about through the efforts of nine professors across six academic departments to help the Lafayette community gain a better understanding of the fundamental principles of research in biology, chemistry, engineering, and environmental science.
The series, which is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, will engage the campus community with current research topics in the life sciences and provide a venue for professional development in the life sciences for all Lafayette faculty through new research relationships.
As well as lecturing, invited speakers will meet with interested students and faculty. In these meetings, students will have the opportunity to discuss the science being presented and gain alternative perspectives on future careers in the field. Faculty will also have the opportunity to show the speakers first hand the research they and their students are doing here at Lafayette.
The core organizing committee consists of Jennifer S. Rossmann, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Patricia A. Darcy, assistant professor of chemical engineering; Steven E. Mylon, assistant professor of chemistry; and James K. Ferri, assistant professor of chemical engineering.
Previous series speakers: