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COSAM Today
Auburn University College of Sciences and Mathematics Newsletter - April 28, 2016
COSAM Today Top Story

BEST Robotics participant changes children’s lives, one hand at a time

In Vietnam, a group of approximately 30 children are missing fingers or parts of their hands or arms, conditions most have endured since birth. Prosthetic replacements are available, but are largely unattainable for this group because of the high cost – as much as $100,000 – and the fact that children outgrow their prostheses just as they do clothing.

Enter Zach McCleery, a junior at St. Luke's Episcopal School in Mobile and longtime participant in the Auburn University BEST, or Boosting Engineering Science and Technology, robotics program sponsored by the College of Sciences and Mathematics and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. McCleery took inspiration from his BEST experience and executed an Eagle Scout project to coordinate the purchase, production and construction of affordable prosthetic hands that could be shipped overseas to the Vietnamese children.

Opelika resident Melina Brown, director of case management and quality assurance for Enable Community Foundation, worked with McCleery on his project – a connection made because Brown's son needed a prosthetic hand. The foundation supports an international network of volunteers using 3D printing technology to design, deliver and distribute free upper-limb prosthetics to children and other underserved populations around the world. Unlike traditional prosthetic devices which are often created to look as realistic as possible, the hands created through the foundation are brightly colored, made of plastic and more closely resemble a superhero robot hand.

To read the full story, click here.

COSAM recognizes top students at Honors Convocation

COSAM recognized top students and faculty at the annual Honors Convocation, which took place on April 23 in the Auburn University Student Center Ballroom. Each year, the Honors Convocation is dedicated to a retired COSAM faculty member, and this year’s ceremony was held in honor of Roland Dute (pictured, right, with COSAM Dean Nicholas Giordano), retired professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Dute retired in fall 2015 after serving 33 years as a faculty member at Auburn. During his career, he received numerous awards and honors, including Auburn University’s Gerald and Emily Leischuck Award for Teaching, an honor bestowed upon two university faculty members each year in recognition of demonstrated commitment to student success through effective and innovative teaching through advising and mentoring, both inside and outside the classroom. 

During the ceremony, students were recognized for outstanding achievement for the 2015-2016 academic year. Dean Giordano also congratulated several students, faculty and staff for exceptional performance including the following:

2016 COSAM Dean’s Medalists: Jessica Adams, Biological Sciences; Evan Kilburn, Biological Sciences; Caroline Hubbard, Biomedical Sciences; Elizabeth Morris, Biomedical Sciences; Claire Walker, Biomedical Sciences; Daniel Seay, Chemistry and Biochemistry; Kelly Kindgren, Geosciences; Benjamin Brewer, Mathematics and Statistics; and Brian Bender, Physics.

Outstanding COSAM Graduate Teaching Assistant: Dawit Denu, Mathematics and Statistics; Katherine Mincey, Biological Sciences; and Rebecca Riggs, Biological Sciences

Outstanding Faculty Advisor: Anne Gorden, Chemistry and Biochemistry                                        

Comer Award: Brian Westbrook, Biomedical Sciences; and Taylor Farmer, Chemistry and Biochemistry

President’s Award: Chloe Chaudhury, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Student Government Association Award: Sally Harrison, Biological Sciences

Wendy Hood selected as Outstanding Graduate Mentor

Wendy Hood, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, is one of six faculty members from across the university to be selected as an Outstanding Graduate Mentor by the Graduate Student Council.

The winners were selected from a pool of 45 nominees for the awards, which recognize graduate faculty members who go above and beyond their duty as teachers, advisors and mentors. A committee of graduate students reviewed the nominations and picked the winners based on the strength of the nominees' letters of support.

This year’s Outstanding Graduate Mentors will be recognized at an awards ceremony hosted by the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Council. The Graduate Student Council has presented the Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards since 2008.

Take 5 with Dr. Cary Gannon

Dr. Cary Gannon, biomedical sciences '99, is a podiatric surgeon who founded AILA Cosmetics, a nail lacquer collection that is "8-free," paraben-free, gluten-free, Triphenyl Phosphate (or TPHP-free), cruelty-free and vegan. The Nashville-based company has been featured in French Vogue, Southern Living and a variety of talk shows and beauty blogs. Most recently, AILA has added Anthropologie online to its rapidly growing retail arsenal.

With proceeds from her orange lacquer, "The New Black," and her blue lacquer, "My Two Jeffs," Gannon has established the AILA Cosmetics Annual Scholarship for female students with a pre-health concentration in Auburn's College of Sciences and Mathematics.

During her time at Auburn, she was a member of the track and cross-country teams. Following graduation, she attended the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland. Gannon currently practices at the University Foot and Ankle Center in the Franklin and Spring Hill, Tennessee, locations.

Gannon is the 2016 Marie W. Wooten Distinguished Speaker and will deliver a talk on May 5 at the College of Sciences and Mathematics' Society of Women in Sciences and Mathematics Symposium luncheon. For information on the symposium, visit the website.

1. How did your undergraduate education at Auburn help you prepare for professional school?

The first line of the Auburn Creed best answers this question: 'I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore I believe in work, hard work.' This statement is absolutely true, and I believe it prepared me for life beyond professional school. You can only count on what you earn. Fortunately, I learned early to never put myself at risk by depending on someone else to do it for me. Success doesn't just happen; you have to earn it.

To read the full story, click here.

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