Bioengineering Hits Home With West Coast Alums

Bioengineering Institute director Tim Gerrity met west coast alums such as Wil Houde '59 (second photo from top, bottom) and students currently working at the Silicon Valley Project Center at an Alumni Association reception in San Jose, Calif. Gerrity visited Patty Grey '98 (M.S.), '00 (MBA), vice president of sales and service at GeneMachines in San Carlos (top photo).

In January WPI's Alumni Association brought Tim Gerrity, director of the university's new Bioengineering Institute (BEI), to California, "and by all accounts it was a huge success," says Beth Howland, director of alumni relations.

Gerrity spoke at two receptions, in San Jose and Huntington Beach, giving a personal overview of the new institute to members of WPI's West Coast community. He explained how BEI forges public and private partnerships for research and development of biotech products--from new instruments to measure brain waves to wireless communications systems that can monitor a patient's vital statistics from afar.

About 100 people turned out for the gatherings, which included many alumni, a handful of prospective students and their parents, and the current students at WPI's Silicon Valley Project Center, accompanied by representatives from the center's corporate partners.

"A number of alums who work in biotech attended," says Howland, whose office organized the events. She said provocative questions were raised at both receptions, "ranging from whether or not WPI has an ethical stance on cloning to how new technologies will change our healthcare system once they go to market."

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Last modified: Sep 02, 2004, 10:12 EDT