World-renowned MIT professor to speak at Case engineering
speakers series
Martha L. Gray to discuss biomedical imaging,
interdisciplinary training
March 4, 2005 | For more information: Laura
M. Massie (216)-368-4442
 Martha L. Gray, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor recognized
internationally for her research on novel biomedical imaging techniques
and interdisciplinary training, will be the featured speaker at Case
Western Reserve University’s Allen H. Ford Distinguished Visiting
Professor Lecture Program on Tuesday, March 15, at 4 p.m., at the Wolstein
Building, 2103 Cornell Road.
The lecture is being co-sponsored by Case’s
Academic Careers in Engineering and Science (ACES) program.
ACES seeks to contribute to the development of a national science and
engineering workforce that includes the full participation of women
at all levels of faculty and academic leadership. The program is funded
with a five-year, $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation
as part of the NSF’s ADVANCE Institutional Transformation program.
The ADVANCE grant is being used, in part, to sponsor week-long visits
to campus by senior women scientists and engineers, and to provide “opportunity
grants” to Case’s female faculty.
Gray, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor and director of the Harvard-MIT
Division of Health Science and Technology (HST), and a professor of
electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, has deep expertise
in establishing programs with enduring connections between the science,
medicine and business cultures that ultimately must work together to
effectively translate from “bench to bedside.” HST is designed
to focus science and technology on human health needs through education
and research from a clinical perspective. This effort engages faculty,
staff and students of the two institutions in research activities which
utilize the unique health care resources that exist in the Cambridge-Boston
area. It also offers opportunities for undergraduates to participate
in these research programs at the interface of technology and medicine.
Gray joined the MIT engineering faculty in 1987.
The Ford lectureship at the Case School of Engineering’s department of
biomedical engineering is designed to maintain the university’s leading
role in facilitating interaction between researchers in medicine and engineering.
Lynn Singer, Case’s deputy provost and vice president for academic
programs who also serves as director of ACES, says that Gray’s
appearance puts an exclamation point on the need for women to strive
for careers in science and engineering and how ACES fits into the current
climate.
“The ACES program is helping to increase the number of tenure-track
women teaching in the sciences and engineering at Case,” Singer
said. “And Professor Gray’s success illustrates the importance
of encouraging women to pursue careers in those areas.”
The Case School of Engineering has added three women to its faculty
this year, bringing to 12 the number of women on its faculty or 10.2
percent of its total. That compares with 9.9 percent for engineering
schools nationally. Three years ago, women accounted for four percent
of the engineering faculty.
“Increasing the number of women on our faculty has been a high
priority for us,” said Robert F. Savinell, dean and George S.
Dively Professor of Engineering. “We know there are many highly
qualified women available, and ACES has provided useful tools for enlarging
our pool of applicants to include more women. It is also helping our
faculty create a climate that promotes full inclusion of women in academia.”
Gray also will give two additional lectures during the week to Case’s
departments of biomedical and mechanical and aerospace engineering,
and the department of orthopedics faculty and residents at the Case
School of Medicine.
The March 15 lecture is free and open to the public. A reception follows
the event. For more information, contact Case’s department of
biomedical engineering at (216) 368-4063, e-mail
bmedept@case.edu, or visit the department’s Web site at http://bme.case.edu/news/2005_0107.html.
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.
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