Personal Mention

Bin He, a pioneering researcher in biomedical engineering and electroencephalography (EEG), has joined Carnegie Mellon as head of its Biomedical Engineering Department. He, who began his appointment Feb. 1, succeeds Yu-Li Wang, the R. Mehrabian Professor of Biomedical Engineering, who has served as department head since 2008. He comes to CMU from the University of Minnesota, where he was the Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Medtronic-Bakken Endowed Chair for Engineering in Medicine. He is director of the Biomedical Functional Imaging and Neuroengineering Laboratory, which he has moved to Carnegie Mellon. He's primary research goal is to develop novel engineering technologies that can lead to a better understanding of the dynamics of the brain, and to leverage these advancements to develop next-generation neuro-robotics. One area of his research is to improve noninvasive dynamic brain imaging technologies so they are faster and more spatially precise. The conventional EEG, while used in every clinic in the world, is essentially a one-dimensional technique that does not provide information about the distributed nature of brain activity. He's research aims to use the very small electromagnetic signals generated by neurons to produce dynamic 3-D images of the brain function and dysfunction. Find out more.

Marian Aguiar, an associate professor of English, has authored "Arranging Marriage: Conjugal Agency in the South Asian Diaspora," a cultural studies book that examines the transnational discourse around arranged marriage as it appears in literature, film, pop culture, policy and the law. "It's everywhere," Aguiar said. "In this moment where it seems that so many of us have so much choice, due to technological and social change, I find it fascinating that there's this tremendous interest in arranged marriage." Aguiar, who teaches the course "Love: A Cultural History," suspects the uptick of interest in arranged marriage is related to the plethora of choice more and more people have when picking a spouse. Find out more.

Amber James, a senior studying technical writing and communication, is using her year as a Dietrich College Honors Fellow to create a book dedicated to sustainability. What originally began as research examining how technical communication could help keep global health projects sustainable, James' project has turned into a book full of sustainability tips. The book also highlights a case study on Global Brigades, an organization with branches at universities across the country devoted to changing lives through clean water and sanitation, increased access to health care and developing business and community-owned banks. James' book will tell how Global Brigades effectively target college-aged audiences and how interpersonal communication help keep the organization and the projects they produce sustainable. Find out more.

Bobson Rugambwa, a master's degree student in information technology at CMU-Africa, has been named one of three winners of the $10,000 Tigo Digital Changemakers 2017 competition. The annual competition identifies outstanding social entrepreneurs with ideas that will leverage digital tools and technology to improve communities. Rugambwa's project, Gwiza, is a mobile based core-banking system that enables Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) members to save and pay bills using their mobile phones. Through the platform, members also can request loans from their saving groups and access additional financial services. Gwiza is currently operational in Rwanda and in neighboring Uganda. Rugambwa is planning to expand the platform to seven countries in Africa by 2022. Find out more.