The intent of the Peura Founder Scholarship in Biomedical Engineering is to provide recognition and reward to a student who possesses outstanding potential for professional success as a biomedical engineer. These students have achieved truly outstanding academic credentials, are well-rounded students, and have distinguished themselves in university student activities. Alex S. Rebello and Sarah St. Pierre were announced as this year's scholars at the Sotak Lecture in Biomedical Engineering.
Ale
x S. Rebello is a junior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute majoring in biomedical engineering and minoring in biology. Since a young age, he was determined to pursue BME because of deep interests in the life sciences, medicine, and engineering. On the WPI campus, he works as a chemistry tutor at the Academic Resources Center and as a student building manager at the Rubin Campus Center. Alex Rebello’s interests include tissue engineering, genetic engineering, and stem cell research. Upon graduation, he aspires to be a BME researcher in a clinical setting. He is honored to be chosen as a Prof. Robert A. Peura Biomedical Engineering Founder Scholar. Winning this award has been meaningful to him because it has provided him with valuable networking opportunities with BME professionals. Someday, he hopes to start a scholarship fund of his own to provide financial support to WPI students.
S
arah St. Pierre is junior at Worcester Polytechnic Institute majoring in biomedical engineering with interests in biomechanics and computational modeling. She first did computational modeling last summer at the University of Minnesota as part of the Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program, and it was then that she realized she wanted to pursue biomechanics research further. Sarah really enjoys the research process, from putting together experiments and testing models, to working with other graduate and undergraduate students. On campus, she is involved with the Varsity Women’s crew team. Upon receiving the Prof. Robert A. Peura Biomedical Engineering Founder Scholarship she was very surprised. She would like to thank the BME professors at WPI, as they have inspired her with their passion and delight in teaching biomedical engineering. In the future, Sarah plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in biomechanics.