The University of Texas at Austin granted 104 bachelor's, 8 master's, and 20 doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering at spring commencement on May 24, 2019. View photos from the BME Graduation Reception.
Department Chair Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert presented Katie Goodfellow with undergraduate student leadership award. Goodfellow was also honored for student leadership from the Cockrell School of Engineering. John Clegg and Will Goth received graduate student leadership awards.
Katie Goodfellow (B.S. 2019) was recognized for her volunteer service with Texas Orange Jackets, where, as Settlement Home Director, she planned biweekly visits to children who experienced trauma. She participated in the Texas 4000 for Cancer leadership porgram, where she raised over $10,000 for cancer research and support organizations and participated in a 4,500-mile bike ride from Austin to Anchorage, Alaska. Goodfellow also volunteered with the University Health Services Clinic and provided free childcare for families through the Integral Health and Midtown Kids organizations. After taking a gap year, she plans to attend medical school.
John Clegg (Ph.D. 2019), a 2014 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recipient, conducted his doctoral research with Professor Nicholas Peppas. He received an Outstanding Research Award from the Society for Biomaterials during Biomaterials Day in 2017. Clegg served on the Graduate Recruitment Student Committee for four years and as a leader in the Graduate-Undergraduate Research Union (GURU), which helps undergraudate students find research opportunities with graduate students. Through his leadership in GURU, he helped develop the Undergraduate Research Competition finalist selection and judging process, which is used by the department today. His work as a teaching assistant and mentorship of undergraduate students was recogized with the Graduate School's Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. He will conduct postdoctoral research at Harvard University.
Will Goth (Ph.D. 2019), a 2013 NIH Imaging Science and Informatics Ruth L. Kirschstein Fellow, conducted his doctoral research with Professors Michael Sacks and James Tunnell. He was selected by his peers to lead GURU, where he worked hard to involve local industry in department research events and support quality undergraduate research. Goth also served on the Graduate Recruitment Student Committee, organizing lab tours and social events for prospective students. He also consistently volunteered at the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting and served as a Capstone Design Teaching Assistant, a demanding position that requires strong mentorship and dedication to undergraduate engineering education. He developed new rubrics and metrics to help future teaching assistants better mentor their design teams. He is currently working as a Systems Engineer at Nine Point Medical in Boston.
