World-renowned researchers join the College of Engineering

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Arkansas is positioned to become a world leader in the field of sensor technology with the addition of Vijay and Vasundara "Vasu" Varadan, who are currently University Distinguished Professors in the College of Engineering at Penn State University. Both are equally internationally renowned and their pioneering research has profoundly influenced the quality of human life.

Vijay has developed biosensors to treat neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. His research also focuses on potential applications to control blood glucose levels and to treat Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. Vasu's research concentrates on ambulatory medical sensors as well as wireless microsensors for monitoring patients at home and in hospitals, thus providing better data to doctors and reducing health care costs.

"This is a defining moment for the College of Engineering," said Chancellor John White. "The Varadans are two of the best in the world in their fields. Their appointment immediately establishes the UA College of Engineering as a major R&D player nationally in their fields. It's a perfect example of the power of private support and direct result of the success of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. All Arkansans will be beneficiaries of the Varadans' decision to join the University of Arkansas and, thereby, accelerate the university's rise to international prominence."

Vijay will hold the Graduate Research Faculty Endowed Chair in Microelectronics and High Density Electronics, a $3 million graduate research chair endowed by funds from the $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. Vijay, who is also a professor of neurosurgery at Penn State, will hold a similar title at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, in addition to his primary position as distinguished professor of electrical engineering in the College of Engineering. He will also serve as the director of the High Density Electronics Center.

Vasu, who just completed a three-year term at the National Science Foundation as the director of the electrical engineering and communications division, will hold the George M. and Boyce W. Billingsley Chair in Engineering and will be a distinguished professor of electrical engineering. This position is a $1.5 million chair endowed by a gift from Boyce and the late George Billingsley and matched by funds from the $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation.

"The Varadan team is really more than the sum of its parts," said Ashok Saxena, dean of the College of Engineering. "They will work with every department in the College of Engineering, as well as many departments such as physics and chemistry in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Vijay will also specialize in biomedical engineering in the department of neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences."

Vijay's nine-month salary is $210,000 ($150,000 from public funds, $60,000 from private funds). Vasu's nine-month salary is $192,000 ($160,000 from public funds, $32,000 from private funds).

"Vijay and Vasu Varadan demonstrate the capability of engineering to translate technology into real solutions that improve human life," said Saxena. "Their reputation and their presence in Arkansas will touch a wide audience: from graduate students to funding agencies and from high-tech companies to critically ill Arkansans."

Aicha Elshabini, head of the department, said, "The capabilities of our current faculty and our facilities, as well as our resources, have been the driving force allowing us to attract these two world-renowned researchers to join our team on our campus."

"As a professor," Vasu Varadan said, "it is my privilege to impact many eager minds about the excitement of research and engineering. If the 20^th century was a period that established physics, chemistry and biology as the foundations for the practice of medicine, the 21^st century will witness the union of engineering and medicine. With better tools and technology, we will be able to probe, visualize and replace every part of the human body and, just as importantly, apply engineering systems concepts to the study and practice of medicine."

The Varadans, married for 31 years, are a complementary team, each equally accomplished in his or her own field. Vijay is a systems integrator and design specialist; Vasu's expertise is in creating new materials with novel properties, then studying and modeling their characteristics.

By diagnosing, monitoring and controlling neurological brain disorders with wireless feedback microsensor networks, Vijay, along with his neurosurgery medical team, will help patients find relief from the long-term effects of conditions such as Parkinson's, epilepsy and stroke.

"Vasu's pioneering research work in complex materials and chirality for device applications, with a focus on negative refractive index materials and wideband electrical characterization capabilities, will immediately place the University of Arkansas among the top in the nation," said Elshabini.

Vasu developed the first wireless remotely activated sensor and has applied it to aircraft ice sensing and de-icing techniques. Vasu and Vijay hold patents on chiral stealth coatings for military aircrafts, tunable ceramics for electronically steerable antennas, and active noise-control systems. (Chirality literally refers to "handedness" or the mirror asymmetry of something such as your right or left hand. The Varadans work with chirality on a biomolecular level. In this case, developing a coating for the stealth bomber that greatly reduces reflection, which makes the plane more invisible to radar.) Vijay is also investigating sensors to monitor brain activity among truck drivers to reduce the risk of accidents due to sleep deprivation.

Vasu has chaired Penn State's Commission for Women and has developed programs to introduce young women to technical career opportunities. She was a U.S. delegate to the U.S.-China Joint Workshop on Women in Science and Technology, U.N. Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995.

"We are excited about setting up a new lab, developing new collaborations and working with Chancellor White, Dean Saxena and Dr. Elshabini," said Vasu Varadan. "We're committed to building up the University of Arkansas and taking it to a new level."