The Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers inducted three new members at a ceremony April 8.

The 2021 inductees were Nupura Bhise, B.S.B.E. 2007; Catherine Erikson, B.S.B.E. 2007; and James McCarty, B.S.B.E 2006, M.S.C.E. 2015, Ph.D. 2020.

Bhise is an accomplished biomedical researcher with in-depth experience in academic and startup environments. She graduated summa cum laude from the Department of Biological Engineering in 2007.

As a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University and postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Medical School, Bhise has contributed to her field in numerous ways. This includes publishing 14 journal articles (in prestigious journals including Biomaterials, Small, PNAS, Journal of Controlled Release and Biofabrication), one book chapter, one patent, and she has been awarded the Medtronic fellowship, Society for Biomaterials' research award and Biomedical Engineering Society's research award.

Erikson is an engineer at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products, reviewing tobacco product applications to help accelerate the transition to a healthier America. She is a 2007 graduate of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

She earned a master's degree in food technology and nutrition from Lund University in Lund, Sweden, in 2010. She has done regulatory work at Underwriters Laboratories, focusing on commercial and residential cooking appliances, and worked as a compliance engineer for Duke Manufacturing Company in Missouri.  

McCarty has been an environmental quality manager with Beaver Water District in Lowell since February 2017. He earned a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in biological engineering from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

Between 2012 and 2020, he was the primary author on nine peer reviewed publications, advancing the state of science in topics ranging from sustainable agricultural production, water quality modeling and nutrient cycling in lake systems.

McCarty served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force for five years from 2006-2011. As chief of intelligence for a deployed combat unit, he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.