Hello everybody! My name is Dominick Polese, and I am a Mechanical Engineer with an emphasis in Biotechnology who was born and raised in San Diego. I started my college career as a member of both Phi Kappa Theta and AMSA. I used my experience in student organizations to form the Society of Bioengineers.

I decided to form this club to better network with students in my classes and to work with intelligent people in national biotech competitions. I know that if we can succeed as a team it will vastly improve our future employment opportunities.

Senior Vice President:

Markus Grauer

Hello fellow Aztecs! My name is Markus Grauer and I am a fourth year mechanical engineering student with bioengineering emphasis, and the current Vice-President of the SDSU Society of Bioengineers. Since coming to college I have been actively involved on campus with my fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, where I held the positions of President and Treasurer, as well as being a member of the Aztec Wellness and Recreation Commission Associated Students Board. Last year my colleagues and I decided to create a new student organization on campus that filled a niche we felt no other organization on campus currently did. This organization has taken shape as the one you are here reading about.

I switched into this major last year because I was, and continue to be very excited about the opportunities it presents. Bio-engineering is an up and coming field which attracts talented and creative individuals, and I am excited to share the process of learning this field more in depth with all of you!

Treasurer:

Harry Ho

Hello and welcome everyone. I am currently in my fourth year studying mechanical engineering with a bio-engineering emphasis here at SDSU. I am the VP of the BTSA club this year, and I look forward to a great year with new members. Along with being a full time student I enjoy playing video games online and connecting with others. That is why I am here in the BTSA to introduce students to what we have to offer. Here at the BTSA club we promote student growth and have insightful discussion with members of different companies and organizations. We wish to help students with that first step into getting an internship or those students searching to make a connection with professionals in their field. I look forward to meeting all the new people next year in the BTSA club. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at Harryho416@gmail.com.

"In the case of science, I think one of the things that make it very difficult is that it takes a lot of imagination. It's hard to imagine all the crazy things that things really are like....The world is a dynamic mess of jiggling things" - Richard Feynman

SDSU Society of Bioengineers Advisors

Bioengineering Advisor:

Dr. Sam Kassenge

Dr. Sam Kassegne holds a Ph.D. degree in engineering mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. His research interests are in the areas of MEMS, bio-nanoelectronics, and integrated micro- and nano-fabrication technologies. His experimental research work is focused primarily in Organic-MEMS, novel applications of microfluidics/nanofluidics and microarray technology, new bio-nanoelectronics platforms, as well as polymer photovoltaic technology. His lab has a strong focus on developing the next generation of integrated micro- and nano-lithography technology for a variety of application areas. Other focus areas include MEMS-based IMUs.

Dr. Kassegne has an extensive industrial experience in MEMS, biotech and computational sciences acquired through his employment at Nanogen, Microfabrica and Bentley Systems in Southern California. He also has consulted for the following companies: Corning/Intellisense, SAIC, Nevada Nanotech, OxyHeal, ERC, OmniTech, KeyMark Engineering, Game Changers, Cooley LLP, and Nokia. Further, as evidenced by the breadth and depth of his publication records and the companies he has consulted for, Dr. Kassegne has a unique engineering background that spans a number of engineering disciplines.

Dr. Kassegne's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, San Diego Foundation, CSUPERB, AlphaTec, and Amco (Korea). He has also taught MEMS & FEA courses at UCSD and UCI where he was a visiting scientist at Marc Madou's Lab.

Dr. Kassegne is currently the Bioengineering advisor for the major at San Diego State University. He also is currently conducting his research in the MEMS lab here at SDSU.