The U.Va. Department of Biomedical Engineering is among a select group of bioengineering departments to receive a Walter F. Coulter Foundation Translational Partnership Award. This new partnership mobilizes some of U.Va.’s greatest strengths — a leading BME Department (No. 15 ranking in U.S. News & World Report), world-class Medical Center (Solucient’s 100 Top Hospitals), well-respected Darden School of Business (No. 8 ranking by Forbes), and innovative Patent Foundation — to transform the way research discovery is moved from lab to clinic and marketplace.   READ THE STORY

U.Va. Engineer Helps Water Authorities Live with Uncertainty
In the United States, more than half the population depends on groundwater for their tap water - yet the quality of groundwater is seriously compromised by agricultural runoff, chemical wastes and overpumping. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 40 percent of our watersheds fail to meet acceptable water standards.

The federal government and localities spend billions each year to clean up groundwater pollution. Work being done by University of Virginia engineer Teresa Culver helps to ensure that these agencies get the best solution for their dollar.

Restoring a polluted aquifer is much more complicated than cleaning up a contaminated lake or river. "Environmental systems are complex to begin with," Culver points out. "When they are underground, the level of uncertainty skyrockets."

Culver's specialty is applying mathematical techniques such as genetic algorithms to address these sources of uncertainty and produce optimal management strategies for groundwater remediation. "Managers have to make a lot of assumptions about things like environmental chemistry," she says. "My job is to come up with recommendations about the solution most likely to work, given the imperfect information we're starting from." READ THE STORY