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BLACKSBURG, Va., April 14, 2010 – The Virginia Tech College of Engineering Graduate Student Committee held the 2010 Paul E. Torgersen Graduate Student Research Excellence Awards March 17 at the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science building.

In its 20th year, the annual competition showcases the top research performed by graduating master’s and doctoral students from the College of Engineering. Winners were as follows

Master of Science Oral Presentations

• First: Daniel Cooper of Pittsylvania County, Va., biomedical engineering and sciences, “Noninvasive Acoustic Detection of Coronary Artery Disease.” Advisor: Pavlos Vlachos.
• Second: Liguang Xie of Chaozhou, China, computer engineering, “Realistic Motion Estimation Using Accelerometers.” Advisor: Yong Cao.
• Third: Fadel Megahed of Cairo, Egypt, industrial and systems engineering, “Toward the Utilization of Machine Vision Systems as an Integral Component of Industrial Quality Monitoring Systems.” Advisor: Jaime Camelio.

Ph.D. Oral Presentations

• First: Paulo Garcia of Cali, Colombia, biomedical engineering and science, “Treatment of Intracranial Disorders Using Electrical Pulses.” Advisor: Rafael Davalos.
• Second: Andrew Kemper of Germantown, Tenn., biomedical engineering and sciences, “The Influence of Arm Position on Thoracic Response in Side Impacts.” Advisor: Warren Hardy.
• Third: Hadi Shafiee of Abadeh, Iran, engineering science and mechanics, “Cancer Cells Detection Using Their Electrical Signatures.” Advisor: Rafael Davalos.

Master of Science Poster Presentations

• First: Vignesh Vivekraja of Chennai, India, electrical and computer engineering
• Second: Ismail Zohdy of Cairo, Egypt, civil and environmental engineering
• Third: Sarah Lapp of Marietta, Ga., biomedical engineering and sciences

Ph.D. Poster Presentations

• First: Robyn Shaffer of Oak Ridge, Tenn., biomedical engineering and sciences
• Second: Arnold Boedihardjo of Fairfax, Va., computer science
• Third: Sai Shrinivas Sreedharan of Pune City, India, mechanical engineering

The awards program was named after Paul Torgersen, dean of the College of Engineering from 1970 to 1990, and president of Virginia Tech from 1993 until 2000.