Walsh Appointed Northwestern Vice President for Research
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Joseph T. Walsh, Jr., professor of biomedical engineering and senior associate dean at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, has been appointed vice president for research, it was announced today (Nov. 2) by University President Henry S. Bienen.
Bienen said, Jay Walsh's career in engineering, science and medicine and rich experience as a researcher, teacher, and administrator uniquely qualifies him for this critical assignment.
Walsh, whose appointment follows a national search for candidates, will assume his new duties in December, succeeding C. Bradley Moore, who planned to step down this year after four years of service.
Walsh, who joined the McCormick faculty as assistant professor of biomedical engineering in 1988, has served as senior associate dean at McCormick since 2005 after serving three years as McCormick's associate dean for graduate studies and research.
As senior associate dean, Walsh has been responsible for facilitating the translation of McCormick's vision and strategy to its constituencies by supporting the school's teaching and research infrastructure, coordinating activities among the other McCormick deans, directors and department chairs, and working with personnel in other Northwestern schools and in the central administration.
His NIH-funded research is in biomedical optics, with a particular emphasis on therapeutic uses of lasers, diagnostic uses of polarized light, and development of nano-structured surfaces for analyte sensing.
Provost Daniel Linzer said Walsh's early research on laser-tissue interactions helped frame the understanding of laser ablation; this work formed the scientific foundation for now standard laser-based procedures in medicine and surgery. He said, In the past decade, his research has focused on diagnostic and therapeutic applications of light. Walsh and collaborators in otolaryngology have demonstrated the optical stimulation of sensory nerves with one goal being high spatial resolution stimulation for improved cochlear prosthetics.
Walsh is also working with a team of investigators from his home department and chemistry to develop optical sensors for quantification of analytes such as glucose with the goal of improving diabetes management. In collaboration with clinicians in obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology and urology on the Chicago campus and at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, he has developed a polarization-based optical imaging system for improved detection of various lesions.
Walsh served as president of the American Society for Lasers in Medicine and Surgery (2003-04) and was awarded the group's William B. Mark Award in 2006. He received the McCormick Teacher of the Year Award in 1997. In 1996-97 he was a visiting professor at the Institute d`Optique Appliquée, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland.
Moore, a distinguished physical chemist, has served as vice president for research since May 1, 2003. During his tenure research activity has increased, the University's research infrastructure has been greatly strengthened, and new key staff members have been recruited. The enormous enhancement of Northwestern's research programs during Brad's time at Northwestern will have a long and positive influence on the University, Bienen said. We are grateful for his significant contributions that have made the research community at Northwestern -- and the infrastructure that supports the University's research enterprise -- significantly stronger.
