Alumni Launch Startups, Contribute to NASA Missions
Whether they’re launching startups or working on NASA projects to explore the origins of life on Earth, SIE alumni are making the most of their degrees.
Vinodh Subramanian Develops System to Reduce Hospital No-Shows
Vinodh Subramanian, who graduated from the University of Arizona in 2019 with a master's degree in SIE, has been studying the many factors that make us keep and attend – or forego – regular visits to our health care providers. In collaboration with his adviser Robert Lepore, director of the Engineering Management Program, Subramanian has developed a deep understanding of the problem along with a solution to reduce appointment no-shows in medical practices using systems thinking principles.
He said that the system, which will initially be focused on the dental field, will help the patients show for their appointments by alleviating fear through introductory video consultations. The technology seamlessly integrates all the key components – from patient recruitment to HIPAA-approved video consultations to appointment reminders – providing a complete solution for health care practitioners, as opposed to the current practice of cobbling together multiple disconnected services.
Sonia Vohnout Co-Founds Electrosonix
Sonia Vohnout, who earned her BS in systems engineering in 1987 and her MS in the same subject in 1990, co-founded Electrosonix, a medical imaging company, with Russell Witte, an associate professor of biomedical engineering.
ElectroSonix is a startup, created with the help of Tech Launch Arizona, to bring Witte's medical imaging technique known as Acoustoelectric Cardiac Imaging, or ACI, to the marketplace. ACI is a patented technology that provides improvements over current cardiac imaging technologies by externally emitting ultrasound waves that interact with the heart’s electrical currents to produce a map of electrical activity. This noninvasive imaging technique allows physicians to acquire precise, real-time data before, during, and after a cardiac ablation procedure to destroy tissue causing abnormal heart rhythms.
NASA Recognizes Daniel Wibben for Record-Breaking Contributions
Daniel Wibben, who earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Arizona in 2010, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in systems engineering in 2012 and 2015, received a 2019 Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal from NASA. NASA selected him for the award due to his contributions to planetary science and the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission.
Wibben joined the team that planned the OSIRIS-REx mission while pursuing his PhD in systems engineering. After his graduation, he continued on the project as a maneuver design lead at the aerospace company KinetX Inc., where he is helping navigate the spacecraft to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and back.
Where has life taken you since graduation? Email updates and photos to mias@arizona.edu so we can share your good news!