BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Matthew MacEwan Named to USA All-USA Academic Team

Two Case students, seniors Matthew MacEwan and Mark Chao, were named to the USA Today All-USA Academic Team last week. Each year USA Today chooses 60 undergraduate students from four-year universities to recognize, ranking them into first, second, and third teams, with an additional category for honorable mentions. From a field of more than 600 applicants from around the country, MacEwan and Chao were both named to the third team.

MacEwan, a senior biomedical engineering major, received recognition for his research on the interaction and biocompatibility of artificial materials and living tissue.

“My current research … has been my most rewarding. Mainly, I am looking at how artificial materials affect the interaction of cells involved in the inflammatory response caused by these materials,” MacEwan said.

Chao, a senior biology major, focused on his achievements in service, as the co-founder and co-president of the University Student Health Advocates Promoting Empowerment (USHAPE). The group “is involved in mentoring with youth and we work with substance abuse issues, too,” said Chao.

After graduation, MacEwan hopes to “help push the boundaries of biomedical research and take an active role in defining the materials, technologies, and therapies that comprise the next generation of medical care.” Chao will be going to medical school.

Applicants for the USA Today awards must be nominated by a current employee of the school, typically either an administrator or a faculty member. Dean Margaret Robinson nominated both MacEwan and Chao. Applicants must also submit letters of recommendation and an essay about their achievements. Judges are most interested in the nominee's outstanding original academic or intellectual product, according to a press release from USA Today.

Case students are no strangers to the USA Today Academic Team - last year civil engineering and psychology major Elijah Peterson was named to the first team, receiving a $2,500 prize and a short biography printed in the newspaper.

USA Today is the nation's top selling newspaper, with a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the United States and four sites abroad.