News & Events

Department Events

Events

• Apr

  15

  CAE Seminar- From Cavity Expansion to Clinical Diagnosis- Tal Cohen

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  Abstract: The mechanical properties of biological tissues change over time and with disease progression. Quantifying these mechanical properties can thus be instrumental for medical diagnosis and for evaluation of tissue viability for transplant. However, it is exceptionally challenging to mechanically characterize soft and biological materials using conventional testing methods, especially in-vivo. In recent years, volume controlled cavity expansion (VCCE) has emerged as a powerful needle-based method for quantifying the nonlinear properties of soft materials in-situ. In this talk, after briefly revisiting the fundamentals of VCCE, I will describe the translation of VCCE into Digital Palpation (DP); a minimally invasive diagnostic tool offering a quantitative alternative to a clinician’s sense of touch. I will describe the application of DP for testing in human tissue and will focus on an ex-vivo study of 36 tests in freshly resected human thyroid nodules. I will show how data from this rapid and minimally invasive mechanical test enables separation between benign and malignant nodules of this highly prevalent cancer and can even hint at resolving oncocytic and follicular sub-types that routinely confound existing diagnosis methods. At present, up to one third of thyroid nodules cannot be decisively classified, leading to avoidable surgical removal of the thyroid gland. We hope that these results can, in the future, help to reduce the large fraction of thyroidectomies (40-70%) that ultimately prove benign and thus avoidable; potentially relieving patients from the potential life-long implications of surgical complications and hormone replacement, and paving the way for the diagnosis of additional diseases.

  Bio: Tal Cohen is an Associate Professor at MIT. She joined the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering in November 2016 and has a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. She received both her MSc and PhD degrees in Aerospace Engineering at the Technion in Israel. Following her graduate studies, Tal was a postdoctoral fellow for two years at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and continued for an additional postdoctoral period at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University. Cohen is a recipient of the 2023 Eshelby Mechanics Award, she received the ONR Young Investigator award and the NSF CAREER award in 2020, and the ARO Young Investigator award in 2019. Earlier awards include the MIT-Technion Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship. Her research, which combines both theoretical and experimental tools, is broadly aimed at understanding the nonlinear mechanical behavior and constitutive sensitivity of solids. This includes behavior under extreme loading conditions, involving propagation of shock waves and dynamic cavitation, material instabilities, and chemo-mechanically coupled phenomena such as material growth. Among various contributions, Cohen’s research group developed the Volume Controlled Cavity Expansion

  (VCCE) method; a minimally invasive technique for measuring local nonlinear mechanical properties of soft and biological materials. VCCE is currently being applied in human tissue for disease research and diagnosis.

  more less

  TIME Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Apr

  15

  Center for Synthetic Biology presents: Dario Robleto | Ancient Beacons Long for Notice

  Block Museum of Art

  3:00 PM Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh

  EVENT DETAILSmore info

  

  The Center for Synthetic Biology, in collaboration with the Block Museum of Art at Northwestern, is pleased to welcome Dario Robleto, award-winning multi-media artist, for a screening of his film Ancient Beacons Long for Notice. This third part of Robleto’s trilogy explores the legacy of the “Golden Record”—a gold disc representing Earth's diverse life and cultures, sent beyond our solar system on NASA’s Voyager space probes. The film asks a core question:“ is our moral obligation to fully account for our actions—the good and the bad—in perpetuity, off-planet, and to beings we have yet to confirm exist?” A community conversation after the screening will explore this question in the context of synthetic biology’s history, encouraging us to consider its ethical implications as we forecast the future.

  Dario Robleto’s work has been widely exhibited and is held in prominent collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. A portfolio of the artists prints titled The First Time, The Heart (A Portrait of Life 1854–1913) was acquired by the Block in 2018 with support of Northwestern Engineering. His work has also been featured in numerous media outlets, including Krista Tippett’s On Being and The New York Times. Robleto has held numerous artist-in-residence positions at prestigious institutions, including the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. In 2025, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Middlebury College.

  From 2018 to 2023, Robleto Served as Artist-at-Large at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and the Block Museum of Art, where he developed and screened the first two parts of his trilogy about the history of the heart and the Golden Record. The residency culminated in the exhibition The Heart’s Knowledge: Science and Empathy in the Art of Dario Robleto, as well as a publication of the same name. During his time at Northwestern, Robleto built strong ties with the Center for Synthetic Biology and explored the intersection of art, technology, and ethics in society.

  This event leads up to the Center for Synthetic Biology’s 10-year Anniversary, where Robleto is leading the development of a time capsule representing the future of synthetic biology at Northwestern and in the world.

  Event Details - Northwestern University, Evanston Campus
  📅 Wednesday, April 15, 2026
  🕒 3:00–5:00 PM | Film Screening & Discussion
  📍 The Block Museum of Art

  Register Now

  more less

  TIME Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

  LOCATION Block Museum of Art, Mary and Leigh    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Block Museum of Art    block-museum@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR Block Museum of Art

• Apr

  22

  CAE Seminar- Modeling Hazards to Critical Infrastructure: Data Sources, Uncertainty Management, and Scenario Combinations- Rao Kotamarthi

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• Apr

  24

  EES Seminar- Ahmed Abokifa

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Friday, April 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  6

  CAE Seminar- Junsoo Kim

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  8

  EES Seminar- George Warfel

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Friday, May 8, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  15

  EES Seminar- Sharmi Sen

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Friday, May 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  21

  CAE Seminar- Kai Zhang

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  27

  CAE Seminar- Victor Tsai

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  11:00 AM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

• May

  29

  EES Seminar- Dan Zitomer

  McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

  2:00 PM A230, Technological Institute

  EVENT DETAILS

  TBA

  more less

  TIME Friday, May 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

  LOCATION A230, Technological Institute    map it

  ADD TO CALENDAR

  CONTACT Andrew Liguori    andrew.liguori@northwestern.edu EMAIL

  CALENDAR McCormick - Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)