kba22 At drexel.edu
Educational Background:
Graduate:
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 2004 – Present
o Anticipated date of graduation: Aug. 2008
o Degree: Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
o GPA: 3.90
Undergraduate:
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 1999 – June 2004
o Graduation date: June 2004
o Degree: B.S. Mechanical Engineering
o Minor: Mathematics and Pre-Med
o Magna Cum Laude
Honors, Awards, and Activities:
Graduate:
Honors and Awards:
o National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Sept. 2005-Sept. 2008.
o Awarded Student Research Award at Drexel University’s College of Engineering Honors Day Ceremony, Feb. 2008.
o Received National Science Foundation fellowship to attend NATO Advanced Study Institute on Mini-Micro Fuel Cells as Electric Energy Generators in Cesme, Turkey, July 22nd-Aug. 3rd, 2007.
o Recognized as Joseph Carleone Fellow at Drexel University’s College of Engineering Honors Day Ceremony, Feb. 2007.
o Awarded Mechanical Engineering Service Award at Drexel University’s College of Engineering Honors Day Ceremony, Feb. 2006 and 2007.
o Acknowledged as Dean’s Fellow at Drexel University’s College of Engineering Honors Day Ceremony, Feb. 2005, 2006, and 2007.
o Awarded Graduate Student Research and Service Award at Drexel University’s 1st Annual Graduate Student Day, June 1st, 2006.
o Selected for the Drexel/UPenn IGERT Nanoscale Science and Engineering Fellowship Program, Apr. 2005.
Activities:
o President of the Engineering Graduate Association (EGA) at Drexel University, June 2006-June 2008. The EGA is composed of ~650 members.
o Participant in recreational basketball, softball, volleyball, and soccer, Sept. 2004-Present.
Undergraduate:
Honors and Awards:
o Graduated Magna Cum Laude.
o Placed first in Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Competition and fourth in College of Engineering Senior Design Competition, June 2004.
o Member of the Pennoni Honors College, Sept. 1999-June 2004.
o Member of Pi Tau Sigma, Mechanical Engineering Honors Society, Sept. 2001-June 2004.
o Who’s Who Among America’s Colleges Nominee, June 2004.
o Anthony J. Drexel Scholar, Sept. 1999-June 2004.
Activities:
o President of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers at Drexel University, Sept. 2003-June 2004.
o Volunteer at Thomas Jefferson Hospital, Emergency Room, Mar. 2004-July 2004.
o Participated in recreational basketball, softball, and soccer, Sept. 1999-Sept. 2004.
Research Experiences:
Research Assistant, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Cell and Proteins Mechanics Laboratory
Advisor: Dr. Bradley Layton and Dr. Selcuk Guceri
Sept. 2004- Present
o Determining the forces necessary to puncture a spherical liposome without damaging the mechanical integrity of the structure or its contents. Both experimental and numerical methods are being utilized.
o Investigating the effect of cytoskeletal-membrane interactions on the overall growth mechanics of neurons using finite element analysis (ANSYS).
o Designing a fabrication and control strategy for delivering attoliter volumes of fluorescent probes to individual organelles and nuclei of adherent cells
o Performed cell culture techniques to plate neurons on a laminin printed substrate for directed cell growth purposes.
o Modeled the self assembly of cytoskeletal proteins polymerizing inside an elastic membrane (Matlab).
o Modeled the alignment of cytoskeletal proteins inside an elastic membrane due to energy minimization principles (Matlab).
Research Assistant, National Nanotechnology Laboratories, Lecce, Italy
Soft Matter Nanotechnologies Laboratory
Advisor: Dr. Dario Pisignano
June 2007- July 2007
o Performed microcontact printing of the extracellular matrix protein, fibronectin, to be used for cell-based sensing applications.
o Used atomic force microscopy to image and characterize the surfaces of printed proteins.
Research Assistant, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Department of Medicine
Advisor: Dr. Aladin Boriek
July 2004- Sept. 2004
o Transferred global positioning data of the canine lower rib cage into a local coordinate system.
o Used Matlab to compute the rotation matrix of the rib cage during various breathing exercises.
o Determined the effects of lung volume, diaphragm muscle activation, and posture on the rotation of the rib cage.
Professional Experiences:
Manufacturing Engineer Assistant, Merck Manufacturing Division, West Point PA
Sept. 2002 – Oct. 2003
o Provided technical maintenance and support for various manufacturing equipment and skids.
o Qualified and executed documentation for new/refurbished equipment.
o Managed several projects requiring the services of both in–house and out-sourced mechanical and electrical personnel.
Research Assistant, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA
Sept. 2000 – Mar. 2002
o Designed, configured, and qualified a PC-based interactive, executable application for the offline measurement of laser-drilled apertures in tablets.
o Participated in the design, review, and testing of an experimental tablet drilling and inspection system.
o Assisted as technical liaison between the project engineer and potential users of the new equipment.
o Prepared and presented in-depth technical and operational information for laser drilling, optical inspection, and quality assurance of tablets.
Skills:
Laboratory Skills:
o Cell Culture
o Soft lithography
o Photolithography
o Atomic Force Microscopy
o Scanning Electron Microscopy
o Fluorescence and Brightfield microscopy
o Micromanipulation
o Nanomanipulation
Software:
o Matlab 7.2.0
o ANSYS 11.0
o Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 3.0
o AutoCAD 2004
o LabVIEW 8.2
o Microsoft Office Suite
Journal Papers Submitted and in Preparation:
K.B. Allen, Sasoglu F.M., Layton B.E., “Cytoskeleton-Membrane Interactions in Neuronal Growth Cones: A Finite Element Analysis Study” submitted to ASME Journal of Biomechanics.
K.B. Allen, Sasoglu F.M., Impagnatiello, T., Biasco A., Layton B.E., Pisignano D., Cingolani R., “Microcontact Printing of Fibronectin Channels for Biosensing Applications” in preparation for Langmuir.
B.E. Layton, Sullivan S., Allen K.B., Lynch B., Jamieson B, “Evaluation of Red Blood Cell Sorting with a Multi-Bed Microfabricated Filter” submitted to Lab on a Chip.
F.M. Sasoglu, Bohl A., Allen K.B., Layton B.E., “Parallel Nanonewton Force Measurement Using an Optical Microscope and Micromanipulator” submitted to Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine.
I. Chu, Fernandez C., Allen K.B., Lopez M.A., Lu R., Hubmayr R.D., Boriek A.M., “Diaphragm Muscle Shortening Alters Kinematics, Surface Area and Volume Displacement of Lower Rib Cage in Dogs”, in preparation for the American Journal of Physiology.