Forum celebrates SEAS innovator

Biomolecular engineering is not a field with which many people are familiar. But thanks to former Penn Professor John Quinn, that may soon change. Friday afternoon, faculty and students of the School of Engineering and Applied Science came together in a symposium sponsored by the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, entitled "Biomolecular Engineering: A Symposium in Honor of John A. Quinn." "This is an occasion to celebrate the career of John Quinn," Engineering School Dean Eduardo Glandt said. With degrees in chemical engineering, Quinn is universally regarded as the person who first combined the disciplines of biology and chemical engineering, creating what today is called biomolecular engineering The event, held in the Heilmeier Hall of the Towne Building, consisted of nine speakers, most of whom were Penn professors. Presentations covered current research projects, all within the biomolecular engineering field. Speakers openly recognized the pivotal importance of Quinn's research and paid tribute to his vision. "John always has the big picture in mind," Glandt said. "He was the first to set the direction." The symposium took off with the presentation "Professor John Quinn: Career Connections and Reflections." It recounted the cardinal moments in Quinn's life -- and, appropriately enough, the speaker was Stephen Matson, a former student of Quinn and a Francis Manning Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. "John is a big man from head to toe -- big toe, big head," Matson said lightheartedly during the speech. Another prominent speaker was a longtime colleague of Quinn, Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering Douglas Lauffenburger of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the presentation "From There to Here: Bioengineering after Two Biology Revolutions," Lauffenburger spoke about the innovations that profoundly changed the field of chemical engineering in the last 50 years. He also highlighted the importance of biomolecular engineering, defining it as a field that has much to offer to future research, especially for biologists. "Biology is crying out for engineering to join it," Lauffenburger said. Lauffenburger argued that different educational experiences and skills are necessary to achieve higher levels of research, and biomolecular engineering is the next logical step. While the presentations were capped at 15 minutes, they were received with enthusiasm by the public, a crowd of about 150 people. "They were short talks, but very interesting," said Anjana Meel, a first-year graduate student in the Chemical Engineering Department. While the symposium was an occasion for academics to present and discuss the latest projects, many students found it an opportunity to explore the field of biomolecular engineering. Maybe one among them could be the next John Quinn.