The Knight Campus Department of Bioengineering and the Dalton Lab are pleased to announce that Kelly O’Neill will defend her bioengineering PhD thesis, to be presented during the Department of Bioengineering Seminar Series.

Kelly's PhD defense presentation is titled: “Advanced Manufacturing of Microfiber Conduits for Tissue Engineering.”

This talk explores the use of advanced manufacturing technologies, including melt electrowriting (MEW) and solution electrospinning (SES), for tissue engineering with a focus on peripheral nerve repair. The presentation will highlight the hardware and software tools for tubular printing, advances in multi-material scaffolds, studies on Schwann cell guidance, and hydrogel-based coatings for cell attachment. It also addresses the economic perspective of translating a MEW-based nerve guide to clinical use.

The Knight Campus Distinguished Lecture Series welcomes Zhenan Bao, K.K. Lee Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, for a talk titled “Learning from Skin: from Materials, Sensing Functions to Neuromorphic Engineering.”

Skin—the body’s largest organ—continuously transduces rich sensory information. Building on this inspiration, Bao and her team have pioneered the design of organic electronics with skin-like properties such as stretchability, self-healing, biodegradability, and the ability to convert external stimuli into spike-train signals. These innovations form the foundation of soft bioelectronics and open new possibilities in medical devices, robotics, wearables, and neuromorphic engineering.

Bao, a member of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking research in skin-inspired electronics. She has published more than 700 papers, holds over 80 patents, and has co-founded several startups translating her lab’s discoveries into real-world applications.

Hybrid Option: In-person attendance is encouraged. Remote access via Zoom will be available, with a link posted closer to the event date. Please note this lecture will not be recorded.

Time: 3–4 pm Lecture; 4–5:30 pm Networking Reception

Dr. Colleen Witzenburg, Jane R. and John G. Mandula Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, will present a talk titled “Computational and Experimental Approaches to Predicting and Quantifying Cardiovascular Growth and Remodeling.” Her research combines engineering modeling and lab-based techniques to better understand and predict structural changes in cardiovascular tissues. This seminar is part of the 2025–26 Bioengineering Seminar Series hosted by the Knight Campus Department of Bioengineering. All are welcome to attend.