student spotlight

The accomplishments of our students are very important to us at the School of Engineering. Please join us in congratulating the 2006 Outstanding Graduate among engineering students with a specialization in Biomedical Engineering, Kellie McConnell.

Kellie McConnell was an accomplished student, researcher, and leader during her time at Mercer's School of Engineering.

Kellie McConnell graduated from the School of Engineering in May 2006 Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a Biomedical Specialization, and a double minor in mathematics and chemistry.

A Mercer Collegiate Fellowship recipient, McConnell was extremely active inside and outside of the Engineering School. She was a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Eta Sigma, and Gamma Sigma Epsilon honor societies while also taking on leadership positions including Treasurer of the Biomedical Engineering Club, Treasurer of Tau Beta Pi, and Vice President of Scholarship within her sorority Alpha Gamma Delta. She also served as a Supplemental Instructor in Precalculus at the Mercer University Learning Center where she tutored students in high failure rate math courses, creating lesson plans and practice materials to aid student studies.

An active researcher in the biomedical field, McConnell participated in a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program at the University of Florida's Particle Engineering Research Center during the summer of 2004. While there, she evaluated methods of metal production as part of a proprietary study. Additionally, she conducted experiments independently, collected data, and analyzed information. She concluded her work by producing a paper and presentation detailing her research.

During the summer of 2005, McConnell participated in an REU Program at the Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues. Her work included evaluating chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan effects on neurite regeneration and analyzing rheology of varying agarose gels with CS-B additives. She conducted statistical analyses on gathered data to determine the significance of her results. McConnell then produced a paper, poster, and presentation outlining her results and conclusions.

In addition to her summer research experiences, McConnell collaborated on a research project with Dr. Sinjae Hyun and three fellow students entitled, "Heat Transfer in Breast With Enclosed Cancer During Hyperthermia Using Microwaves," whose abstract was accepted to the 2005 Biomedical Engineering Society Conference. She worked on a second research project with Dr. Hyun entitled, "Nano-Particle Transport And Deposition in Human Tracheobronchial Bifurcating Airways," whose abstract was accepted to the 2005 ASME Bioengineering Conference. Most recently, she collaborated on a reserach project entitled, "Interspecies Comparison of Particle Transport And Deposition in Tracheobronchial Lung Airways Of Human And Rat," whose abstract was accepted to the 2006 ASME Bioengineering Conference.

Throughout her undergraduate years, McConnell achieved greatness as a student, researcher, and campus leader, making her a deserving recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Graduate Award in the Biomedical Specialization.