Re-Inventing Magnetic Resonance Systems

Re-Inventing Magnetic Resonance Systems Re-Inventing Magnetic Resonance Systems Re-Inventing Magnetic Resonance SystemsYou might say that Tommy Vaughans career is the recent history of magnetic resonance systems. As a young engineer in the early 1980s, Vaughan, who last year became the first director of magnetic resonance research at Columbia University, began working in a field that many thought would never have a clinical application.But history quickly proved the doubters wrong. MRI scans are often mora informative than those from other types of medical imaging technologies because of the high resolution of images detecting the tiniest abnormalities or changes, particularly in soft tissues, such as the brain. In simple terms, the MRI system uses a large, strong magnet and radio waves to send signals to the body and receives information back that can be converted into computer images of organs and other internal body structures.A pioneer and internationally recognized leader in the field holding more than 40 patents, Vaughan has designed key technology found in some of the most powerful MR systems. Since the stronger the magnet, the better the image, until now, his general career theme has been advancing the field by moving to higher and higher field strengths, the most recent a 10.5T magnet field strength (measured in Teslas), that is awaiting approval for use on humans.Now his top priority is by the end of next year building an MR research center that brings together magnetic resonance research and work at three Columbia entities Biomedical Engineering Mind Brain Behavior Institute and the Columbia University Medical Center. Vaughan said he joined Columbia because of the opportunity to build a new MR center at a place that is very rich in talent both in basic science and in clinical translation of the research that he does.Prof. Tommy Vaughan. Image John Abbott / Columbia UniversityFundamentally I think of myself as a tool builder, and I am always looking f or good tool users, he says. Together we make a team. So it is a fertile field for me, and Columbia had relatively little in terms of MR.Plus, its an area that Columbia wants to develop.That seemed a powerful combination and perfect place for me to build a new center, Vaughan says. The School of Engineering on the main universittsgelnde will host the engineering work the Mind Brain Institute will host neuroscience and Columbia Medical center will host the translational center.A second priority (one he calls a pet project begun during his previous position directing the magnetic resonance research program at the University of Minnesota) is the continuation of work on developing a portable MR system that will be feasible and affordable for the 90 percent of the worlds population that has no access to MRIs.The idea of a portable system, not dependent on a modern power grid or other infrastructure, was partly ignited by a DARPA request for proposals a couple of years ago to build an MRI system that you could push out of a helicopter on a parachute over a battlefield to do imaging within minutes, Vaughan says. The project never got off the ground, but, That crazy idea got our creative juices flowing. Theres nothing like an absolutely crazy idea with the potential of a $20 to $40 million grant behind it. That makes you put down what you are doing and start dreaming.We had developed thinking along the lines of what if we applied a new kind of magnet to image brains specifically for neuroscience observing their function and how they work, he says of himself and his collaborators. Its essentially re-inventing magnetic resonance all over again, he says.We got to this state of our career where it is increasingly difficult to incrementally increase the field strength with the magnets without the technologies to build new kinds of magnets. We think we can make a magnet small enough to fit on top of someones shoulders on their head to study, for example, motor control, he says, describing the device as looking much like old-fashioned helmet-style hair dryers.Perhaps with the saatkorn ultra-portable, ultra-compact magnet and a laptop with a link to the cloud as the console, MRI could be delivered to the rest of the world, he says.Looking back, Vaughan says, Its been a really exciting field. I entered it when it was at the very beginning at least with applications to human medicine. I have been able to stay at the forefront. Ive grown up with a new field and a new crop of scientist engineers. Weve produced something of significance.What he finds especially exciting is looking at nano data for the very first time that no one has ever seen before. Its like seeing a new valley from a mountain looking at stars through a telescope. The really fun thing about developing new tools like more and more powerful instruments is I am always the first to see what they can do. Then we turn it over to applications scientists, but I am the first to see.Nancy S. Giges i s an independent writer. For Further DiscussionThe really fun thing about developing new tools like more and more powerful instruments is I am always the first to see what they can do.Prof. Tommy Vaughan, Columbia University

How Not to Follow Up After a Job Interview

How Not to Follow Up After a Job InterviewHow Not to Follow Up After a Job InterviewAngry e-mail? Check. Thank-you messages read from scripts? Check. Heres a rogues gallery of what else not to do.If you can craft an mit niveau letter or e-mail to follow up after a job interview, it could be the tipping point that pushes you into the job candidate finalist category.The thank-you note remains one of the most overlooked marketing tools of the job search, said Stephanie Daniel, vice president and group program manager at Keystone Associates, a career-management and transition services consultancy.And then theres the not-so-well-crafted message, which can put you, the job seeker, in the loser category. A number of professionals on the receiving end of follow-up e-mail, snailmail, FedEx packages, singing telegrams and other communications shared with us this rogues gallery of infamously inappropriate follow-ups. They caution readers Do not to try this at home.The monologistHeather Krasna, an expert in public-sector executive jobs, tells of a client who left a long-winded thank-you message on an executives voicemail, directly reading from the thank-you letter she welches going to send.This was just weird from the employers perspective and came across as too intense or desperate as well as an inappropriate use of voicemail, Krasna said. She would have been better off had she just mailed a thank-you note.The unprofessional e-mailerCarl Gould, Chief Discovery Officer at geschftsleben mentoring firm CMT Mentors, told us about one job applicant who used a personal e-mail address that referenced a side job as a part-time clown. Needless to say, we filtered that one into the garbage rather quickly, Gould said.The aggressive onesScott R. Gingold, CEO of Powerfeedback, has had follow-ups come via Twitter, LinkedIn, FedEx, snailmail, fax, Web site and at business events. They can get creepy regardless of the medium. His personal rogues gallery featuresBeing invited to a sportin g event by an applicant who doesnt know himHaving female candidates be sexually suggestiveMultiple phone calls after hes told the job seeker not to callDaily e-mail after hes told applicants to stopBeing told in a letter that he reminds an applicant of a deceased relativeThe angry guyKrasna had a horrific experience years ago in which a job candidate, still in school, sent an angry e-mail to a recruiter because he didnt get the job. The job seeker said he was glad he didnt get the job because he wouldnt have wanted to work for the company anyway, Krasna said, and then complimented the recruiter on her figure.Needless to say, this e-mail was forwarded along to the college career center, and the student was informed that he would no longer be allowed to use our career services, she said. It was a while before the colleges reputation would be recovered at that companyThe cranky guyThomas Tuft, an attorney with Tuft Arnold Law Offices, in Maplewood, Minn., once had a law student send a very cranky letter after the firm hadnt responded to his resume submission within a week. Mind you, this was at a time when the firm wasnt hiring. It is not our practice to respond to the dozens of resumes we receive unsolicited, Tuft said. That student will never be hired here.The casually sloppyWhile the preceding are all somewhat spectacularly bad follow-ups, Krasna pointed out that people often hurt their chances simply by not using good grammar and spelling in their communications. Taking the time to write a careful thank-you note that touches on all the reasons you want to work for the organization, as well as how you would be a perfect fit for them, will make you stand apart in a more positive way, she noted.

These are the colleges in each state with the least debt

These are the colleges in each state with the least debtThese are the colleges in each state with the least debtStudent debt is a huge problem in America, and its one that no one seems to know how to fix.However, there are those colleges that dont load you up to your eyebrows with debt upon graduating.Weve already covered thestates with the highest and lowest zentralwert debt for graduates. Now were looking at the colleges in each state whose graduates have the least debt.Some hintergrundAmericans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt, spread out across 44 million borrowersThats $620 billion more than the U.S. credit card debtThe average student loan debt for the Class of 2017 was $39,400, up six percent from the year beforeMedian monthly student loan payment for borrower aged 20 to 30 years $203Click to enlargeSo respect to these schools for fighting the good fight.These are the states with the 10 schools with the least debt for gradsSouth Carolina Medical University of South CarolinaNew Jersey Beth Medrash GovohaKentucky Berea CollegeTexas Parker UniversityMassachusetts Harvard UniversityNew York United States Merchant Marine AcademyMissouri Logan UniversityIowa Palmer College ofChiropracticNorth Carolina Duke UniversityVirginia University ofManagementand TechnologySummary of findingsMedical University of South Carolina shows its students the most leniency with costs graduates from the school have a median debt of just $4,000Harvard leaves its grads with the least debt out of all schools in Massachusetts median debt for grads is $6,500Duke is the same for North Carolina $7,500 median debt for their gradsOnly one of the schools on the list topped the $20k mark grads the University of Sioux Falls inSouth Dakotahave a median debt of $22,750How we did itWe used the Department of Educations College Scorecard data for this research.For each state, we focused on the variable GRAD_DEBT_MDN.This figure represents the median debt for students who completed t heir studies at the school.Additionally, we focused on predominantly bachelors degree-granting institutions.We sorted each state by this variable to find the school that leaves their grads with the least debt.Now to find the school in your state that leaves grads with the least debt, check out this table.Click to enlargeThis article first appeared on Zippia.