Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering alumnae Ambika Bumb (BS BMED 2005) and Xavier P. Lefebvre, a Ph.D. student from the Yoganathan lab (Ph.D. ChE 1992) were honored at the 2016 College of Engineering (CoE) Alumni Awards Induction Ceremony. Inductees are alumni who have distinguished themselves through professional practice and/or service to the Institute, the engineering profession, or society at large. Both of them are deeply involved in the biotechnology and biomedical fields.

The College of Engineering Alumni Awards were created in 1994. Each year, CoE recognizes, with this induction ceremony, select alumni who have contributed to the profession, advanced in their careers, and enhanced the lives of others both personally and professionally. Hosting the 2016 induction ceremony was Gary S. May, Dean of the College of Engineering with guest speaker Fredricka Whitfield, CNN news anchor and former correspondent for NBC News.

Ambika Bumb received The Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni Award. The Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through professional practice and/or service to the Institute, the engineering profession, or society at large. They are on the “fast track” and have made rapid advancement within their organizations, and they have been recognized for early achievements by others within their profession, field, or organization. She is currently the CEO at Bikanta, a biotechnology company based in Newark, California.

Ambika graduated from Georgia Tech in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, and she received her doctorate from the University of Oxford while on the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. Ambika’s area of interest is nanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology for medical diagnostics and treatment. Her work in nanomedicine and diagnostics has led to multiple patents, publications, and the spin-out of the biotechnology company Bikanta, which is using nanodiamonds to allow academics and doctors to study and address disease at the cellular level. Nanodiamonds are next-generation imaging probes with utility in portable cancer-detection devices. Bikanta is one of the first biotechs to be funded by Y Combinator and is a winner of the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Competition. While she was at Georgia Tech, Ambika was recognized with the Helen E. Grenga Outstanding Woman Engineer and E. Jo Baker Outstanding President’s Scholar Awards.

Xavier Lefebvre received The Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. The Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have provided distinguished contributions to the Institute, profession, field, or society at large. Candidates are highly placed executives and are actively involved in engineering, management, industry, academia, or government.

Media Contacts:

Walter Rich
Communications Manager
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology