Nadine Barrie Smith, associate professor of bioengineering in the College of Engineering, died on April 2 as the result of an accident.
Smith, 48, joined the Penn State faculty in 1999. Her research focused on therapeutic applications of ultrasound and its combination with diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging. She was a lead researcher at the Therapeutic Ultrasound Applications Laboratory and taught courses in bioengineering, including BIOE 450W Senior Design.
Throughout her time at Penn State, Smith made significant contributions to medical research.
Smith worked on a team that developed a prototype for an ultrasound insulin delivery system that can be worn as a patch on the body and is a less painful and invasive alternative for insulin administration. She also worked with a team to develop a potential cure for melanoma that is a safer and more effective way of targeting cancer-causing genes in cancer cells without harming normal tissue.
She was a dedicated teacher and adviser and guided students through various research projects and design competitions. She co-headed a student project to help people with disabilities that received a $125,000 five-year National Science Foundation grant in 2008.
Smith was on sabbatical leave from the University for the 2009-10 academic year, in order to identify research projects for Penn State graduate students who will be enrolled at Delft University in the Netherlands and author a textbook on medical devices.
Smith received her doctorate in electrical engineering and biophysics from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1996 and was a Radiology Fellow at Harvard Medical School.
She is survived by her husband, Andrew Webb, professor of bioengineering.
Donations can be made to the National Breast Cancer Foundation in Smith's name.