Chemical Engineering major Katie Roelofs was awarded the second place prize in a poster competition at the annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), held in November in Philadelphia. Katie received the award from the AIChE Food, Pharmaceuticals and Bioengineering Division for her poster titled, "Tailoring Biomimetic Collagen-Poly(vinyl alcohol) Hydrogels for Articular Cartilage Repair", research conducted under the supervision of Professor Anthony Lowman at Drexel University. The study investigated the effects of synthesis parameters (mixing speed and level & type of organic solvent) on the pore structure and mechanical properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels.  PVA hydrogels are being explored as a replacement material for articular cartilage. This research also examined the swelling behavior of the hydrogels in a solution simulating the internal environment of articular cartilage. Finally, in an effort to create a bioactive scaffold, type-II collagen was blended into the PVA hydrogels. The results confirm the possibility of tailoring the material properties of PVA scaffolds based on synthesis parameters. The swelling experiments point to potential stiffening problems of the hydrogels in solution. These experiments show the possibility of introducing a bioactive protein throughout the hydrogel scaffold without chemical biproducts.