Recent College of Engineering graduate Shannon Wheeler '07 is one of five semifinalists, from a field of 85, in a bioethics essay contest held by the Institute of Biological Engineering.

Wheeler will read her essay, "Perceptions of the Public: The Morals of Sharing Our Motives as Bioengineers," at the institute's 2007 annual meeting in St. Louis, March 30-April 1. Three winners will be chosen.

Syracuse native Wheeler graduated in January 2007 with a degree in biological engineering and a minor in biomedical engineering. Active in the local Habitat for Humanity chapter while at Cornell, Wheeler is currently on a Habitat trip to Guatemala.