Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable energy, ecological engineering, agricultural engineering, process engineering and catalysis, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.
Kyriacos A. Athanasiou is a Greek Cypriot-American bioengineer who has contributed significantly to both academic advancements as well as high-technology industries. He is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine. He joined UCI from the University of California, Davis where he also served as the Chair of the Biomedical Engineering department. Before joining the University of California in 2009, he was the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor at Rice University. He has published hundreds of scientific articles detailing structure-function relationships and tissue engineering approaches for articular cartilage, the knee meniscus, and the temporomandibular joint.
Shu Chien is a Chinese-born Taiwanese-American physiologist and bioengineer. His work on the fluid dynamics of blood flow has had a major impact on the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis. Chien is currently President of the Biomedical Engineering Society.
John A. Swanson is an American engineer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Swanson is the founder of ANSYS, Inc., a John Fritz Medal winner, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is internationally regarded as an authority and pioneer in the application of finite-element methods to engineering.
Van C. Mow is a Chinese-born-American bioengineer, known as one of the earliest researchers in the field of biomechanics.
Robert M. Nerem, often referred to as Bob Nerem, a member of the U. S. National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, held the Parker H. Petit Distinguished Chair for Engineering in Medicine and Institute Professor Emeritus at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he was an Emeritus Professor until his death.
Marjolein Christine Hermance van der Meulen is an American engineer who served as the James M. and Marsha McCormick Director of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University from 2014-2014. She is a Swanson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a Senior Scientist in the Research Division of the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Tony Jun Huang is the William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University, United States.
Harvey S. Borovetz is an American bioengineer currently a Distinguished Professor and former Chair of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and an Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Society, Council on Arteriosclerosis, American Heart Association.
Savio L-Y Woo is an American bioengineer currently the Distinguished University Professor of Bioengineering at University of Pittsburgh. He was born in Shanghai, China, in 1942 and immigrated to the United States prior to entering university.
Alison Lesley Marsden is an American pediatric cardiologist and bioengineer. She is the Douglass M. and Nola Leishman Professor of cardiovascular disease in the departments of Pediatrics (Cardiology), Bioengineering, and, by courtesy, Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. She is the daughter of Canadian-American mathematician Jerrold E. Marsden.
Christopher J. Hernandez is an American engineer and scientist who currently serves as professor at the University of California, San Francisco in the departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences.
Beth Ann Winkelstein is the Deputy Provost and the Eduardo D. Glandt President’s Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Winkelstein has established an active research program that is recognized for elucidating the mechanisms of subfailure cervical spine injuries and the cellular events surrounding the etiology of chronic pain. She is further recognized for longstanding contributions to the discipline of biomechanics and for mentoring many students that have followed into research active careers. Her research focuses on orthopaedic and musculoskeletal disorders, including developing innovative new pharmacological treatments and biomedical devices; the mechanisms of bodily injury, especially injuries from sports, automobile accidents, and/or degenerative diseases; and new treatments for spine and other joint injuries.
Beth L. Pruitt is an American engineer. Upon completing her master's degree in manufacturing systems engineering from Stanford University, Pruitt served as an officer in the United States Navy. She is a full professor of mechanical engineering, biological engineering, and biomolecular science & engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a fellow of both ASME and AIMBE.
Michele J. Grimm is a British-American biomechanical engineer. She took on the role of Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University at Albany in 2022. She was previously the Wielenga Creative Engineering Endowed Professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering at Michigan State University. Her research concerns the biomechanics of injury, particularly injuries in newborn children to the brachial plexus, a part of the nervous system connecting it to the upper body.
Pavlos P. Vlachos is a Greek-American engineer, scientist, academic, and entrepreneur. He is professor in Purdue’s School of Mechanical Engineering and in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, and the St. Vincent Health Professor of Healthcare Engineering. He serves as the Director for the Purdue Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering (RCHE).
Dawn M. Elliott is an American biomedical engineer whose research concerns the biomechanics of connective tissue including the tendons, menisci, and intervertebral discs. She is Blue and Gold Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware, adjunct professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and the former president of the Biomedical Engineering Society.
Claudia Fischbach is a German bioengineer who serves as the James M. and Marsha McCormick Director of Biomedical Engineering and the Stanley Bryer 1946 Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. She is Director of the Cornell Physical Sciences Oncology Center on the Physics of Cancer Metabolism.
Alisa Morss Clyne is an American mechanobiologist. She is a Full Professor and Associate Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. Clyne is an expert in endothelial cell biology, biomechanics, and metabolomics.
Laurel Kuxhaus is an American biomechanical engineer whose research focuses on the mechanics of soft and hard tissues in joints such as the elbow and ankle, and the effects of injuries on those joints. She is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering at Clarkson University.
