Society Awards 2014

The Fung Young Investigator Award is given to a young investigator who is under age of 36 on or before June 1 of the year of the nomination, and has received a Ph.D. or equivalent bioengineering degree within 7 yr prior to their nomination. The individual must be committed to pursuing research in and have demonstrated significant potential to make substantial contributions to the field of bioengineering. Such accomplishments may take the form of, but are not limited to, design or development of new methods, equipment or instrumentation in bioengineering, and research publications in peer-reviewed journals. The award was established by the Bioengineering Division in 1985 and operated as a division award until 1998 when it was elevated to a Society award.

The 2014 Fung Award winner is Dr. David Merryman, Ph.D. Dr. Merryman is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Pharmacology, Medicine, and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University. His research interests are cardiovascular mechanobiology, cell and soft tissue biomechanics, tissue engineering, and bioengineering ethics. Prior to his arrival at Vanderbilt, Dave was an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He received his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh and conducted his doctoral research within the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine as an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellow. Dave completed his B.S. and M.S. in Engineering Science at the University of Tennessee and was awarded the Alumni Promise award from UT in 2011, which recognizes outstanding alumni under 40 yr of age. Dave has been awarded the Early Career Award from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, the Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association, the NSF CAREER Award, and the K Award from the National Institute of Health (NHLBI). An internationally known expert in heart valve research with over 40 peer-reviewed publications in the field, Dave has given over 20 invited talks at conferences and at some of the most prestigious universities. In 2014, he delivered an invited talk on “Technologies for the Heart” at the National Academy of Engineering's Frontiers of Engineering annual meeting for a select group of the nation's outstanding young engineers between the ages of 30 and 45. Dr. Merryman has contributed a paper to this Annual Special Issue.

The Van C. Mow Medal is bestowed upon an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of bioengineering through research, education, professional development, leadership in the development of the professor, as a mentor to young bioengineers, and with service to the bioengineering community. The individual must have earned a Ph.D. or equivalent degree between 10 and 20 yr prior to June 1 of the year of the award. The award was established by the Bioengineering Division in 2004.

The 2014 Van Mow Award winner is Dr. Christopher R. Jacobs, Ph.D. Dr. Jacobs received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1994 from Stanford University. His first faculty position was in Orthopedic Surgery at Penn State. In 2001, he returned to Stanford as an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. In 2008, he joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at Columbia University, where he is pursuing a vision of the future of biomechanics and mechanobiology at the cell and molecular levels. The goal of his lab, the Cell and Molecular Biomechanics Lab, is to investigate cellular mechanosensing, particularly in the skeleton, with tightly coupled integration of advanced theoretical mechanics and modern molecular biology. He has made discoveries in terms of the mechanical signals that bone cells sense and respond to and how these responses are communicated and integrated between cells. To date he has been awarded over $7.5 million from federal and state agencies for individual investigator projects as well as $9.5 million in center grants. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, two books, and nine book chapters. He is the senior author of the innovative textbook Introduction to Cell Mechanics and Mechanobiology, which has been adopted in 35 courses with an enrollment of over 850 students worldwide since its publication in 2013. He has received research awards from the American and European Societies of Biomechanics, and the Yasuda Award from the Society for Physical Regulation in Medicine and Biology. Dr. Jacobs has contributed a paper to this Annual Special Issue.

The H.R. Lissner Medal recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of bioengineering. These achievements may be in the form of (1) significant research contributions in bioengineering; (2) development of new methods of measuring in bioengineering; (3) design of new equipment and instrumentation in bioengineering; (4) educational impact in the training of bioengineers; and/or (5) service to the bioengineering community, in general, and to the Bioengineering Division of ASME, in particular. The Bioengineering Division of ASME established the Lissner Award as a divisional award in 1977. It was upgraded to a society award in 1987, made possible by a donation from Wayne State University and is named in honor of Professor Lissner of Wayne State University for his pioneering work in biomechanics that began in 1939.

The 2014 Lissner Medal winner is Dr. Kyriacos Athanasiou, Ph.D. Dr. Athanasiou is a distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery, the Child Family Professor of Engineering, and the Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. He obtained his Ph.D. in Bioengineering (Mechanical Engineering) from Columbia University in 1989. He has published approximately 300 peer-reviewed papers, five authored books, 12 edited books or journal special issues, and 30 patents. He has also served as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society. Additionally, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering, the flagship journal of BMES. His list of awards includes the Nemitsas Prize (Cyprus' largest award presented by the President of Cyprus), the Distinguished Service Award from BMES, Wall Street Journal's 2008 Innovation Award, Thomas A. Edison Patent Award from ASME, Hershel Rich Outstanding Invention Award, Marshal Urist Award for Excellence in Tissue Regeneration Research from the Orthopaedic Research Society, and the Van Mow Medal from ASME. He is a Fellow of BMES, AAAS, AIMBE, and ASME. In addition to his academic interests, he has been involved with effecting the translation of devices and instruments into clinical use and commercialization. Dr. Athanasiou has contributed a paper to this Annual Special Issue.