Society Awards 2019

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 H. R. 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 H. R. Lissner of Wayne State University for his pioneering work in biomechanics since 1939.

The 2019 Lissner Medal winner is Dr. Jennifer S. Wayne, Ph.D. Dr. Wayne is Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. She received her B.S. degree in Engineering Mechanics (summa cum laude) from Virginia Tech, M.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University, and Ph.D. degree in bioengineering from the University of California at San Diego. She began her faculty career in 1991 at Virginia Commonwealth University in a joint appointment with Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery. She directed the VCU Orthopedic Research Laboratory and was associate chair of Biomedical Engineering. She is currently the head in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech. She has mentored over 125 residents, fellows, and medical students in basic research as well as over 30 senior engineering capstone projects and 30 graduate theses. Dr. Wayne's research efforts explore joint biomechanics from both experimental and computational approaches to characterize healthy function and for assessing effectiveness of reparative strategies. This began with articular cartilage function and expanded to 3D patient specific computational simulations. Dr. Wayne has served ASME in multiple capacities including the first female chair of the Bioengineering Division. She was elected Fellow of ASME in 2007. She is also a Fellow of AIMBE, a Program Evaluator for ABET, the international accrediting body for engineering and technology, and began as BMES representative to the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET in July 2019. In addition, Dr. Wayne has served on the Board of Directors of the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) and currently serves on the ORS Ethics Committee.

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 years prior to June 1 of the year of the award. The award was established by the Bioengineering Division in 2004.

The 2019 Van C. Mow Award winner is Dr. Tony Jun Huang, Ph.D. Dr. Huang is the William Bevan Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at Duke University. Previously, he was a professor and the Huck Distinguished Chair in Bioengineering Science and Mechanics at The Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2005. His research interests are in the fields of acoustofluidics, optofluidics, and micro/nanosystems for biomedical diagnostics and therapeutics. He has authored/coauthored over 200 peer-reviewed journal publications in these fields. His journal articles have been cited more than 14,000 times, as documented at Google Scholar (h-index: 64). He also has 20 patents and invention disclosures. He was elected a fellow of the following five professional societies: the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Institute of Physics (IOP), and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). Huang's research has gained international recognition through numerous prestigious awards and honors including a 2010 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Award, a 2012 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from the Society for Manufacturing Engineering, a 2013 American Asthma Foundation (AAF) Scholar Award, JALA Top Ten Breakthroughs of the Year Award in 2011, 2013, and 2016, the 2014 IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the 2017 Analytical Chemistry Young Innovator Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS).

The Y. C. Fung Young Investigator Award is given to a young investigator who is under age 36 on or before June 1 of the year of the nomination, and has received a Ph.D. or equivalent bioengineering degree within 7 years 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 Y. C. Fung Young Investigator Award winner is Grace D. O'Connell, Ph.D. Dr. O'Connell is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley, where she has been on the faculty since 2013. She is also an affiliated assistant professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UC San Francisco. After receiving her B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, Dr. O'Connell trained with Dr. Dawn Elliott at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Bioengineering. Her Ph.D. research focused on understanding the effect of injury and degeneration on disk joint and tissue-level mechanics, using noninvasive imaging, computational modeling, and mechanical testing techniques. She also did a postdoc with Dr. Clark Hung at Columbia University, where her research focused on cartilage tissue engineering. Her current research focuses on mechanobiology of fiber-reinforced soft tissues, such as the annulus fibrosis of the intervertebral disks. Combining skills from her Ph.D. and postdoc training, her research group uses multiscale computational modeling and mechanical testing to study tissue failure and mechanics with degeneration. Ongoing work is focused on understanding failure propagation through fiber-reinforced composites and how tissue remodeling due to disease alters stress distributions. Dr. O'Connell has been an active member of the ASME Bioengineering division since 2010, and is currently the Vice Chair of the Cell and Tissue Engineering Committee. Dr. O'Connell is the recipient of the NSF CAREER award, the ACS Young Investigator Award, and is the inaugural chair of the Don M. Cunningham Professorship in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley.

The Savio L.-Y. Woo Translational Biomechanics Medal was established in June 2015 as a society-level award and recognizes a sustained level of meritorious contributions in translating bioengineering research to clinical application, to improve the quality of life. This award is named in honor of Savio Lau-Yuen Woo, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor of Bioengineering and the Founder and Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center (MSRC), a diverse multidisciplinary research and educational center in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Beyond pioneering and world-renowned scholarly contributions, Professor Woo has made an enormous impact in 40 years of translational research that has significantly contributed to the delivery of healthcare. Any member of ASME who has demonstrated a sustained level of outstanding achievement in translating bioengineering findings to the clinical community may be eligible for this medal.

The Salvio L.-Y. Woo Translational Biomechanics Medal winner is Dr. Rita M. Patterson, Ph.D., professor, University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) Fort Worth Texas, for biomechanics research on the hand and wrist that has led to changes in surgical interventions and has significantly impacted the treatment of patients with hand/wrist disorders; for well-cited and high-quality publications; and for influencing medical practice through the dedicated mentoring of students. Her research revolves around applying engineering principles to solve medical problems in applied research in Orthopedics, human performance, and rehabilitation.¹ The lab is a collaboration between several departments and schools in Fort Worth that are interested in human performance. Our team of engineers, physical therapists, physicians, and basic scientists work together to understand biomechanics and kinematics in the neuromusculoskeletal system. Through video motion capture, virtual reality environments, custom instrumentation, and computational modeling, we analyze abnormal motions due to disease processes and evaluate rehabilitation treatments. Other aspects of my research include collaborations to develop soft robotic devices to measure joint function that can aid in the diagnosis of hand problems and help provide objective measures to track patient progress during rehabilitation. Ultimately this diverse team works together to understand biomechanics and kinematics to answer clinically meaningful questions that can help make people's lives better. Patterson mentors students at all levels from high school to the postdoctoral level. She is an associate editor of the Journal of Hand Surgery and the ASME Journal of Medical Devices. Patterson is an ASME fellow. She was an ASME minority leadership program intern and later member in the Center for Research and Technology. She has also been very active in the Bioengineering Division serving as member and chair for the student paper competition (1999–2002), chair of the Design, Dynamics, & Rehabilitation committee (2001–2003), chair of the Summer bioengineering meeting in Naples, FL (2010), and chair of the division (BED) in 2010. She is a founding organizer of the Women's Networking Event held annually at the summer meeting. Patterson is a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. She and her students have received numerous awards for best scientific content at clinical and engineering meetings, and in 2017, she received UNTHSC's first Medical School faculty achievement award for excellence in research, teaching, and service.

The Robert M. Nerem Education and Mentorship Medal are given to an individual who has demonstrated a sustained level of outstanding achievement in education and mentoring of trainees. Examples of meritorious activities include leadership within the nominee's institution, mentoring activities that are above and beyond those expected from others employed in similar positions, mentoring activities tailored to meet the needs of the trainees, and innovative mentoring activities. Any member of ASME with a Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree in any field of engineering, physics, medicine, or life sciences is eligible for the award. The award was established by the Bioengineering Division in 2017.

Kenneth R. Diller, Sc.D., is the 2019 Nerem Medal Awardee for his leadership in establishing three Biomedical Engineering Departments within the University of Texas System, authoring a prominent biotransport text, and mentoring more than 50 graduate students, thousands of undergraduates, and countless faculties at UT and across the United States. Ken was born and raised in Orrville, OH. He earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from OH State in 1966 (with honors) and a M.Sc. in 1967. Subsequently, he was awarded an Sc.D. in M.E. in 1972 from M.I.T. where he was one of the early graduate students to focus on biomedical applications of engineering. He was an NIH postdoc and became an assistant professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in 1973, with promotions to associate professor in 1979 and full professor in 1984. He served as department chair of Mechanical Engineering and then Biomedical Engineering covering a span of 19 years. Dr. Diller has held many leadership positions in within the ASME and other professional organizations. He has chaired the Bioengineering Division (1998–1999), the BED Honors Committee (1991–1994), the Lissner Medal Committee (1991–1994), and the Biotransport Technical Committee (1987–1988). In addition, he was editor of the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering (1997–2002). Dr. Diller has won numerous teaching and research awards internal to UT and internationally. He has been honored by ASME as: Fellow (1990), Heat Transfer Division Memorial Award (1994), and 75th Anniversary Medal (2013), ASME Distinguished Lecturer (1998–2001), Lissner Medal (2002), and Max Jakob Award (2014). In addition, he received the UT Dad's Association University Teaching Award (1992), Alexander von Humboldt Fellow (1983–1984), NIH Fogarty Senior International Fellow (1989–1990), Ohio State Outstanding ME grad (1992), and Thomas French Achievement Award (2017), Cryobiology Luyet Medal (2013), and Fellow membership of AAAS, AIMBE, BMES, Society for Cryobiology, and Clare Hall College at the University of Cambridge.