ACCOLADES LEE ELECTED FELLOW OF BMES AND NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS Abe Lee, biomedical engineering professor and outgoing department chair, was elected last year to both the Biomedical Engineering Society 2018 Class of Fellows and as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. BMES, the professional society for biomedical engineering and bioengineering has more than 7,000 members; Lee was one of 21 selected last year by his peers to receive the honor. The NAI designation is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in originating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have had a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Lee is the ninth NAI fellow from UCI. “I am humbled to be recognized for what I love to do and am passionate about,” said Lee.
GRATTON NAMED AIMBE FELLOW
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A UCI biomedical engineering professor is among 157 medical and biological engineers inducted this year into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Enrico Gratton joined the College of Fellows class of 2019 at a ceremony held in March during the AIMBE Annual Meeting at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Election to the College of Fellows is a prestigious professional distinction; fellows, who are recognized for outstanding achievement, represent the top two percent of medical and biological engineers from around the world. Gratton, professor of biomedical engineering, was elected “for seminal, outstanding contributions to the fields of fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging to study structure and function of biomolecules.” The founder and principal investigator of UCI’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics, the country’s only national research center dedicated to fluorescence, Gratton also has joint appointments in physics and astronomy, and surgery. His research focuses on biomedical fluorescence spectroscopy, including measurements and microscopy; and designing, testing and implementing fluorescence hardware, software and biomedical applications. These techniques can probe the structure and function of biomolecules and membranes, and track biological processes in cell and tissue cultures.
ATHANASIOU APPOINTED NEW SAMUELI ENDOWED CHAIR IN ENGINEERING UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman appointed biomedical engineering Distinguished Professor Kyriacos A. Athanasiou to a Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering. Established in 2005 by the UC Regents, with funding from Henry and Susan F. Samueli, the endowed chair positions were created in support of engineering programs and other related disciplines within the Samueli School. This chair is the first in the department. Athanasiou researches musculoskeletal and cartilaginous tissues and develops clinical instruments and devices. The senior academic has spent his career inventing biomimetic tissue for treating damaged knees, jaws, hips, shoulders and other joints. Along the way, Athanasiou has become an authority on translating engineering innovations into commercially available medical treatments. He is a recipient of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 2018 Savio L-Y. Woo Translational Biomechanics Medal and a past president of the Biomedical Engineering Society. “Some of our best schools and programs, emerging colleges and great buildings at UCI carry the Samueli name,” said Athanasiou. “Inasmuch as I equate the Samuelis with excellence, it is such an honor for me to be named a recipient of the Henry Samueli Chair. I look forward to even greater accomplishments in translating our engineering advances to medical use.” UCI Department of Biomedical Engineering
