Engineering with Empathy

By combining his technical and creative backgrounds, David Jamison, PhD, aims to hit the right notes as associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs

David Jamison, PhD, brings a unique combination of science and art to his new position as the College of Engineering’s associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs. A biomedical engineer with prior experience in industry and academia, he is also a semi-professional musician—a background that allows the Philadelphia native to flex his creativity while keeping a keen eye on the future.

“As the world changes and becomes more diverse, so too must engineering,” says Dr. Jamison. “Engineers design and build our future world, so it is imperative that we train our students, our future engineers, to design with empathy in mind. The engineer of tomorrow needs to be more culturally and socially conscious in their decision-making and in their design.”

Dr. Jamison will have a hand in that training in his new role at Villanova. As associate dean for Undergraduate Affairs, Dr. Jamison is responsible for the College’s undergraduate recruitment and retention, as well as for preparing students for success after graduation. Dr. Jamison also joins the College’s faculty as a teaching professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The position combines what Dr. Jamison enjoys most from industry and higher education. “It has the education and mentorship aspects of what I love doing, plus the ability to manage a team of people and be involved in strategic discussions that I was seeking,” he says. “I also bring industry experience with me that I can share with students and advise them so they have a better understanding of what their future careers may look like when they leave Villanova.”

Dr. Jamison’s career path took a different route from what he envisioned in his youth. “As a kid, I was always interested in science and technology,” he says. “In high school, I thought I wanted to be a surgeon, but I soon realized I didn’t want to practice medicine. I discovered biomedical engineering, and that’s where I’ve been focused ever since.” After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Engineering Mechanics, he earned his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Drexel University, where he investigated the biomechanics of the lumbar intervertebral disc when subjected to high-impact loading conditions.

Dr. Jamison is no stranger to Villanova’s College of Engineering. Since 2013, he has held various teaching positions in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. During this time, he developed new Biomedical Engineering courses and helped create and launch the College’s Biomedical Engineering minor. Dr. Jamison also led the overhaul of Mechanical Engineering’s laboratory course sequence and developed new laboratory exercises and streamlined learning objectives.

Away from campus, Dr. Jamison is actively involved in several professional societies, serving on the board of directors for the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and as president emeritus of the Greater Philadelphia Professionals Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

He rejoined Villanova Engineering in the fall from his most recent position at DePuy-Synthes, a Johnson & Johnson-owned medical device company where he was a clinical research scientist. Dr. Jamison also held biomedical engineering positions with both Robson Forensic and Exigent Forensic Consulting, where he conducted forensic scientific and biomechanical analyses of personal injury matters.

Dr. Jamison lets his creative side shine through his love of music. He writes, composes and produces jazz and funk music, and since 2014 he has played percussion for the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra. He recently released his second album, Late Bloomer, a nod to his later start in music. Dr. Jamison didn’t begin playing percussion until high school, and only three years ago did he take up bass guitar, an instrument he now features prominently in his recordings “Music makes me a better engineer,” he says. “It is a huge part of my life and complements my work. It forces me to be creative in my thinking and problem solving. Like engineering, music challenges me to mold and create something new out of nothing.”

Dr. Jamison has a personal focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, and aspires to increase the diversity of the College’s faculty and student body. He also plans to expand the experiential learning offerings and formalize faculty members’ engineering education research so that it can be further implemented at the College.

“As engineering educators, we have to be concerned with not just the future of engineering, but also the future of our world,” he says. “If all engineers look the same, it’s very difficult to achieve the diversity of thought and design that our world needs.”