Linda Griffith and Douglas Lauffenburger honored for contributions to biological engineering education

The Countrywide Academy of Engineering (NAE) has introduced that two MIT professors have been jointly awarded the Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technologies Training, the most prestigious engineering education award in the United States.

Linda G. Griffith, the School of Engineering Professor of Training Innovation in the Section of Biological Engineering, and Douglas A. Lauffenburger, the Ford Professor of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biology, were acknowledged for their respective contributions to “the institution of a new biology-dependent engineering instruction, producing a new technology of leaders able of addressing earth troubles with progressive organic systems,” in accordance to an NAE statement.

“We are unquestionably delighted that professors Griffith and Lauffenburger been given this prestigious prize from the NAE,” states Angela Belcher, head of the Office of Organic Engineering. “Anyone who understands Doug Lauffenburger and Linda Griffith is aware of that educating and mentoring in engineering, particularly organic engineering, is at the main of who they are.”

Griffith and Lauffenburger spearheaded the establishment of the biological engineering self-discipline at MIT, which revolves all-around teaching college students how to translate improvements in the molecular lifetime sciences into therapeutics, and a variety of non-healthcare solutions in agriculture, products, vitality, and nutrition.

“Professor Griffith and Professor Lauffenburger have produced amazing contributions to education in biological engineering,” suggests Anantha P. Chandrakasan, dean of the MIT University of Engineering and the Vannevar Bush Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “They have both equally been essential in setting up and shaping the organic engineering curriculum at MIT, and keep on to encourage present and previous learners in this space.”

Griffith championed the organic engineering BS diploma application, although Lauffenburger focused his attempts on the graduate amount. Students who have participated in the curriculum have absent on to observed progressive startups, such as Gingko Bioworks.

“The award is definitely in recognition of the electricity of MIT pupils to create modify,” states Griffith. “The generation of a new discipline of engineering was a lot of effort and hard work, but it was finished in partnership with pupils who ended up courageous enough to think about what could be.”

In addition to her achievements in training, Griffith directs the Middle for Gynepathology Investigation and has championed novel techniques in tissue engineering. She is also dependable for creating the discipline of physiomimetics.

She retains more than a dozen patents, has above 200 publications, and has chaired a number of scientific conferences, which include the annual TED convention-like Open Endoscopy Discussion board that assembles gynecology researchers, surgeons, and engineers at MIT for a weekend of talks.

Lauffenburger is affiliated with multiple biomedical corporations like the Heart for Gynepathology Investigate, Center for Biomedical Engineering, and Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Exploration at MIT. He is a previous chair and recent fellow of the School of Fellows of American Institute for Professional medical and Organic Engineering.

Each Griffith and Lauffenburger hope that their accomplishments at MIT will aid propel biological engineering forward on a international amount.

“The entire world demands biology-based mostly systems to deal with a wide spectrum of crucial difficulties that have not been satisfactorily satisfied by physics- and chemistry-based systems,” says Lauffenburger. “Our aspiration, and expectation, is that what we’ve produced in this article will catalyze adoption of biology-based mostly engineering at a lot of other establishments around the world in the coming decades.”

Founded in 2001, the Gordon Prize incorporates a income award of $500,000, of which Griffith and Lauffenburger will obtain 50 percent. The other fifty percent will go to assistance organic engineering instruction endeavours at MIT. Griffith and Lauffenburger will also each individual get a gold-plated, sterling silver medal and a hand-scribed certification.