February 2, 2011 | UW Bioengineering

Buddy Ratner, professor in the Departments of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at the UW, has been selected to receive the Pierre Galleti Award, the highest honor bestowed by the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). The institute represents more than 50,000 biomedical engineers around the country, and it gives the Galleti Award to an AIMBE fellow in recognition of his or her contributions to public awareness of medical and biological engineering, and to the promotion of the national interest in science, engineering and education.

Ratner is the Michael L. & Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology Commercialization and the director of University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials, an engineering research center that encourages collaboration between academia and industry.

His peers nominated him for the award “in recognition of enduring pioneering contributions and inspired leadership in biomaterials science, exceptional mentorship, and tireless promotion of public awareness and national interest in biomedical engineering research and education,” according to an AIMBE statement.

Ratner is a great choice for a recipient of the award, said Matt O’Donnell, the Frank & Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering at the UW. “The Pierre Galleti Award is generally considered the highest award that a bioengineer can receive,” said O’Donnell, who is a physicist by training who works in the fields of electrical engineering and bioengineering. “It doesn't surprise me in the least that Buddy has been chosen for this award given his seminal and long lasting impact on the field. Congratulations, Buddy!”

Ratner has made major contributions to the field of biomaterials science and engineering during his career, and has provided strong mentorship and leadership to fellow scientists and engineers, as well as public advocacy for the awareness and understanding of biomedical engineering. He was inducted into the AIMBE in 1993, and served as president of its board from 2002-2003.

Paul Yager, Chair of UW Bioengineering commented:

"This is one of a series of well-deserved  honors for Buddy, as well as a great honor for UW, as he is the first recipient of this decade-old award from our institution.  While I have not been privy to the details of the deliberations of the committee, I believe the award reflects his tireless international efforts over decades to strengthen the field of bioengineering, and the success of those efforts in the US culminating in the creation of a funding institute at NIH specifically to fund biomedical engineering (NIBIB).  Let me express how much we feel this honor is deserved, and our gratefulness for Buddy's continuing efforts on our behalf."