Ernest M. Burgess Endowed Chair for Orthopaedic Investigation

Est. 1983

The Ernest M. Burgess Endowed Chair for Orthopaedic Investigation was established in 1983 to benefit the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. It was named for former University of Washington faculty member Dr. Ernest M. Burgess, who dedicated his career to amputee care and prosthetics research. He helped create the Seattle Foot, a prosthesis that used spring technology to give amputees opportunities to engage in more active and athletic activities.

The ripple effect of Dr. Burgess’s work with prosthetics and amputee research has also found its way into developing countries. In 1989, Dr. Burgess founded the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation to help alleviate the suffering of amputees that remained after the Vietnam War. Since its beginning in Vietnam, the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation has expanded to serve countries such as Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Haiti, and continues to grow worldwide. The Prosthetics Outreach Foundation has helped more than 20,000 children and adults with limb loss or limb deformities gain access to high-quality orthopaedic and rehabilitation services so that they can enjoy lifelong mobility.

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