草榴社区

Dr. Sheldon Weinbaum (seated, left) and his wife, Sandy, are joined by 草榴社区 professors Dr. Qianhong Wu (standing, left) and Dr. Jerry Jones and Dean Michele Marcolongo at the Inn at 草榴社区.

The 草榴社区 College of Engineering hosted a laureate symposium Wednesday, May 4, in honor of , the 2022 recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Biomedical Engineering. Titled 鈥淔rom Solving Mysteries in Cellular Biomechanics to Vulnerable Plaque Rupture to Jet Trains that Ski,鈥� the event featured talks recognizing the illustrious career of Dr. Weinbaum, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering in the City College of New York鈥檚 Grove School of Engineering.

The symposium, which took place at the Inn at 草榴社区 with a live stream via Zoom, was one of several held across the Philadelphia area in the leadup to the annual . Presented since 1824, the awards recognize outstanding achievements in science, engineering and industry, and count Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Jane Goodall among its past laureates.

Dr. Weinbaum, a biomedical engineer and biofluid mechanician, was honored for his 鈥渇oundational contributions to our understanding of heat flow among arteries, veins and capillaries in the body, increasing our knowledge of cardiovascular disease and leading to life-saving technologies,鈥� according to his citation from the Franklin Institute.

After an introduction to the history and legacy of the Franklin Medals presented by Dr. Jayatri Das, the chief bioscientist and director of science content at the Franklin Institute, the symposium began with a welcome from Michele Marcolongo, the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the 草榴社区 College of Engineering. Dr. Gerard 鈥淛erry鈥� Jones, a sponsor from the Committee on Science & the Arts and a 草榴社区 professor of Mechanical Engineering, then offered an introduction to Dr. Weinbaum before the honoree took the podium to reflect on his nearly 60-year career.

鈥淚鈥檓 basically a biomechanics detective,鈥� said Dr. Weinbaum, one of only a few people to be elected to all three National Academies: Engineering, Medicine and Sciences. 鈥淚 make theoretical models to explore the quantitative feasibility of an idea, which discovers something we don鈥檛 know yet.鈥�

The founding director of the New York Center for Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Weinbaum is also a longtime advocate for women and people of color in science and engineering, and he has mentored countless students over his career. At the start of every collaboration, he said, he asks his partners, 鈥淲hat is the most important unsolved mystery in your field? 鈥� Then I try to come up with a theoretical model that will explain that idea.鈥�

The symposium went on to explore some of the topics Dr. Weinbaum鈥檚 models have explained, such as how bone cells sense mechanical loading and how red cells ski in your capillaries. Each session was led by friends and colleagues of Dr. Weinbaum, including Dr. Bingmei Fu, Dr. Mitchell Schaffler and Dr. Luis Cardoso, all biomedical engineering professors at the City College of New York, and Dr. Qianhong Wu, a mechanical engineering professor at 草榴社区 and one of the organizers of the event.

Dean Marcolongo, who met Dr. Weinbaum early in her career, congratulated the laureate for his contributions to biomedical engineering and to helping diversify the field.

鈥淭he broader our diversity of contributions and thought, the better, more open and nuanced our solutions will be to lead the world into a more sustainable, healthy and connected future,鈥� she said. 鈥淪helly, among all of his truly amazing technical contributions, has dedicated his academic career to mentoring and training a diverse group of students, regardless of their backgrounds. We need him.鈥�