Invited Speakers of TASSA 2018 Conference, Dr. Kenneth R. Lutchen

Dr. Kenneth R. Lutchen, is Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University. He received his B.S. from the University of Virginia and Ph.D from Case Western Reserve University. He has published over 135 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dean Lutchen was Chair of Biomedical Engineering from 1998-2006 over which the department ranking improved from 18th to 6th in the nation. Dr. Lutchen is Past-President of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Since becoming Dean, the College’s Graduate Ranking in US News and World Report has improved from 54th to 34th , the largest improvement of any school in the top 54 over that time. Since 2015 he has overseen the creation and resourcing of several new major research centers, including The Biological Design Center, The Precision Diagnostics Center, and the Neurophotonics Center. During his Deanship, he has orchestrated the creation of a new Division of Materials Science and Engineering and a new Division of Systems Engineering and Masters programs in Robotics, Cybersecurity and Data Analytics. Recently, he oversaw the creation of a new 20,000 sq. ft Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC) designed to partner with industry to instill interdisciplinary design and product innovation skills throughout engineering education. Dean Lutchen has focused on transforming engineering education to create the Societal Engineer®, an individual who combines their engineering foundation with empowering attributes to address society’s challenges regardless of their career paths. He also drove the creation of a unique Technology Inspiration Ambassador program that trains Engineering students to inspire K-12 students to pursue Engineering. In 5 years this program has reached over 20,000 K-12 students in 26 states.

In 2016 Dean Lutchen was honored to be named a member of the Advisory Committee to the Directorate for Engineering of The National Science Foundation. Dr. Lutchen is on the Board of Directors of the Wyss Institute at Harvard and serves several other academic and corporate advisory boards as well as on review panels for the NIH and NSF. Dr. Lutchen has been the recipient of the AIMBE Pierre Galletti Award, AIMBE’s highest honor, and the College of Engineering’s Professor of the Year Award and the Biomedical Engineering Professor of the Year Award — twice.