Earlier this month (May 2016), a diverse committee of faculty, staff, students, along with an external advisory board member, began the process of seeking and evaluating nominations of candidates to fill the position of chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). The Coulter Department is a joint department of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Engineering and Emory University’s School of Medicine with buildings, faculty, and staff located on both campuses. The chair reports directly to the dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech and the dean of the School of Medicine at Emory.

The Coulter Department's biomedical engineering graduate program is ranked #2, and it's undergraduate program is ranked #3 by U.S. News and World Report.

According to Steven McLaughlin, co-chair of the search committee and the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, “this [chair position] is unlike any other biomedical engineering department in the country because of this program’s highly ranked reputation and the unique Georgia Tech and Emory structure. This person will have more leadership opportunities than you would normally get as a department head, really significant fundraising exposure, and serve an externally-focused role for both national and international leadership in the biomedical field.”

Allan Levey, search committee co-chair and executive associate dean for research at the Emory University School of Medicine, said, “Emory University and Georgia Tech each has unique strengths and this is an opportunity to bring together healthcare and technology – it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a difference. There has never been a more important time to marry the great strengths of our universities to collaborate on technology, research, and teaching to transform the future of healthcare.”

C. Ross Ethier, professor and Georgia Research Alliance Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr. Eminent Scholar in Bioengineering,has agreed to serve as interim chair. He joined the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory in 2012 after being recruited from the Imperial College of London. He led the Department of Bioengineering at the College as department head, and was also the director of the Institute for Biomedical Engineering. He will assume the interim chair role on August 1, 2016. Gary May, dean of the College of Engineering, said, ”Ross brings a wide range of administrative experience to the position along with his extensive research knowledge. With his background, I am extremely confident that he will be able to provide sound and steady leadership until a permanent chair is in place.”

The full search committee consists of:

Allan Levey, co-chair, Emory University

Steve McLaughlin, co-chair, Georgia Tech

Ed Botchwey – Coulter Department faculty

Anita Corbett – Emory University School of Medicine faculty

Mike Davis – Coulter Department faculty

Tracie Dinkins – Coulter Department staff

Courtney Ferencik – Coulter Department staff

Bob Gross – Emory University School of Medicine faculty

Bob Guldberg – Parker H. Petit Institute, Georgia Tech faculty

Hanjoong Jo – Coulter Department faculty

Jessica Joyce – Coulter Department graduate student

Melissa Kemp – Coulter Department faculty

Gabe Kwong – Coulter Department faculty

Christopher Schenck – Coulter Department undergraduate student

Stephen Snowdy – Coulter Department advisory board

Malu Tansey – Emory University School of Medicine faculty

Bob Taylor – Coulter Department faculty

Johnna Temenoff – Coulter Department faculty

Cheng Zhu – Coulter Department faculty

View the Coulter Department chair job description and how to apply.

Media Contacts:

Walter Rich

Communications Manager

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology