On Friday, April 19, the Georgia Institute of Technology honored the most outstanding faculty and staff during the 2018-2019 academic year at its annual honors luncheon held in the student center ballroom. The event honors faculty and staff whose service, activities, and accomplishments have been particularly noteworthy over the past year.

This year, six Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering faculty members were recognized for their excellence.
 

Robert Butera, associate dean for research and innovation, professor of electrical and computer engineering and professor of biomedical engineering, was honored with the ANAK Award. Since 1942, and annually since 1947, the ANAK Society has given this award to a faculty member at Georgia Tech who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Institute and to the student body through teaching, research, advisement, and general involvement in campus life.

Gari Clifford, associate professor of biomedical engineering and biomedical informatics at Emory University and Georgia Tech and chair of Emory's department of biomedical informatics, won the Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Award. This award recognizes a research team, preferably composed of both faculty and staff, that creates a new thought leadership platform to significantly expand Georgia Tech’s research portfolio.

Wilbur Lam, associate professor of pediatrics at Emory School of Medicine and the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, won the  Sigma Xi Faculty Best Paper Award. This award is given to faculty authors of an outstanding paper published in the previous calendar year.

Manu Platt, associate professor in the Coulter Department, won the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Advisor Award. This award recognizes the achievements of a faculty member's doctoral students who completed all degree requirements from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2018.

James Rains, professor of the practice in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering and the director of BME Capstone, won the Georgia Tech Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Undergraduate Educator award. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to undergraduate education.

Younan Xia, professor of biomedical engineering, Brock Family Chair, GRA Eminent Scholar in Nanomedicine, with joint appointments in chemistry and biochemistry, and chemical and biomolecular engineering, won the Sigma Xi Sustained Research Award. This faculty award recognizes sustained research in a given area. Xia, one of the world’s most cited chemistry and materials science researchers, previously received the Materials Research Society (MRS) Medal. The MRS Medal is awarded for a specific outstanding recent discovery or advancement that has a major impact on the progress of a materials-related field. It is one of the highest recognitions a materials scientist can receive.

The event was hosted by Kim Harrington, associate vice president, office of human resources, and Colin Potts, vice provost, undergraduate education, office of the provost. G.P. “Bud” Peterson, president of Georgia Tech, presented the last award and gave the final remarks.

Media Contact:

Walter Rich

Communications Manager

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology