A Georgia Tech faculty member and alumnus have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Barbara Boyan, the Price Gilbert, Jr. Chair in Tissue Engineering in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, is one of 66 new members and ten foreign associates elected to the academy.

Boyan is known widely for her work in bone and cartilage biology in the fields of orthopaedics, plastic and reconstructive surgery and oral health, with specific emphasis on the role of sex in determining how cells respond to steroid hormones and to biomaterials used in medical devices. She is also an entrepreneur and has seen her inventions move from the design stage to use in patients with musculoskeletal pathologies.

“Barbara’s election to the NAE is a recognition of her scientific knowledge, her pioneering work in translational research and the high esteem in which she is held by her peers,” said Gary S. May, dean of the College of Engineering. “This is a significant recognition for one of our distinguished faculty members and is a testament to the talented faculty we have at Georgia Tech.”

Boyan is associate dean for research and innovation in the Georgia Tech College of Engineering and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. In addition, she serves as executive director of the Translational Research Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Science. Boyan is the director of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Laboratory for Craniofacial Plastic Surgery Research, the Center for Advanced Bioengineering for Soldier Survivability and the Center for Pediatric Healthcare Technology Innovation.

Boyan is also a Fellow of the International Team for Implantology, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, as well as past president of the American Association for Dental Research, past secretary/treasurer of the Orthopaedic Research Society and founder of several bio-related companies.

William (Bill) George, who earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1964, joins Boyan as a new NAE member. George was recognized by NAE for applying engineering principles to manufacturing to advance healthcare. Currently, George is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership courses since 2004. He is the author of four best-selling books. George is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic.

“We are also delighted that Georgia Tech alumnus, Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, was also recognized for inclusion in the NAE,” said May. “Bill transformed the healthcare industry while at Medtronic. He continues now through his philanthropy at Tech and scholarships to help educate the next generation of engineering leaders.”

 According to NAE, membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”