Columbia BME Seminar Series 2022-2023

REGISTER HERE FOR BME SEMINARS - FRIDAYS @ 11:00 AM EASTERN

Note that the Richard Skalak Bioengineering Lecture is part of the Columbia BME Seminar Series, so attendees need only register once for the recurring weekly Zoom webinar.

ABOUT THE RICHARD SKALAK BIOENGINEERING LECTURE

Richard Skalak BS’43, MS’46, PhD’54 (1923–1997) was already a distinguished professor of civil engineering and engineering mechanics, specializing in fluids and oil extraction, before turning his formidable attention to bioengineering in the late 1960s.
 
In a groundbreaking series of studies, many with Columbia colleague Shu Chien, Skalak was among the first to apply principles of engineering mechanics to understand the behavior of biomaterials. His 1969 paper, “Deformation of Red Blood Cells in Capillaries,” a collaboration with P. I. Branemark published in Science, precisely described and quantified the flow of red blood cells. Later research—published in more than 200 papers—delved into cell membranes, bone and soft tissue growth, immune response, and many other topics.
 
Skalak also worked to develop titanium dental implants, contributing significantly to the broader practice of skeletal reconstruction. His work has proved foundational to advances in understanding and treating cancer, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and many other diseases.
 
Having joined the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in 1944, Skalak taught at the Engineering School at Columbia University for more than 40 years. He chaired the department from 1972 to 1975 and became James Kip Finch Professor of Engineering Mechanics in 1977. From 1978 to 1987, he was director of Columbia’s Bioengineering Institute. After retiring from Columbia in 1988, he directed the Institute for Mechanics and Materials as a professor of bioengineering at UC San Diego, passing away in 1997.
 
Skalak, a recipient of the Theodore von Karman Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers, was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the New York Academy of Medicine. He also served as president of the Society of Biomedical Engineering. The School hosts the Richard Skalak Bioengineering Lecture in his honor.

RICHARD SKALAK LECTURES

Richard Skalak (1996); Wilson Greatbatch (1997); Robert Nerem (1997); Steven Goldstein (1997); Larry McIntire (1998); Charles Peskin (1999); Rik Huiskes (1999); Cheng Zhu (2002); Sheldon Weinbaum (2003); Savio Lau-Yuen Woo (2003); Louis J. Soslowsky (2007); Thomas P. Andriacchi (2008); Michael S. Sacks (2008); David L. Butler (2010); Jeffrey A. Hubbell (2011); Subra Suresh (2012); Patrick Prendergast (2014); Cato Laurencin (2017); Susan Margulies (2018); James Collins (2021)