In 1996, I received a $40M+, 11-year grant from the National Science Foundation to launch University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB). UWEB focused on the biomaterials used to make medical devices and medical diagnostics. Medical devices and diagnostics are estimated to be a $150B+ endeavor. Though devices manufactured by the medical industry save lives and … Continue reading “University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) Transitions Into the 21st Century”
Author: Buddy Ratner
Dr. Buddy D. Ratner is the Director of University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) Engineering Research Center and the Michael L. and Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology Commercialization. He is Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Ratner received his Ph.D. (1972) in polymer chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. From 1985-1996 he directed the NIH-funded National ESCA and Surface Analysis Center for Biomedical Problems (NESAC/BIO). In 1996, he assumed the directorship of UWEB. He is the editor of the Journal of Undergraduate Research in BioEngineering, an Associate Editor of Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, on the advisory board of Biointerphases and serves on the editorial boards of ten other journals. He is a past president of the Society For Biomaterials. He has authored over 400 scholarly works and has 17 issued patents. Ratner is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Vacuum Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the International College of Fellows Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE). Ratner served as president of AIMBE, 2002-2003. In 2002 Ratner was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering, USA. In 2003 he was elected President of Tissue Engineering Society of North America (TESNA). He is now on the council of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS). He has participated in the launch of four companies based on technologies from his laboratory. He has won numerous awards including Medard W. Welch Award of the American Vacuum Society (2002), Founders Award of the Society for Biomaterials (2004), C. William Hall Award from the Society for Biomaterials (2006) and the BMES Pritzker Distinguished Lecturer Award (2008). His research interests include biomaterials, tissue engineering, polymers, biocompatibility, surface analysis of organic materials, self assembly, nanobiotechnology and RF-plasma thin film deposition.