Robert F. Rushmer Endowed Lectureship
About the Robert F. Rushmer Endowed Lecture
The Robert F. Rushmer Endowed Lectureship was created to bring outstanding leaders in the field of bioengineering to the University of Washington community for exchange of ideas. The first Rushmer Lecture was held in 1987.
This lecture honors Dr. Robert F. Rushmer, who, in 1967, founded the UW Center for Bioengineering, which later became the Department of Bioengineering. An extraordinary pioneer, mentor and leader, he had a vision to establish a place where many different disciplines work together towards a common goal of providing an improved quality of life for all.
Dr. Rushmer began his work at the UW in 1947 in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, where his team of physics and engineering students developed a battery of equipment to monitor the cardiovascular system in healthy, active animals without inflicting pain. The team was able to monitor cardiac functions in engineering terms — changing dimensions, pressure, flow and derived variables such as acceleration, power and work. In the 1950s, Dr. Rushmer and his colleagues applied Doppler ultrasound to imaging the pumping heart and measuring blood flow. These diagnostic devices were credited with reducing premature deaths from circulatory diseases. The technology was also modified to detect fetal heartbeats. Dr. Rushmer received many honors and awards for these cardiovascular and ultrasound monitors. Several earlier models were displayed at the Smithsonian Museum.
Throughout his life, Dr. Rushmer advocated for using medical technology appropriately and for considering the ethical, political, social and technological consequences of medical advances.
Past Speakers
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2022 Rushmer Lecture – Edwin G. Lindo, JD Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Family Medicine Assistant Dean for Social and Health Justice, Office of Healthcare Equity UW “Pathologizing Racism: Interrogating Towards More Equitable Science” |
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2018 Rushmer Lecture and 50th Anniversary Keynote Address – Roderic I. Pettigrew CEO of Engineering Health (EnHealth) and executive dean for Engineering Medicine (EnMed) at Texas A&M and Houston Methodist Hospital. “Engineering Medicine: Decades of Transformation and the Promise of Healthy Longevity” |
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2017 Rushmer Lecture – Wolfgang Knoll Wolfgang Knoll, Ph.D. Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Vienna, Austria “Sensing Smells” |
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2015 Rushmer Lecture – Joseph M. DeSimoneThe Chancellor’s Eminent Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University and of Chemistry at UNC. |
Allan S. Hoffman Endowed Lecture in Bioengineering
About the Allan S. Hoffman Endowed Lecture in Bioengineering
The Allan S. Hoffman Endowed Lectureship in Bioengineering was created to bring distinguished scholars in the fields of biomaterial or molecular engineering to the University of Washington.
The Hoffman Lecture honors UW Bioengineering Professor Emeritus Dr. Allan Hoffman, who is known as an international “ambassador for biomaterials.” Joining UW’s faculty in 1970, Dr. Hoffman began to synthesize polymers and hydrogels with special physical and biomedical properties. By combining these special biomaterials with drugs, enzymes and antibodies, he pioneered applications of temperature and pH-responsive polymers and hydrogels. His groundbreaking discoveries led to advances in the fields of drug delivery, diagnostic assay development and surface science.
Dr. Hoffman has published over 500 scientific papers and is inventor or co-inventor on 273 patents and patent applications, many of which have been licensed to industry. His numerous awards include the Founders’ Awards from the Society for Biomaterials in 2000 and from the Controlled Release Society in 2007, and election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005. He is one of five members of UW BioE who have been elected to the NAE. He also received the 2016 Controlled Release Society Foundation Recognition Award and the 2017 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal. Learn more about Dr. Hoffman.
Featured Speakers
2023 Hoffman Lecture – Buddy Ratner
Allan S. Hoffman Endowed Lecture Presents Buddy Ratner, Ph.D. Joint Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering, Michael L. & Myrna Darland Endowed Chair in Technology and Commercialization Action-Packed Adventure from Artificial Hearts, through Regenerative [...]
2022 Hoffman Lecture – Daniel Cohn
Allan S. Hoffman Endowed Lecture Presents Daniel Cohn, Ph.D. Professor, Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel “4D printing: From the ‘ink’ to the medical device” Thursday, October 27th, 2022 1:00-2:00 PM [...]
2019 Hoffman Lecture – Kristi S. Anseth
“Dynamically Tunable Hydrogels through Bio-click Reactions and their Applications in Regenerative Biology” Kristi S. Anseth, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor, Department Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado
2018 Hoffman Lecture – Stuart Cooper
"50 Years of Polyurethane Biomaterials: The Search for Blood Compatibility and Biostability" Stuart L. Cooper, Ph.D., the Distinguished College of Engineering Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Ohio State University.
2017 Hoffman Lecture – Allan S. Hoffman
The 2017 Biomaterials Showcase and Hoffman Symposium, held in conjunction with UW BioE’s 50th anniversary. Featured Presenter, UW Bioengineering Professor Emeritus Allan S. Hoffman.
2016 Hoffman Lecture – Kinam Park
“Drug Delivery Systems: Accelerated Evolution for the Future” Kinam Park, Ph.D., the Showalter Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering & College of Pharmacy, Purdue University.
2015 Hoffman Lecture – Molly S. Shoichet
“Engineering Personalized Medicine” - Molly S. Shoichet, Ph.D., University Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
2014 Hoffman Lecture – David A. Tirrell
"Reinterpreting the Genetic Code: from Polymers to Proteomics" David A. Tirrell, Ph.D. Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
2013 Hoffman Lecture – Nicholas A. Peppas
"Hydrogels, Intellegence and Therapeutic Systems: Is there a Future?". Nicholas A. Peppas, Fletcher S. Pratt Chaired Professor in Chemical, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin.