Herman P. Schwan
Herman P. Schwan, the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Biomedical
Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, has been a pioneer
in shaping the development of Bioengineering in the USA and Bioengineering
education. He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania’s
School of Medicine in 1950. In 1951 he was appointed Head of the
Electromedical Division of the Moore School of Electrical Engineering,
where he supervised the dissertation of the first recipient of a
doctoral degree in bioengineering, completed in 1953. In 1961 Professor
Schwan became Chairman of the Graduate Group on Biomedical Electronic
Engineering and in the same year was awarded one of the first three
NIH training grants in bioengineering. In 1973, Penn’s School
of Engineering and Applied Science formally established a Department
of Bioengineering, chaired by Professor Schwan, offering both undergraduate
and graduate educational programs.
Professor Schwan has made seminal research contributions to the
fields of biophysics and biomedical engineering, including the effects
of nonionizing radiation, electrical properties of tissues and cells,
development and applications of frequency and time domain responses
of electrodes, and ultrasonic properties of biological systems such
as tissues, cell suspensions and macromolecules. In recognition
of the importance and impact of his scholarly work, Professor Schwan
was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Life
Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE),
Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS)
and Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological
Engineering (AIMBE). He was elected an honorary member of the German
Biophysical Society and the Nordic Bioimpedance Club. He received
many awards, including the IEEE’s Edison Medal, the first
d’Arsonval Award of the Bioelectromagnetics Society and an
honorary doctorate of Science from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1986.
Bioengineering
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