Nicholas Peppas Receives International Award from European Society for Biomaterials
Nicholas Peppas, the Cockrell Family Regents Chair #6 in Engineering and professor of chemical engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacy at UT Austin, recently received the 2015 International Award from the European Society for Biomaterials. The award was given at the 27th European Conference on Biomaterials in Krakow, Poland, Sept. 1.
The prestigious accolade recognizes scientists who have spent the majority of their career outside of Europe and have a widely recognized, high-scientific profile with major contributions to the field of biomaterials. Recipients of the award must also show strong evidence of collaborations with members of the scientific community in Europe. Peppas is in his seventh year as President of the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE), which will meet again in Krakow.
Peppas was honored for his extensive work in biomaterials, polymer physics, drug delivery and bionanotechnology. His cross-disciplinary skillset and approach blends modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering principles to design the next generation of medical systems and devices for patient treatment.
Over the past 40 years, Peppas has set the fundamentals and rational design of biomedical hydrogels and drug delivery systems and developed models of drug and protein diffusion in controlled release devices and biological tissues.
Dr. James Kirkpatrick, Professor of Pathology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany said, “It is a special privilege for me to be part of this decision-making process as you have made seminal contributions to the field over very many years as a biomaterial pioneer.” As president of IUSBSE, Peppas broke with the convention of always having the IUSBSE meeting at the Society of Biomaterials conference, allowing ESB to also have the privilege of hosting this important committee.
This award adds to the list of his many accolades including Peppas’ recent listing by the Ranking Web as “one of the most cited researchers in the world” and the Controlled Release Society’s recognition of Peppas’ exceptional lifetime contributions to delivery science at their 2015 Annual Meeting.
In 2012, Peppas received the Founders Award from the National Academy of Engineering, the Academy’s highest recognition, for his contributions to the field. In 2008, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) named him on their list of One Hundred Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era. Peppas is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, the National Academy of France, the Royal Academy of Spain, the Academy of Athens and the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Sciences of Texas (TAMEST).
In addition to his presidency of IUSBSE, Peppas is the past-chair of the Engineering Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Biomedical Engineering Council of Chairs. Previously, he served as president of the (US) Society for Biomaterials and the Controlled Release Society. He has supervised the research of 100 Ph.Ds and nearly 200 postdocs and visiting scientists.
Tags: 2015 International Award, 27th European conference on Biomaterials, Biomedical Engineering, biomedical hydrogels, chemical engineering, Cockrell Family Regents Chair #6, Dr. James Kirkparick, Dr. Nicholas Peppas, drug delivery systems, European Society for Biomaterials, International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering, IUSBSE, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Pharmacy, Texas ChE, The University of Texas at Austin, UT Austin