The chairman of the Biomedical Engineering Department at the Cullen College of Engineering has been elected to lead an international academy of his peers through September 2023.
Metin Akay, Ph.D., the founding chairman and the John S. Dunn Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering, was elected chairman of the governing council for the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE). The organization consists of more than 200 fellows who are recognized for their exceptional contributions to biomedical engineering.
Akay said he was thrilled to be elected chairman.
“I am highly dedicated to increasing the global public awareness of how biomedical engineers impact healthcare innovations in collaboration with scientists, physicians, healthcare professionals, and industry leaders,” he said.
“I have envisioned a special Healthcare Innovation Workshop to be held during the 2022 World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Singapore. This workshop will include IAMBE fellows, global industry and healthcare leaders, and the rising stars in the field of Biomedical Engineering. I am confident that it will also rapidly accelerate global scientific innovation and collaboration.”
IAMBE is affiliated with the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE), and reports to the IFMBE General Assembly and its Administrative Council. Many of IAMBE Fellows are also members of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
IFMBE is primarily a federation of national and transnational societies, representing interests in medical and biological engineering. It is also a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) for the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO), and uniquely positioned to influence the delivery of health care to the world through Biomedical and Clinical Engineering.
The main objective of the academy is to promote the fields of Medical and Biological Engineering, and to encourage young people entering the field and their development in the early stages of their career.
This is the third prominent honor Akay has received this year. In October, he was awarded an honorary degree from the Silesian University of Technology in Poland. In January, he was named the president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS).