The Cullen College of Engineering welcomes associate professor George Tan to its faculty ranks for the 2024-25 academic year as part of his joint appointment in the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. Tan joins UH from Texas Tech University, where he served as an assistant professor in the Industrial, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering department.
He is the third faculty member in the UH IE Department to win the prestigious NSF Faculty Early CAREER Award. His award-winning project, titled "Capillary-Incorporated Bioprinting of Biomimetic Soft Tissue Constructs," aims to develop a novel 3D bioprinting system for creating large human tissues embedded with artificial capillary vessels to enhance cell viability. This innovative work offers the potential to develop replacement tissues for transplants, reducing reliance on donor organs and mitigating transplant rejection.
"The IE department is making astounding advances. Joining the IE department as a Presidential Frontier Faculty is a thrilling opportunity for me to leverage the best of the Cullen College of Engineering and the Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. I am excited to be part of such a forward-thinking and dynamic team, and ready to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between advanced manufacturing and healthcare," said Tan.
Tan earned his Ph.D. in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University in 2015. His research focuses on advanced manufacturing processes for biomedicine, including electrospinning, hybrid bioprinting and direct-write photolithography. He also leads an NSF-sponsored education project focused on transformative pedagogical strategies for biomedical innovation, aiming to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and medical students.