October 12 and 13, 2005

“Photopolymerized Hydrogels as Niches to Promote Tissue Regeneration”

Dr. Kristi S. Anseth is the Tisone Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado. Additionally, Dr. Anseth is an Associate Faculty Director for the Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Colorado and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Assistant Investigator. Professor Anseth’s research and educational program focuses on exploring, designing and characterizing new generations of multifunctional macromers that can be photopolymerized to form degradable networks, where the degradation is predictable and readily controlled. Ongoing projects in her group include the design of new orthopaedic biomaterials for fracture fixation, photoencapusulation of chondroctyes for cartilage tissue engineering, biomimetic approaches to heart valve tissue engineering, microfluidic bioassays, photopolymerization of micro and nanoparticles for drug delivery, DNA delivery for tissue engineering applications, and photopolymerizable tissue adhesives. Among her many honors, Dr. Anseth is the 2004 NSF Alan T. Waterman Award winner and has been recognized with meritorious awards from AIChE, NIH, and AIMBE.

Dr. Anseth received her doctorate in chemical engineering at the University of Colorado in 1994, and her baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering with highest distinction at Purdue University in 1992.

November 4-5, 2004

“Controlled Construction of Thin Film Nano-assemblies: New Explorations of Polymer Multilayer Coatings”

Dr. Paula T. Hammond is the Mark Hyman Jr. Career Development Chair Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Hammond was one of a core group of founding faculty members involved in the planning and development of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) at MIT. Professor Hammond’s research and educational program emphasizes the use of molecular aspects in the study and development of new materials and processes. Her general areas of interest include electrical and optical properties of polymers, biomaterials, and nano- to microscale fabrication using directed and self-assembly of polymers. Dr. Hammond just completed a term as a Radcliffe Fellow (formerly known as the Bunting Fellowship) at Harvard University, where she spent a part of her sabbatical in fall 2003.

Dr. Hammond received her doctorate in chemical engineering at MIT in 1993, her master’s degree at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1988, and her baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering at MIT in 1984.

October 28-29, 2003

“Exploiting the Innovator’s Dilemma: New Paradigms in Polymer Science"

Dr. Eric J. Amis is chief of the Polymers Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Before joining NIST, he was on the Chemistry faculty at the University of Southern California. He has been editor of the Journal of Polymer Science: Polymer Physics, is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), chair of the APS Division of Polymer Physics, and chaired three Gordon Research Conferences. He was awarded the Silver Medal from the U.S. Department of Commerce for Leadership in advancing new technical programs in the Polymers Division at NIST. His research is primarily in the areas of solution rheology combined with scattering methods to investigate complex polymer systems. Recently, he initiated a program to apply combinatorial and high throughput methods to materials physics and biomaterials, leading to the establishment of the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center and a major NIST initiative in metrology for tissue engineering.

Dr. Amis received his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 and his baccalaureate degree in Chemistry at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, in 1976.

October 9-10, 2002

"Exploring the Interface between Materials and Biotechnology"

Professor Dr. Alan J. Russell is the Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and is Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine/UPMC Health System. He is also a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering and is the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative (PTEI). Dr. Russell has received numerous prestigious awards for his outstanding contributions to research, teaching and public service. Specific recognition of his accomplishments includes: citation in R&D 100, the Carnegie Award for Excellence in Science and Technology, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow, Editorial Board of the Journal of Molecular Catalysis (Enzymatic), Encyclopedia of Catalysis and Biocatalysis & Biotransformations, the American Cyanamid Research Award, the Presidential Young Investigator Award by the National Science Foundation, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award, and he is in Who’s Who in America.

Dr. Russell received his baccalaureate degree in Biochemistry and Applied
Molecular Biology from the University of Manchester Institute of Science
and Technology in the United Kingdom in 1984, and his doctorate in
Biological Chemistry from Imperial College, the University of London in 1987.