Tulane professor named AAAS Fellow
Donald Gaver, chair of biomedical engineering at Tulane University, has been named a 2015 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world"s largest general scientific society.
Gaver is among 347 scientists being recognized this year for scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. He is being specifically honored for “distinguished contributions to the field of biofluid mechanics and surfactant transport in pulmonary pathophysiology, and for academic leadership in the field of biomedical engineering.”
“I am delighted by this honor,” Gaver said. “In my opinion, AAAS is a superb advocacy organization for the sciences and engineering. I"m very happy that AAAS recognizes the advances we have made at Tulane and in New Orleans, and I believe that my election as a Fellow of AAAS is a recognition of our successes.”
In nominating Gaver for the honor, Laura Levy, vice president for research at Tulane and a professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane School of Medicine, cited his instructional approaches, research background and work with graduate students, along with his creation of an NSF-funded interdisciplinary doctoral program in bioinnovation. Under the program, students conduct research aimed at developing marketable technology and devices of clinical relevance while completing coursework in business and entrepreneurship to prepare them for careers beyond academia.
“In order to support these initiatives, Professor Gaver and his colleagues were awarded newly renovated collaborative research space on the Health Sciences Campus,” Levy wrote. “The university has clearly invested in his vision by awarding this resource.”
Gaver and the 346 other new Fellows will receive an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin Feb. 13 at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. The 2015 AAAS Fellows will be announced in the Nov. 27 issue of the journal Science.
