11/4/2009
By Barbara Rea
Washington University's Alumni Association will commemorate the institution's founding at the annual Founders Day celebration Nov. 7 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel-St. Louis Riverfront.
A hallmark of the event is the presentation of Distinguished Faculty Awards, Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Robert S. Brookings Awards. David McCullough, the acclaimed historian and award-winning author, will deliver the keynote address.
Distinguished Faculty Award: Frank Yin
The Distinguished Faculty Awards will be presented to four outstanding faculty members who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the intellectual and personal growth of their students.
Originally from China, Frank Yin came to the United States with his parents in 1948. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He then went to the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a doctorate in bioengineering as well as a medical degree. Yin's research spans the fields of biofluid and soft tissue mechanics, applying the concepts of structural analysis to blood vessels, heart muscle and valves, and cells.
After 19 years on the biomedical engineering and medical faculties at Johns Hopkins University, Yin was recruited in 1997 to head WUSTL's department of biomedical engineering and direct the Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering.
Under his leadership, the fledgling department was awarded $15 million from the Uncas A. Whitaker Foundation to construct a new building and hire new faculty.
Today, the department continues to show dynamic growth, with more than 16 faculty, 100 graduate students and more than 300 undergraduates in teaching and research. The new Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Hall, when completed next year, will adjoin Whitaker Hall on campus and provide room for growth.
Yin's achievements have been recognized by many professional organizations. He is a founding fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering; a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Institute of Biological Imaging and Bioengineering; and a past president of the Biomedical Engineering Society.
Yin is sought after by numerous academic and industrial advisory boards. He currently is editor-in-chief of the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.
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