Newswise — A Purdue University professor will receive the National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush in a White House ceremony on Friday (July 27).
Leslie Geddes will receive the nation's highest honor for technological innovation.
Geddes, 86, is Showalter Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering. He will be recognized for more than 50 years of research that has spawned innovations ranging from burn treatments to miniature defibrillators, ligament repair to tiny blood pressure monitors for premature infants.
His most recent discovery, which will be described in an upcoming research journal, is a new method for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation that he says will be more effective than standard CPR.
"Dr. Geddes is an incredibly innovative thinker and a prolific inventor," said Leah H. Jamieson, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering. "His work is a major reason Indiana has become a national leader in biomedical industries."
Geddes will receive the award with four other 2006 National Medal of Technology laureates during a 1:45 p.m. ceremony in the East Room of the White House. President Bush will present the awards to the 2005 and 2006 National Medal of Technology and the 2005 and 2006 National Medal of Science laureates. The medal recipients also will be honored during a 6:30 p.m. reception and dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington.
The National Medal of Technology program is administered by the Technology Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The program was established by Congress in 1980, and medals were first issued in 1985.The medal is given annually to individuals, teams and companies for accomplishments in the innovation, development and commercialization of technology.
Geddes officially retired in 1991, but he still comes to work every day around 4:30 a.m., teaches and has ongoing research projects.
"Leslie Geddes is not only an incredible research force but a revered teacher as well," said George Wodicka, head of Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. "Everyone who works with him is excited and motivated by his tireless dedication, his curiosity and willingness to test new ideas in the laboratory."
Geddes began his career in 1952 at Baylor University College of Medicine and was recruited to Purdue in 1974 to help the university develop an organized biomedical engineering research center and create new technologies in the field. In 2004 Geddes received the university's Outstanding Commercialization Award to recognize his 30 patents, many now licensed by Indiana companies. Patents and technologies emerging from Geddes' lab have generated $15 million in royalties for Purdue.
"Dr Geddes is a national treasure," said Willis A. Tacker, a Purdue professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences who worked with Geddes at Baylor. "The impact of his life on other people, many of whom don't even know his name, has been enormous. His scientific contributions span decades. His work has prolonged the lives and improved the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. His development of devices, materials and procedures has created products, companies and jobs for thousands of people. Even 45 years ago, his medical monitoring devices helped to put the first Americans in space."
Among his team's accomplishments are:
* A regenerative tissue graft made from a layer of a pig's intestines known as small intestinal submucosa, or SIS, which has been used by surgeons to treat more than 200,000 patients so far.
* An automated miniature defibrillator - a device that jolts the heart with electricity during a heart attack - that is small enough to implant inside a person.
* A pacemaker that automatically increases a person's heart rate during exercise.
* A portable electrocardiograph that patients use to monitor the electrical patterns of their own hearts.
* A miniature cuff that fits over the pinky-size limbs of premature infants to measure blood pressure, heart and respiratory rates, and the amount of oxygen in the blood.
* A device that tells medical personnel whether they are properly administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The device could be crucial in saving lives because every minute of delay in resuscitation reduces the chance of survival by 10 percent.
"In addition to his research, his teaching has inspired thousands of students, and those students will no doubt inspire others," Tacker said. "Probably his most lasting greatness resides in the ongoing, dynamic lives of his students and subsequently in their students."
Geddes' work has brought monetary benefits to Purdue researchers, as well. One-third of the $15 million in royalties goes into the university's venture fund, which supports other research to develop new technologies. Indiana-based companies that have licensed and commercialized Geddes' inventions are Cook Biotech Inc., DePuy Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., and Hillenbrand Industries.
Geddes is the second Purdue faculty member to become a National Medal of Technology laureate. The other is Jerry Woodall, a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Related Web sites:
Leslie Geddes: https://engineering.purdue.edu/BME/People/viewPersonById?resource_id=3109
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering: https://engineering.purdue.edu/BME/
Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photo of Leslie Geddes is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+mugshots/geddes-l04.jpg
RSS