LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
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GABRIEL SILVA, PH.D.
GABRIEL SILVA, PH.D.
Robert Beyster Endowed Chair in Engineering
Robert Beyster Endowed Chair in Engineering
Dr. Gabriel A. Silva has been appointed as the new holder of the Robert Beyster Endowed Chair in Engineering, effective March 1, 2022, for 5 years. The appointment was bestowed by Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.
Professor Silva is the Founding Director of the Center for Engineered Natural Intelligence, and Associate Director of the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind. He is a full Professor at UC San Diego Bioengineering and is an affiliated faculty member in the Department of NanoEngineering, and a faculty member in the BioCircuits Institute, the Neurosciences Graduate Program, Computational Neurobiology Program, and Institute for Neural Computation. In addition to his academic work, he has written popular press articles for a number of magazines, including Elemental, The Startup, Cantor’s Paradise, and BeingWell. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes (Mathematical Neuroscience Lab, http://www.silva.ucsd.edu/silvabio). This Endowed Chair appointment is a testament of Professor Silva’s stellar record and serves to support and advance further his teaching and research at UC San Diego.
Chair Engler and the scientific community celebrates Dr. Silva for this outstanding achievement.
Gabriel Silva, Ph.D.
Professor of BioengineeringGabriel Silva, Ph.D.
Karen Christman, Ph.D.
Professor of BioengineeringKaren Christman, Ph.D.
Pierre M. Galletti Professor of Bioengineering Innovation Endowed Chair
Pierre M. Galletti Professor of Bioengineering Innovation Endowed Chair
Dr. Karen L. Christman has been appointed as the new holder of the Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering Innovation, effective July 1, 2022, for 5 years. This distinguished appointment is a direct reflection of the high regard in which Dr. Christman is held by the UC San Diego academic community as stated by Chancellor Pradeep Khosla.
Dr. Christman is a Full Professor in the Department of Bioengineering. She is a member of the UC San Diego Institute of Engineering in Medicine and the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. Her record is outstanding in multiple dimensions and has an exceptional record of outstanding contributions to basic and translational science, bioengineering and medical innovation, service to the department, campus and profession, teaching at all levels and contributions that promote diversity. More on Dr. Christman's legacy and stellar record is found at http://christman.eng.ucsd.edu/people.
The Galletti legacy emphasizes the clinical and engineering translation of innovations in bioengineering science. Professor Bruce Wheeler, commented that “Dr. Christman’s record clearly addresses this, as she has developed – from basic science to application – research findings and novel technology that has become a serious contender for a new biomaterial therapies for treating widespread and serious medical conditions”.
Chair Engler and the scientific community celebrates Dr. Christman for this outstanding achievement.
Andrew McCulloch, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of BioengineeringAndrew McCulloch, Ph.D.
2022 Excellence in Stewardship Award
2022 Excellence in Stewardship Award
Overseen by the UC San Diego Foundation’s Donor Relations and Stewardship Committee, the annual Excellence in Stewardship awards promotes outstanding donor stewardship. The program recognizes UC San Diego employees who, although their job descriptions may not include donor stewardship, demonstrate excellent results in engaging with and acknowledging our donors and supporters.
Andrew McCulloch has a gift for showing impact. As the director for UC San Diego’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine, Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine, and Shu Chien Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Engineering and Medicine, he is committed to sharing the institute’s success over the last decade with donors and the community — from hosting virtual roadshows that highlight innovative research to facilitating ongoing relationships with philanthropists.
The COVID-19 pandemic allowed Professor McCullochto shine a light on donor stewardship in novel ways. As collaborative teams of engineers and physicians mobilized new resources to address the challenges of the pandemic, including new ventilator solutions, digital health tracking and better diagnostics, Professor McCulloch coordinated comprehensive donor communications. He shared project milestones and progress with top-level supporters in real time, but also developed positive relationships that provided insight into stewardship and impact expectations.
Professor McCulloch’s donor-centric approach and thoughtful understanding of philanthropy has also resulted in support for some of UC San Diego’s most ambitious collaborative projects. By starting with impact, he was able to craft a vision for an interdisciplinary scientific alliance that aims to transform human health on a global scale through the discovery and translation of the biological principles underlying human performance: the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance.
Now that the alliance has been established, Professor McCulloch continues to engage philanthropic leaders as partners in developing the transformational impact of the research happening there.
Perhaps even more significant than Professor McCulloch’s thoughtful approach to donor relations is his willingness and ability to connect people. Whether he is uniting researchers from across UC San Diego — or indeed, across institutions — or connecting donors with researchers who are advancing projects that align with donor interests, Professor McCulloch’s involvement in philanthropic relationships has a campus-wide impact.
Professor McCulloch is a Distinguished Professor of bioengineering and medicine. He received his undergraduate degree and doctorate in engineering science from the University of Auckland and joined UC San Diego in 1987. He serves as a member of the Qualcomm Institute, senior fellow of the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and leader of the Wu-Tsai Human Performance Alliance at UC San Diego. In addition to his professional awards and service in professional societies and journals, Professor McCulloch’s research uses multiscale engineering approaches to help understand, diagnose and treat heart diseases and to understand the biological principles underlying human athletic performance.
Bruce Wheeler, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of BioengineeringBruce Wheeler, Ph.D.
2022 Paul & Barbara Saltsman Distinguished Teaching Award, Non Senate Member
2022 Paul & Barbara Saltsman Distinguished Teaching Award, Non Senate Member
This award from the UC San Diego Academic Senate recognizes an individual’s creativity, innovative teaching methods, ability to motivate students to actively seek out knowledge, and an extraordinary level of teaching commitment. Dr. Bruce Wheeler, adjunct professor of Bioengineering received this award for his teaching efforts, his leadership with senior design, and his service to the Department as Vice-Chair.
What do you teach?
I’ve been teaching for 51 years – high school math (I’m certified in New York); at an experimental elementary school in Blacksburg Virginia; 6 years as a TA at Cornell; university professor ever since.
For 6 years I was the chief advisor to 1600 electrical engineering students at Illinois– one of my students is now a UC San Diego Bioengineering faculty member; I founded the Bioengineering Department at Illinois and created its bachelors, masters, and PhD programs –two of my first faculty hires are now my colleagues in the UC San Diego Bioengineering Department; I also created the bachelor’s degree program in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida while I was Department Chair. For the last six years I have taught every graduating senior in the Bioengineering senior design course.
What do you enjoy about teaching?
Seven years ago I came to UC San Diego for two reasons – to help with the start of the Biosystems major – apparently someone thought I knew something about starting bioengineering degree programs -- and because, as my beard and hair grew increasingly gray, I thought that I would have greater impact not from another R01 grant but rather by communicating my experiences to and working with undergraduate students.
This award says that I made the right choice. My dream has been fulfilled.
Why is teaching an important, integral part of your job?
It has been a most wonderful experience, being surrounded by incredibly bright, driven, personable, innovative people – with very diverse interests and backgrounds. They will shape the future of our state and our nation. I’m proud of all of them.
I’ve had the opportunity to encourage many to see a future beyond what they imagined when they entered UC San Diego. My students have kept me young – perhaps the greatest gift that anyone could ever get. They have given me far more than I have given them. I am most grateful. Thanks so very much to my loving and supportive family: my wife Gayle and daughters Jean and Julie – all biomedical engineers or biomedical practitioners; to the Bioengineering Department, to the Jacobs School, and to UC San Diego. Thanks to Adam Engler who nominated me and to students who supported me with letters.
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