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Fischell, Alumni to Be Honored

Fischell Department of Bioengineering benefactor Robert E. Fischell (M.S. '53, physics) and Clark School chemical engineering alumni Chan-Mo Park (M.S. '64, Ph.D. '69) and Anh N. Duong (B.S. '82) will be honored at this year's Alumni Association Awards Gala.

Fischell is the recipient of the 2009 President's Distinguished Alumnus Award, which will be presented at the gala this month.

The University of Maryland Alumni Association's President's Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes an alumnus or alumna "for achieving national recognition for excellence, both personally and professionally." Fischell was nominated for the honor by former Clark School interim dean Herbert Rabin.

Fischell and his family donated $31 million to establish the bioengineering department, which offers both undergraduate and graduate education, and to create an institute for biomedical devices. He holds more than 200 patents, is the father of modern medical stents, lifetime pacemaker batteries and implantable insulin pumps. Fischell's recent projects have included the AngelMed Guardian, a pacemaker-sized implant capable of informing both the patient and medical personnel via wireless connections if a heart attack is imminent; and the Neuralieve Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment System, a handheld device that uses noninvasive technology to deliver magnetic pulses to the brain's occipital cortex, stopping migraines at their earliest signs.

Park will receive the Alumni Association's International Alumnus Award, which is presented to "a University of Maryland alumna/us who was born or lives outside of the United States, and has distinguished himself/herself by providing significant leadership to another country’s educational, cultural, social, and/or economic development."

Park is the special advisor to the president of Korea for science and technology, professor emeritus and immediate past president of the Pohang University of Science and Technology, co-chair of the Founding Committee of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, and an elected fellow of the Korean Academy of Sciences and Technology. His distinguished academic career has also included professorships at the University of Maryland, College Park, The Catholic University of America, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He has served as the president of numerous professional associations in Korea and the U.S. and the Accreditation Board for Engineering Education of Korea. He has been decorated by the Republic of Korea with the National Order of Camellia and the Blue Stripes Order of Merit for his contributions to the advancement and development of science and technology. Park's research interests include information technology, digital image processing, virtual reality and system simulation.

Duong is the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, which recognizes an "engineering alumnus who exemplifies the bold visions, bright future and new directions that make them a proud reflection of the leadership that is nurtured and grown at Maryland."

Duong, director of the Borders and Maritime Security Division in the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security, is an internationally recognized expert in explosives currently focusing her efforts on combating terrorism. Inspired by those who helped her family flee Vietnam in 1975, she has spent the past 23 years serving the soldiers of her adopted country. One of her most significant accomplishments was the development of the first U.S. thermobaric bomb, used in Afghanistan to destroy command posts situated in deep caves and tunnels. She is the recipient of numerous government, naval, and civilian honors, including the Meritorious Civilian Award and the Dr. Arthur Bisson Award for Naval Technology Achievement. She has been interviewed by national and international media, featured in the documentary film Why We Fight and the Discovery Channel's "Future Weapons" series, and profiled in Sybil Hatch's book Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers.

April 7, 2009

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Fischell, Alumni to Be Honored