Dr. David M. Umulis begins as new Head of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
Umulis previously served as professor of biomedical engineering and of agricultural and biological engineering, as well as associate head for research in BME. He joined Purdue Engineering faculty in 2009.
"The future of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering is very bright, and I'm thrilled to lead this vibrant school moving forward with energy, equity, diligence, strategy, integrity and experience," said Umulis. "The School is poised for preeminence in many domains, however I cannot establish preeminence alone. The metaphor of a Boilermaker to me always casts a vision of a team working on a project so big that no one person can build it alone. I look forward to leading our talented faculty, staff, alumni and students in future areas of strategic growth in learning and research, including multimodal sensing, smart wearable and implantable devices, data-driven personalized medicine, rapid diagnostics, and healthcare delivery."
Umulis received a BSE in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Umulis will succeed George R. Wodicka, the founding head of BME, who has served on the School’s faculty since 1989 and as head since 1998. During Wodicka’s tenure as head, the School has built an intellectual property portfolio of more than 100 issued U.S. patents, with more than half licensed to Indiana medical device companies. Among other achievements are major partnerships with the Indiana University School of Medicine and other academic and corporate entities; construction and expansion of a new BME building; creation of MS/MBA, MD/PhD and MD/MS programs with business and medical schools; and research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF).
Wodicka will remain as a BME faculty member and continue to serve the School, College and University — including as deputy director of the Indiana CTSI program, faculty co-chair for the Engineering-Medicine Initiative, and as co-director of the Engineering Pediatrics Consortium with Riley Hospital for Children.