The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering has named three members of the BME family as Fellows. Professor Ben M. Hillberry, John A DeFord (VP, Science and Technology, C. R. Bard, Inc.), and Greg Ayers (CEO, CryoCor, Inc.) will be inducted in a ceremony to be held at the National Academy in March.

Founded in 1991, this professional society represents the field of medical and biological engineering. The society works to promote awareness of the field, encourage public policies that advance the field, improve relations and cooperation within the field, and recognize outstanding individual and group achievements within the field.

Ben M. Hillberry is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue and founded the Biomechanics Laboratory for simulation and evaluation of knee and spinal implants. His research interests include the development of total joint prosthesis, the mechanical factors contributing to the development of arthritis, motion and force analysis of skeletal systems, and performance evaluation of human systems.

John A. DeFord earned his B.S. and M.S in Electrical Engineering, and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue. He served as President and CEO of Cook, Inc., Managing Director of Early State Partners (a venture capital fund), and currently serves as Vice President for Science and Technology at C. R. Bard, Inc. and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Gregory M Ayers earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue and his M.D. from Indiana University. He served as Vice President of InControl, Inc., and currently is founder and CEO of CryoCor, Inc., CEO of SonarMed, Inc., is a Venture Partner at MPM Capital, serves on the board of Hemosense, Inc., and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

"This is a well deserved honor for these outstanding individuals," states George Wodicka. "AIMBE is the premier biomedical engineering organization, and serves as a key voice of the field to a variety of audiences. We are glad that they have chosen to honor the important contributions of these members of our BME family."