Pavlos Vlachos, the St. Vincent Health Professor of Healthcare Engineering and director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue University, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. 

Pavlos Vlachos, the St. Vincent Health Professor of Healthcare Engineering and director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue University, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. This honor is considered one of the most prestigious recognitions in the field of physics and is awarded to no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership each year. 

The APS Fellowship Program was created for those in the physics community to recognize professional peers who have contributed to advances in physics through original research and publication, innovative applications, teaching of physics, or leadership in or service to APS.

Vlachos was nominated “for developing advanced tools for non-invasive flow diagnostics and uncertainty quantitation, and for translating such tools into biomedical and clinical applications, particularly the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease and drug delivery.”

He is internationally recognized for his leading research in biofluids and biomechanics, specializing in measurement science and noninvasive diagnostics for biomedical and clinical applications.

In April 2023, Vlachos was elected as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) for technology that has changed how cardiologists plan for life-saving surgeries on babies with congenital heart defects. That work, along with much of his current and past research, earned him the honor that very few engineers receive from the AHA. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

“Being elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society is a humbling honor,” said Vlachos. “It recognizes the work my team, numerous collaborators and I have done to advance noninvasive diagnostics and measurement science. Moreover, it highlights the real-world impact physics can have beyond the lab.”

The recognition is about more than scientific achievement, Vlachos said. “It’s about harnessing the power of physics to benefit patients and improve healthcare outcomes directly. It’s exciting to be at the intersection of physics and medicine, where advancing diagnostic tools can impact lives. This award fuels my desire to push boundaries and find new ways to make science work for people.”