Origins: How the Department of Medical Engineering Was Born
Peggy (left), and Andrew Cherng, who endowed the Cherng Department of Medical Engineering in 2017.
Ten years ago, Caltech became the first institution in the country to launch a department with the name “medical engineering.” On its 10th anniversary, the department has become a leader in the development of micro/nano medical technologies and devices, medical nanoelectronics, biomedical materials and biomechanics, fluidics and bioinspired design, and medical imaging and sensing. Here, some of the department’s influential faculty members talk about how it began, and where it is going.
by Omar Shamout
Ares Rosakis, chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) from 2009 to 2015 and the Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering, on introducing academic departments in place of teaching options: “The things that were in my mind when I became chair had to do with making the division nimbler and more capable of responding to emerging interdisciplinary opportunities while addressing urgent societal needs.
So, I introduced a well-defined departmental structure allowing us to increase the internal and external visibility of EAS and to focus our fundraising activities. The effectiveness of this approach became evident with the creation of the new medical engineering department.”
YC Tai, the Anna L. Rosen Professor of Electrical Engineering and Medical Engineering, in an oral history with the Caltech Heritage Project: “There were many faculty who thought their research could expand into medicine. We started the effort to start a department, including a preparation to present this idea to the faculty board. That was in 2013.”
Tai, on the voting to create the department: “During the faculty board meeting … unanimously, they voted yes, not a single abstain or no vote.”
Rosakis, on the significance of the achievement: “It was the first department ever created in the country carrying the name ‘medical engineering.’ We chose this name intentionally to highlight EAS’s many connections to medicine and medical technology. I believe that this name choice has excited prospective students, faculty, and donors.”
Andrew and Peggy Cherng, co-founders and co-CEOs of Panda Restaurant Group Inc., on why they chose to fund the department in 2017: “Supporting efforts to help medical professionals diagnose and treat patients in more efficient ways was the perfect way to make a difference in our local community and around the world. We felt this department at Caltech was uniquely positioned to succeed in this endeavor due to the strength of its faculty and its willingness to support forward-thinking and interdisciplinary research.”
Tai, on the effect of the $30 million gift to name and endow the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering at Caltech: “Because of the Cherngs’ endowment, which we decided to spend mostly on graduate students, we’re creating opportunities for the smartest students to come to Caltech and work out the research they want to do. We don’t lock them into something even before they come.”
Tai, on recruiting faculty to the department: “It was suggested we should look at Professor Lihong Wang [who was then] at Washington University in St. Louis. … He realized the first in vivo or functional photoacoustic tomography machine. … He’s really strong.”
Rosakis, on recruiting Wang in 2016: “I was on vacation in Scotland speaking to him over the phone continually. Eventually, we got him.”
Lihong Wang, the Bren Professor of Medical and Electrical Engineering, who became the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Leadership Chair of the Department of Medical Engineering: “Dr. Tai has laid the foundation for the department to grow. In 2014, we started with four students. Right now, we recruit around nine per year. In 2012, we inaugurated with 10 faculty members. Now, we’ve got 20 outstanding members. Our department has created about 20 startups. That’s a lot.”
Wang, on the future: “People are the most important factor when you want to do first-rate research, and Caltech provides an outstanding research environment.
The core of our department is applying engineering to solve medical problems, and we have no shortage of expertise in terms of engineering. There are a lot of opportunities for collaboration. ... Harry Atwater [Otis Booth Leadership Chair, EAS] puts it nicely: Caltech engineering works at the leading edges of fundamental science to invent the technologies of the future. We want to be a step ahead of everybody else.”