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With more than 440 U.S. foreign patents and world-renowned inventions such as the Segway® and the iBot® Mobility System among his collection of achievements, Dean Kamen was a natural choice for Drexel University’s 2007 Engineer of the Year. Kamen is known internationally as the president of DEKA Research & Development Corporation, but he’s also known more intimately at Drexel for founding FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Drexel’s College of Engineering hosts the Philadelphia regional FIRST Robotics Competition, in which teams of high school students build robots that compete with each other. The FIRST championship is held each spring at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and teams from all over the world participate in that event. As a college undergraduate, Kamen invented the first wearable infusion pump, widely used in the medical fields of chemotherapy, neonatology, and endocrinology. With this invention, he developed his own company, AutoSyringe, Inc., that developed a number of infusion pumps, including the first insulin pump for diabetics. Kamen is now working on a revolutionary water purification system, which he discussed during the Engineer of the Year lecture held in conjunction with the Engineer of the Year banquet. Once perfected, the system will be able to process virtually any water-based substance to extract drinkable water. Kamen was honored, along with the 2007 Alumni Circle of Distinction and the 2007 College of Engineering faculty and staff award winners, at a banquet held at the Rittenhouse Hotel on Friday, February 23, 2007. Following is a list of all of the award winners: Alumni Circle of Distinction 2007 Inductees Faculty Awards Outstanding Research Outstanding Research Faculty Outstanding Service Outstanding Teaching Lifetime Achievement Outstanding Leadership Outstanding Auxiliary Faculty Staff Awards Outstanding Support Staff Outstanding Technical Staff Outstanding Service Dean Kamen Media Highlights |
