70 Years of Bioengineering

Wayne State University is a pioneer in bioengineering research. This interdisciplinary effort between the College of Engineering and the School of Medicine developed in 1939, when engineer H.R. Lissner and neurosurgeon E.S. Gurdjian initiated a collaborative effort to study the mechanisms of head injury. Although their methods were crude by today's standards, their unique cooperative effort has prospered to this day. It has given Wayne State University the honor of becoming the first institution in the U.S. to perform world renowned research in impact biomechanics.

The Bioengineering Center has a long and rich history of conducting research in the field of injury biomechanics. The Center was first established by Professor Herbert Lissner as the Biomechanics Research Center in the Department of Engineering Mechanics.  In 1963, the Bioengineering Center was chartered by the Board of Governors of Wayne State University and appointed Professor Lissner as its first director.  In 1965, Professor Lawrence Patrick took over the responsibility and built two impact sleds.  The next director, Professor Albert I. King, not only continued the long tradition in automotive safety research but also developed the Center into a modern research powerhouse that includes both fundamental basic science research, such as studying the etiology of low back pain, and practical safety research, such as evaluating the potential adverse effects of airbags.  Today's principal areas of research are biodynamic response to impact acceleration or ballistic impact, spinal and orthopedic biomechanics, and human trauma research and modeling. Foremost among the goals of the center is the reduction of fatalities and major injuries occur in all fields.