VCU professor joins ranks of distinguished U.S. biomedical engineers

By Mike Frontiero
VCU School of Education

Jennifer S. Wayne, Ph.D., has been elected into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering's College of Fellows, a prestigious professional organization that represents the top 1.5 percent of all biomedical engineers in the United States.

The associate professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedic surgery, and director of the VCU Orthopaedic Research Laboratory was selected by her peers to join the group's incoming class of 2004. She will be formally inducted at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27. "I chose this career because I enjoy it, so it's rewarding to be recognized for my work," said Wayne. "It shows that I'm contributing to the research and teaching of my field."

Some of Wayne's current projects involve using computer models to help repair damaged cartilage and determining the biomechanical consequences of tissue damage in joints and of new techniques for fixing fractured bones.

Wayne joined VCU in 1991. She received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California at San Diego, M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University, and B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics (summa cum laude) from Virginia Tech.

She is an active member of several national professional organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, where she is associate editor of the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering and serves as chair for other positions within the society. Additional memberships include Orthopaedic Research Society, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Society of

Biomechanics, International Cartilage Repair Society, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Phi Omega.

When Wayne isn't researching, she's teaching biomechanics, finite element analysis in solid mechanics, fundamentals of biomechanics, structural biomechanics and continuum mechanics. She was a Visiting Professor at the University of Pittsburgh in 1993 and 2001.

"This is an outstanding accomplishment for Dr. Wayne and represents a lifetime achievement in biomedical research and academics," said Gerald E. Miller, Ph.D., who chairs the VCU Department of Biomedical Engineering.