This event is now closed for online registrations. If you are interested in attending please email Moana Bentin.
The Black Alumni/ae of MIT (BAMIT) are pleased to announce the annual Black Graduate Celebration. The Road to 50: A story of Dedication, Perseverance and Excellence.
We will acknowledge the accomplishments of the Class of 2018 graduates,
both undergraduates and graduate students. We will be joined by
students, faculty, staff and alumni.
We are excited to have Cato Laurencin, MD, MIT PhD '87 as our keynote speaker.
Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. is Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut. He is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor at UCONN. He is the 8th to be designated in UCONN’s over 130 year history.
Named one of the 100 Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Dr. Laurencin is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Materials Research Society, and an International Fellow in Biomaterials Science and Engineering, as well as a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He has been awarded the Percy Julian Medal by the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChe). Dr. Laurencin is a member of the editorial boards of 25 journals, and is the Editor-in-Chief of Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine.
Dr. Laurencin’s research expertise is in Biomaterials, Nanotechnology, Drug Delivery, Stem Cell Science and a new field he has pioneered, Regenerative Engineering. Dr. Laurencin has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 25 years. He is the recipient of two Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Awards from NSF. He has received the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for his transformative work in Regenerative Engineering .
Dr. Laurencin has been honored by the White House on three occasions. He received the Presidential Faculty Fellow Award from President Bill Clinton for his work bridging engineering and medicine. He received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Engineering, Science and Math Mentoring from President Barack Obama. More recently, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama.
Dr. Laurencin has two awards named in his honor: The Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D. Travel Fellowship Award given by the Society for Biomaterials, and The Cato T. Laurencin Lifetime Research Achievement Award given by the W. Montague Cobb Cobb/National Medical Association Health Institute.
Dr. Laurencin is an elected member of both the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine. Internationally, he is an elected Fellow (Associate) of the African Academy of Sciences, an elected Fellow (Foreign) of the India National Academy of Engineering and the India National Academy of Sciences and a he is a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences. Dr. Laurencin is an Academician and Member (Foreign) of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Laurencin earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was named a Hugh Hampton Young Fellow. Dr. Laurencin earned his M.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the Harvard Medical School.