Dr. Cato Laurencin
Dr. Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering
Inducted 2024
Dr. Cato Laurencin is a brilliant engineer, surgeon, and leader whose work has led to groundbreaking discoveries in plastics, nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, and surgery.
He has achieved breakthrough approaches in using plastics in medical devices and biologics for musculoskeletal applications. His versatile use of polymers for medical purposes has resulted in many products that improve human health.
His engineered systems for bone and ligament regeneration made innovative technologies widely available. Medical devices and biologics inspired by his research have benefited millions of patients. His papers and patents started an entire industry that utilizes polymer ceramics for various uses. His work in creating soft tissues with polymers was highlighted in 2014 in National Geographics’ “100 Discoveries That Changed the World” edition.
His achievements created entirely new fields of research. His key paper in the Journal of Biomaterial Material Research in 2002 was the first to apply nanotechnology principles to tissue regeneration and underscore the relevance of biomaterials science. The article is one of the highest-cited materials science papers of all time.
Dr. Laurencin’s work is widely recognized. He is the first scientist-surgeon elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Laurencin has also been elected to National Academies across Africa, Europe, and Asia. President Obama awarded him the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honor for technological achievement. He was named Inventor of the Year by the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation.
Dr. Laurencin is a University Professor at the University of Connecticut and CEO of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering.
Grounded in fundamental engineering and materials science and dedicated to improving human health, Dr. Laurencin epitomizes the use of engineering, science, and technology for the benefit of humanity.