Richard Skalak was a pioneer in biomedical engineering

Biomedical engineering

Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...

. He is known for his groundbreaking work in the mechanics of blood flow, bone growth, white blood cell response to infections, and biological implications and responses to implants. He won numerous significant scientific honors over his career, including election to the National Academy of Engineering in 1988. He is the namesake of the ASME

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....

 Richard Skalak Award

Awards and honors

• Chair Applied Mechanics Division
  Applied Mechanics Division
  The Applied Mechanics Division is a division in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers . The AMD was founded in 1927, with Stephen Timoshenko being the first chair. The current AMD membership is over 5000, out of about 90,000 members of the ASME...
  
  , 1979
• Theodore von Karman Medal
  Theodore von Karman Medal
  The Theodore von Karman Medal in Engineering Mechanics is awarded annually to an individual in recognition of his distinguished achievement in engineering mechanics, applicable to any branch of civil engineering...
  
  , 1987
• National Academy of Engineering
  National Academy of Engineering
  The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
  
  , 1988
• Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award, 1997
• Poiseuille Medal of the International Society of Biorheology
• Fellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  American Society of Mechanical Engineers
  The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
  
  
• Fellow, American Academy of Mechanics
• Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers
  American Society of Civil Engineers
  The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...
  
  
• Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  American Association for the Advancement of Science
  The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...