Biomedical Engineer Wins Guggenheim

Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at City College and the Graduate Center Sheldon Weinbaum was named a Guggenheim Fellow in April.

Weinbaum’s research will be in “The Structure and Function of the Endothelial Glycocalyx.” His objective will be to assemble an interdisciplinary team with theoretical and experimental expertise whose research focus will be to study further the endothelial glycocalyx, a fiber matrix or gel-like structure that coats the surface of the vascular endothelium, the inner lining of blood vessels.

Among other functions, the endothelial glycocalyx is believed to play a critical role in the motion of both red blood cells and white blood cells in the microcirculationand the osmotic movement of water in and out of our capillaries.

Weinbaum was the founding director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering (1994-99) at City College and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is one of three 2002 Fellows selected in the field of molecular and cellular biology. His selection in this field is most unusual, since he is an engineer with no formal training in biology.

The author of 185 papers, Weinbaum has received several other prestigious prizes and awards, including a $300,000 “Special Creativity” grant from the National Science Foundation. Two of his most notable contributions in the biomedical field are the Weinbaum-Caro model for transport of cholesterol and other large molecules in the artery wall, and the Weinbaum-Jiji bioheat equation for describing heat exchange in the micro-circulation.

As CUNY Matters went to press, Weinbaum’s election to the National Academy of Sciences was also announced.