Don P. Giddens

Don P. Giddens is Dean of Engineering at Georgie Tech. As one of the nation's leading pioneers in biomedical engineering, he is credited with developing Georgia Tech's bioengineering program, enhancing its research, commercialization and faculty and student recruitment efforts, as well as catapulting the bioengineering program to national stature. Giddens also made strong contributions to Georgia Tech's aerospace engineering program and served as chair of that department from 1988 to 1992.

Giddens joined Georgia Tech in 1968 and served as a faculty member and administrator for almost 25 years before accepting an appointment as Dean of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University in 1992. He returned to Georgia Tech in 1997 to explore a joint partnership in bioengineering between Georgia Tech and Emory University, and served as chair of the resulting joint department. He was named Dean of Engineering at Georgia Tech in 2002.

Early in his career, Giddens became a pioneer in the area of fluid dynamics in human arterial disease. His work led to a better understanding of blood flow and the noninvasive, early detection of artery blockages that can lead to heart attacks. His research has focused on biofluid mechanics, specializing in vascular function, vascular grafts, hemodynamics of carotid arteries, and measurement of blood flow.

Giddens has made major contributions in engineering education, particularly in the developing field of bioengineering. In addition to curriculum development, he has been primary thesis advisor for 24 Ph.D. students and 15 masters students, and has hosted eight postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory.

Giddens is active on advisory boards in bioengineering, biomedicine and biotechnology. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and is a Fellow of the American society of Mechanical Engineers, a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, and a Fellow of the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Council of the American Heart Association, among various other society memberships and activities.

He received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Ph.D. in aerothermodynamics from Georgia Tech.