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.