June 22, 2007 — Jean-Michel Maarek has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Engineering Practice (Biomedical Engineering). This promotion was approved by the Dean in recognition of Jean-Michel's leadership in the department in the area of undergraduate teaching and curricular development.

Jean-Michel has been the Chair of BME's Undergraduate Affairs Committee and the Director of the BME Instructional Laboratory for many years.  Last year, he assumed the directorship of the MS in Medical Device and Diagnostic Engineering Program. He also worked closely with the faculty and Dean of the School of Dentistry to develop a minor in Craniofacial and Dental Technology, which students from BME, other engineering majors and Biology can enroll in starting this coming Fall, if they are interested in dental school or in pursuing careers in the dental technology industry.
   
In spite of his heavy teaching responsibilities (not to mention his off-hours role as a parent to triplets!), Jean-Michel has been the engineering half of two NIH-funded research projects with Daniel Holschneider of the Keck School for the past 7 years. He is the co-author of 3 patents. Since 2001, he has led an AMI-funded project to develop a minimally invasive alternative to measuring cardiac output in humans, using fluorescence imaging. This is one of the most longstanding projects supported by AMI and is currently undergoing clinical trials.

Please join the BME Department in thanking Jean-Michel for his many contributions to BME and in congratulating him on his promotion.