, professor of biomedical engineering, emeritus, is the 2011 recipient of the highest award given by the Biomedical Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
The Theo C. Pilkington Outstanding Educator Award is given to an educator for lifetime achievement in teaching, research and administration in biomedical engineering academic programs. This annual award recognizes the contribution of Pilkington as a true pioneer in biomedical engineering who was influential to the advancement of biomedical engineering education.
Todd D. Giorgio, chair and professor of biomedical engineering applauded King’s work. “Paul is a pioneer in undergraduate education in biomedical engineering design. He developed the fourth year capstone biomedical engineering design course at Vanderbilt University in 1991. He inspired and led changes that enabled the formation of student design teams composed from multiple engineering disciplines to better represent the multidisciplinary industrial environment.”
King is also the co-author of the first biomedical-specific textbook on engineering design: “Design of Biomedical Devices and Systems”. The second edition of this text was published in 2008. The publisher of King’s books recently reported sales of 3,647 copies, of which 1,462 are of volume two.
“The success of this pioneering design text ensures King’s impact on future generations of biomedical engineering learners across the United States and internationally,” said Giorgio.
King’s local influence has been equally monumental, teaching biomedical design to a total of 1,280 learners formulated into 526 teams over 21 years. More than 100 of these projects were sponsored by industrial preceptors. Student design teams have won national and international awards. Vanderbilt has protected the intellectual property of student work for a number of projects, one patent has been issued and others are provisional or pending.
To be considered for the award, King was nominated by his peers with letters of support from former students and colleagues at other universities. The award will be presented at the 2011 ASEE convention in June in Vancouver, Canada.