Meet Dr. Shu Chien, he holds a title which few can claim, as the 2011 recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed on scientists and engineers by the United States government. Dr. Chien is a long-time faculty member at the University of California San Diego, who has made tremendous contributions in the field of bioengineering, with an emphasis in cellular, molecular, and cardiovascular bioengineering studies. As the founding Director of UC San Diego's new Institute of Engineering in Medicine, Dr. Chien is credited for creating an environment in which faculty and students can collaborate not only amongst UCSD faculty, but in conjunction with professional research institutes and biomedical companies within the greater San Diego area, as well. Dr. Chien is one of only eleven people in the world who holds membership in all three U.S. scientific academies: the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences. An active member of the Asian community in San Diego, Dr. Chien has recently been named one of two co-chairs for the 2013 Asian Heritage Awards Gala, taking place this September. In 2005, Dr. Chien was honored with the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asian American Engineer of the Year Awards Committee, followed by induction as a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Science and a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006, as well as reception of the Presidential Prize in Science (Taiwan) in 2009. Dr. Chien is also a member of Academia Sinica since 1976. Dr. Chien attended the National Taiwan University where he received his M.D., and Columbia University for his Ph.D. in Physiology.
