Bob Nerem, Professor Emeritus at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has spent much of his long career exploring critical health-related topics such as blood flow in large arteries, the role of hemodynamics in the onset of atherosclerosis, and more recently tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Bob and Marilyn Nerem have a deep love for Georgia Tech and its students. In this video, the Nerems talk about the evolution of bioengineering at Tech and their vision for its future.

Nerem’s work has helped significantly to advance medical science and improve the quality of life. To many at Georgia Tech, he has been one of the pioneers in the field, instrumental in leading the effort in the areas of bioengineering and biosciences on campus and beyond.

After 26 years on the Tech faculty — and nearly 50 years in academia — Nerem is looking to ensure the Institute’s continued preeminence in the field of bioengineering. To that end, he and his wife, Marilyn, have made plans in their estate that will one day establish the Marilyn R. and Robert M. Nerem faculty chair or professorship in Georgia Tech’s Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, whose creation will enhance the Petit Institute’s ability to attract and retain eminent teacher-scholars to this position of academic leadership.

Nerem, who will be named an honorary Tech alumnus on March 25, is the founding director of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, an interdisciplinary collaboration of Georgia Tech that encompasses biochemistry, bioengineering, and biology. He was also director of the Georgia Tech/Emory Center for Regenerative Medicine from 1995 to 2009. His primary research interests today are tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including stem cell technology, and cellular engineering.

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Writer:Dan Treadaway
Photographer: Rob Felt
Videographer: Maxwell Guberman
Graphics: Rhys Black