Penn’s Department of Bioengineering has received a $14 million dollar Leadership Development Award from the Whitaker Foundation. “This is one of the largest grants ever received by the School [of Engineering and Applied Science],” said SEAS Dean Eduardo Glandt.

This multi-year grant will boost the department’s existing research and teaching strengths in orthopedic, cardiovascular and injury bioengineering and neuroengineering by providing new facilities and at least seven new researchers. The University is committed to matching this sum with $42.8 million.

“This represents a quantum leap in the evolution of the school,” said Glandt. “A new engineering science is now taking its place alongside physics and chemistry. We must incorporate biology as a part of the gene pool—no pun intended.”

The Department of Bioengineering, one of the nation’s first, was established in 1973 and is a cornerstone of the University’s Agenda for Excellence.

The Whitaker Foundation supports research and education in biomedical engineering at academic institutions in the United States and Canada.