Stephen A. Boppar

by | Feb 21, 2024

Stephen A. Boppar
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, USA
2021

Stephen Boppart is a Professor and Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering with appointments in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bioengineering, and a full-time faculty member at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. His Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory is focused on developing novel optical biomedical diagnostic and imaging technologies and translating them into clinical applications. Prof. Boppart received his Ph.D. in Medical and Electrical Engineering from MIT, his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and his residency training at the University of Illinois in Internal Medicine. Since joining the faculty at Illinois in 2000, he has published over 400 invited and contributed publications, presented and co-authored over 900 invited and contributed presentations, and has over 50 patents related to optical biomedical imaging technology. He has mentored over 200 undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate interdisciplinary researchers. He was recognized by MIT’s Technology Review Magazine as one of the Top 100 Young Innovators in the World for his development of medical technology, and the Paul F. Forman Engineering Excellence Award from the Optical Society of America for dedication and advancement in undergraduate research education. More recently, he received the international Hans Sigrist Prize in the field of Diagnostic Laser Medicine, the SPIE Biophotonics Innovator Award, and was elected as a member of the National Academy of Inventors. Prof. Boppart has co-founded four start-up companies to commercialize and disseminate his optical technologies for biomedical imaging. In addition to his new Fellow appointment in IAMBE, he is also a Fellow of AAAS, IEEE, OSA, SPIE, AIMBE, and BMES. He previously served as Director of a campus-wide Imaging at Illinois to integrate imaging science, technology, and applications across multiple modalities and fields, and is currently Director of the Center for Optical Molecular Imaging supported by an academic-industry partnership with GlaxoSmithKline. Prof. Boppart has been a strong advocate for the integration of engineering and medicine to advance human health and our healthcare systems, and has been involved in visioning, establishing, and developing the first of its kind engineering-based Carle Illinois College of Medicine. He is currently serving at the Executive Associate Dean and Chief Diversity Officer, and is dedicated to integrating innovation, technology, and engineering into the medical curriculum to educate and train the next generation of physician innovators.