Arthur Erdman elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Dr. Arthur Erdman, a Richard C. Jordan Professor, Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Founding Director of the Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, was recently elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Erdman was among the 128 new members, including fellow University professor Dr. Roger Ruan from the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, and 22 international members elected to the NAE this year. NAE membership is one of the highest professional distinctions awarded to engineers, recognizing individuals demonstrating outstanding contributions in training, research, and engineering practice.
Erdman specializes in mechanical design, bioengineering product design, and medical device innovation. He first came to the University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He founded the Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center at the University along with the Design of Medical Devices Conference, both of which bring together world-class medical device designers, researchers, manufacturers, and the public sector to share perspectives and innovations in medical device design. Erdman has filed numerous device patents and consulted for over 50 companies.
What does becoming a member of the NAE mean to you?
Erdman: I don't think there's any engineer in the world that wouldn't dream of eventually being part of NAE. Very few individuals are selected. It's just an unbelievable honor.
It's a real blessing to me of course, but also to all my colleagues and students who I've worked with over the years. This honor is so well deserved for the Department of Mechanical Engineering and College of Science and Engineering. I hope it’ll attract more students and faculty to come to the University.
What motivates you and your work?
Erdman: What motivates me is my passion for improving healthcare. Even as a PhD student, I've always been interested in practical examples, applying engineering principles, and creating new engineering principles to solve real problems.
I continue to seek strategies to draw together groups of people with different strengths so that we can learn from each other. From day one, when I got to the University, I had zero training in any medical field. So my first relationship started with dentistry–they taught me anatomy and I taught them kinematics, and then it went into orthopedics and so on. By learning and working with others in different specialties, I’ve learned how important interdisciplinary groups are in research and improving healthcare.
What inspired you to start BMDC?
Erdman: When I was just starting out at the University, after a long day of teaching, a small group of us in biomedical engineering would go to the Medical Alley meetings to meet other engineers in the Twin Cities. By meeting people and seeing the potential in all these businesses and start-ups, we wanted to bring that part of industry collaboration to the University. We knew that translational research and development was very important and wanted to create a situation where the University and industry were aligned and could work together. It would be one location providing the ability to accelerate, test, and prototype solutions for unmet needs, which is still the same mission Bakken stands for today.
What advice would you give young engineers who hope to achieve significant accomplishments?
Erdman: You’ll be interviewing for jobs for a long time. Your competition will have the same degree and maybe even better grades. So what do you do to differentiate yourself? Seek out incredible faculty and labs, get new experiences, and prototype solutions for unmet needs. Be curious and broaden your toolset with your life experiences, in your personal and professional life.
Erdman will be formally inducted during the NAE's Annual Meeting in October later this year. The full list of the newly elected members is available on the NAE website.
(Left to right) Aaron Tucker, Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant, and Dr. Arthur Erdman.