Meet the Dean
Dr. Kenneth R. Lutchen
Dean, College of Engineering
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Kenneth R. Lutchen is Dean of the College of Engineering and Professor of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Boston University. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, cited nearly 9,000 times. His research uncovers the mechanisms that cause lung disease and novel methods for diagnosing lung disease.
While he was chair of BME, the department ranking improved from 18th to 6th in the nation. Since he became dean, the college’s graduate ranking has improved from 54th to 36th, and it is ranked 16th among all private universities. He has overseen the creation of new divisions in Materials Science and Engineering and in Systems Engineering, a 20,000 sq. ft. Engineering Product Innovation Center (EPIC) and 5,000 sq. ft. Bioengineering Technology and Entrepreneurship Center (BTEC), both designed to instill interdisciplinary product design skills throughout engineering education in partnership with industry. Dean Lutchen has advanced the concept of “Creating the Societal Engineer” as a foundational principle of engineering education to prepare students for life-long learning and impact. He has also published op-ed pieces on engineering education and technology transfer in Harvard Business Review, Forbes magazine, and Business Insider.
Dean Lutchen served on the Advisory Committee to the Directorate for Engineering of The National Science Foundation. He is past president of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), has served on the Board of Directors of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and is currently on the Board of Directors of The Wyss Institute for Bioinspired Engineering at Harvard, and for Beta Bionix Inc. Dean Lutchen has been the recipient of many awards, including the AIMBE Pierre Galletti Award, AIMBE’s highest honor.
Views on Engineering, Education and Society
Essays by Dean Lutchen that appeared in the College’s alumni magazine ENGineer.