Speakers

Dr. Martine LaBerge, Professor and Chair of Bioengineering at Clemson University pursued undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Montreal and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal. She earned a Master of Applied Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering in 1985 and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 1988 from the University of Montreal. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario in 1990 before joining the faculty of the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson University as Assistant Professor of Bioengineering. Her research expertise is focused on the evaluation and characterization of natural and artificial surfaces used in the design of implants for orthopaedic and vascular applications. At Clemson University, she established a highly productive research program focused on the tribology of artificial knee joints. Her laboratory addresses fundamental lubrication and wear problems encountered with artificial implants. She has published more than 200 technical publications in scientific journals, proceedings, and book chapters on these topics. She is an inventor on several patents and patent disclosures that led to licensure, one license held by SensorTech Inc. During the past 19 years, she graduated 60 MS and PhD students in bioengineering. She served as the research advisors of more than 80 undergraduate research interns.

For the past 5 years as chair of the bioengineering department at Clemson University, Dr. LaBerge fostered numerous regional and state-wide economic development projects. She served as the President of the Society For Biomaterials (SFB) in 2007-2008, and is now a board member of this professional society recognized as the leading body in the biomaterials/ bioengineering field in the world. The President’s Commission on the Status of Women at Clemson University presented to her its Outstanding Woman Faculty award. She also received the Murray Stokely Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Faculty Mentoring Award of the College of Engineering and Science. She is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society For Biomaterials, the Orthopaedic Research Society, Sigma Xi, and the American Society for Engineering Education. In 2006, she was elected Fellow of the American Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering. In 2008, at the World Congress of Biomaterials, she was elected Fellow, Biomaterials Science and Engineering, and honor bestowed by the world leading societies in the field of biomaterials, for her pioneering with in orthopaedic bearings and her leadership in promoting the field of biomaterials worldwide. She serves as a consultant for several funding agencies in the United States and Canada. Dr. LaBerge has catalyzed the development of numerous programs in South Carolina that have served as platforms for increasing the scientific awareness among the scientific community and the population at-large. As such, she received the 2009 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Awareness.