Dr. Alfred R. Potvin, the founding Director of the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program at UT Arlington, was conferred with the title of Professor Emeritus on September 26th, 2011, during the fall 2011 University Faculty Meeting. President Spaniolo (left) presented Dr. Potvin (right) with the commendation.
Dr. Potvin’s Professor Emeritus Commendation:
Your colleagues in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering, the faculty and administration of The University of Texas at Arlington, and former students wish to express our appreciation for your longstanding commitment to excellence in teaching, service, and research.
As a young Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, you initiated a vision for applying engineering to health-related areas. After earning a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Michigan, you returned to UT Arlington as Associate Professor in both Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, and insightfully identified the need for establishing a biomedical engineering program. Among the first to recognize that such an endeavor required partnering with a medical school, you worked tirelessly to create the Joint Graduate Biomedical Engineering Program between UT Arlington and UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, now the Department of Bioengineering at UT Arlington. Due to your far reaching vision and critical leadership at the department’s inception, hundreds of students have graduated from the program and faculty members have made numerous discoveries that have improved health care for millions. The Center for Advanced Rehabilitation at UT Arlington, which you also founded, garnered one of the highest funding levels of its time.
Your contributions to these departments and professions are attested to by many awards, such as IEEE Fellow, Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, IEEE Centennial Medal Award, and listing in Who’s Who in the World. You have served at the very highest levels in professional societies and on advisory boards, and have published over 275 scientific papers and an influential two-volume book.
Few faculty members have shown as much devotion to their departments and have represented the university so well. Thus it is with deep gratitude, respect, and affection that you are herewith named Professor Emeritus of The University of Texas at Arlington.
