The History of
Biomedical
Engineering at Tulane
University
Jennifer S. Stearns-Drake
1995
Contents
FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V
CHAPTER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
LOUISIANA NEEDS A MEDICAL SCHOOL .............................................................................................. 1
CHAPTER 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
DR. WARREN STONE......................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
DR. JOHN L. RIDDELL ....................................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3
DR. RUDOLPH MATAS..................................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8
DR. GEORGE BURCH AND PROFESSOR JAMES CRONVICH ..................................................................... 18
CHAPTER 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3
DR. L. MATTHEW M. BACH AND PROFESSOR CLAUDE J. SPERRY, JR.................................................... 23
CHAPTER 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9
DR. JACK WICKSTROM AND PROFESSOR JOHN MARTINEZ.................................................................... 29
CHAPTER 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3
DRS. RAYMOND BAILEY, DUANE BRULEY, BOB CHAMBERS, AND BOB WEAVER ..................................... 33
CHAPTER 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9
DRS. SAM HULBERT, STEVE COWIN, JERRY KLAWITTER, AND ALLAN WEINSTEIN .................................. 39
CHAPTER 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 9
THE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAM BECOMES THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING .... 49
CHAPTER 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4
DRS. WILLIAM VAN BUSKIRK, CEDRIC F. WALKER AND A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE ................................. 54
CHAPTER 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2
OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS .................................................................................................................. 62
REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 5
ii
Fo rwa r d
This is a story of the physicians and engineers who have made a
difference.
They have made a difference at Tulane, they've made a
difference in the world of science, and they've made a difference in the
world. Most were biomedical engineers before such an illustrious term
existed, some were the founding fathers of that term, but all made a
difference, and all were part of Tulane University's rich history.
If you are concerned with how the biomedical engineering
department at Tulane was developed, how much money it cost to develop,
or who designed the labs, this isn't the literature you are looking for. If,
however, you want to meet the men of Tulane who devoted their time and
energy into bettering the physical human condition through their
innovations and research, then keep reading.
This history is of
biomedical engineers at Tulane University. It covers not only what they
did, but more importantly, who they are. After all, it is who they are that
has shaped who we are, and what we do.
The Medical College of Louisiana is mentioned throughout this piece.
Tulane University is simply the Medical College of Louisiana with a new
name. Paul Tulane, a philanthropist who had made a fortune in New
Orleans, made a substantial donation to the school. In 1884 the Medical
College of Louisiana became the Tulane University of Louisiana.
This history starts in the 1830's, and ends in the future. I would like
to apologize for not including every biomedical engineer that has been a
part of Tulane. I suppose that is the beauty and wonder of a powerful
institute of learning, like Tulane: there are just too many names worth
iii
mentioning, and not enough time to mention them. So, for each story
told, remember that there are at least a hundred that were not.
One last thing: enjoy!
iv
Ack n owledgements
In order to have a history there must first be history makers... my
greatest respect and gratitude goes to those people who dedicated their
time and innovation to Tulane making its history worth writing about.
In order to write about history, there must be a wealth of
documentation. I am greatly indebted to all who enthusiastically searched
for the right pieces of hay in the haystacks, in particular: the staff of the
Rare Books and Documents in the Howard Tilton Memorial Library who
never seemed to run out of ideas or patience.
Sixteen of the people featured in The History of Biomedical
Engineering at Tulane took time out of their busy lives to grant me an
interview. That made all the difference in the world.
I greatly appreciate all of the people who gave me confidence and
reassurance. A special thanks goes to Cedric Walker for ideas, guidance,
and E-mail lessons.
Thanks to Loretta the pig, Sushi the cat, and of
course, I could not have done it without my love of Whit.
v
C h a pter 1
Louisiana Needs A Medical
School
Thus the world has progressed from age to age,
imparting discoveries and exchanging benefits
until the wise man's abstruse idea, in modern
times, soon becomes the obvious heritage of the
whole human family.
-Dr. Thomas Hunt
April 2, 1866
In 1832, at the ripe old age of 23, Dr. Warren Stone left New
York and set sail for New Orleans upon the brig Amelia.
Unfortunately for him, but instrumental to the founding of the
Medical College of Louisiana, the boat encountered great storms and
was beached on Folly Island off Charleston, South Carolina. While
on Folly Island, the passengers and crew were stricken by a Cholera
outbreak. Dr. Stone was attending to the sick until he, too, caught
the dreaded illness.
A young Charleston doctor by the name of
Thomas Hunt was called to the island to care for the sick passengers
and it is there that he met and befriended Dr. Stone.
After fully recovering from Cholera, Stone continued his
journey to New Orleans to practice medicine at Charity hospital.
The following year Hunt moved to New Orleans and was appointed
house surgeon of Charity Hospital.
It was in New Orleans where
Hunt met the third of the founding triumvirate, Dr. John H.
1
Harrison.
Seeing a clear need for a college of medicine in the
Southwest, Hunt began to formulate a plan.
He realized the
necessity of a working relationship with Charity for the use of
clinical facilities and dissection subjects, so when he resigned he saw
to it that Harrison was his successor and that Stone was promoted
to assistant house surgeon (Duffy, 7).
After his resignation from
Charity, Hunt devoted his time to gaining
support from local
physicians and the other proper authorities. When he felt sure of
acceptance Hunt issued a prospectus for the new college by
emphasizing that New Orleans was the largest town in the Southwest
and was therefore the logical choice for a medical college.
He
pointed out that it had the best clinical facilities and it offered
unrivaled facilities for the study of anatomy.
He predicted the
hospital would be busy because of the large population and the high
number of accidents among seamen. Room and board could be
obtained for only $25.00 per year, which would serve as incentive
for prospective students (Duffy, 8). The prospectus was published
in the New Orleans Bee newspaper on September 29, 1834 and was
generally welcomed. There was some opposition from the Creole
physicians, but most criticism was of the constructive kind. There
were a few changes, a few changes in both prospectus and its
professors, and on Monday, January 5, 1835, the school opened.
Dr. Hunt delivered the first lecture, and the rest, as we shall see, is
history...
2
On a personal note:
As reported in the Times Picayune, on July 15, 1851, Dr.
Thomas Hunt was under indictment for the slaying of John
W. Frost, with a double barrel shot gun loaded with a ball,
in a duel at 40 paces. The event took place during a Whig
Ward convention and it "agitated and divided the city."
However, no conviction could be had where there was no
charge of unfairness at the meeting.
3
Chapter 2
Dr. Warren Stone
"Soon after I got your letter I called on Dr. Stone,
who I had only known by sight before, his manners
are anything but prepossessing, and if as you say
your grandson is timid I doubt if he would profit
much by Dr. Stone's tuition."
-in response to a woman's inquiry about
having her grandson work under Dr. Stone
4
Dr. Warren Stone was born at St. Albans, Vermont, February 3,
1801.
He grew up on a typical New England farm where his
education was extremely limited.
He began to study medicine at
Keene, New Hampshire and he received his medical degree at the
Berkshire Medical Institute in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His classical
education, however, left much to be desired; yet despite his lack of
culture, he had a natural aptitude for medicine, particularly in the
field of surgery. His stature was gigantic, his head was massive, and
his heart was of similar proportions. His language was pithy and his
students revered him.
He was called "Old Stone" by his
contemporaries, who worshipped him for his skill and respected
him as a humanitarian.
Stone was a pioneer in the field of vascular surgery. In 1836
he performed the first ligation of the external iliac artery in
Louisiana. The most significant ligation of the common iliac artery
performed by Dr. Stone occurred in 1859 when he used a silver wire
to ligate instead of the standard septic ligature. This breakthrough
changed the state of the art in surgery. The antibiotic properties of
silver when implanted in the body helped prevent infection that was
so frequently was the cause for morbidity in those times of preantiseptic and pre-anesthesia. Although anesthesia was absent for
the first fourteen years of Dr. Stone's career, he is known as one of
the pioneers in the use of chloroform. Performing surgery with the
patient under etherization was neither commonplace nor fully
accepted in the mid eighteen hundreds, but Stone amputated a
man's thigh under etherization as early as 1841 (Rand, 1942).
On
September 25, 1849, the Times Picayune reported that, "The city
5
had surgical practitioners who compared favorably with any in the
world for boldness and success of execution.
An example of the
performance of one of the most difficult operations was the removal
by Dr. Warren Stone, at his Infirmary on Canal, of a bony tumor of
about ten ounces from the lower jaw of a slave girl. The girl was put
under the influence of chloroform and walked away from the eightminute operation ignorant of what had been done. The hospital was
under the most admirable and competent management and as a
surgical infirmary was believed to have no superior in the nation."
In those times before surgical precision, Dr. Warren Stone,
carved his place in history with his inherent understanding of
medicine, and his assiduous studies. Fortunately for the Medical
College of Louisiana (later Tulane University), Dr. Stone gifted
several classes of aspiring doctors with his knowledge, innovation,
and love of medical practice.
6
On a personal note:
Dr. Warren Stone died in New Orleans of diabetes in 1872.
So revered, was he, that New Orleans was in mourning; the
courts adjourned, stores closed and flags were at half-mast
(Rand, 1942).
7
C h a pter 3
Dr. John L. Riddell
"It gives the observer perfectly correct views, in
length, breadth and depth, whatever power he may
employ; objects are seen holding their true relative
positions, and wearing their real shapes; In
looking at solid bodies, however, depressions
sometimes appear as elevations, and vice versa,
forming a curious illusion."
-John L. Riddell
1852
Securing his medical degree in 1836 from Cincinnati Medical
College, Dr. John L. Riddell moved to New Orleans to become a
professor of chemistry in the Medical College of Louisiana.
The
school had only recently been founded, and Riddell maintained his
professorship there until his death in 1865. Riddell was interested
in many areas of science including chemistry, botany, microscopy as
well as other civic interests. He headed the School of Pharmacy at
the University of Louisiana and he was involved in a scientific
exploration of Texas in 1838. Riddell was the melter and refiner in
the branch United States Mint until 1849.
In 1844 he became a
member of the commission appointed by the Louisiana legislature
and the governor to devise protection against the Mississippi river
floods. Riddell had a broad understanding of the sciences, but an
8
infamous rapport with his colleagues.
He was frequently absent
from faculty meetings, he would decline to vote on faculty
resolutions, and he would blatantly ignore regulations from time to
time.
In 1851, a bitter dispute resulted in a request for his
resignation, but Riddell refused and went on to bring the Medical
College of Louisiana international fame with his development of the
first workable system for a binocular microscope in 1852.
Riddell claims to have completed his original design for the
binocular microscope in 1851, but it was not until October 2, 1852
that he exhibited the completed instrument (Woodward, 1881).
In
the New Orleans Monthly Register of October 1852 he wrote:
"Behind the objective, and as near thereto as practicable, the light is
equally divided, and bent at right angles, and made to travel in
opposite directions, by means of two rectangular prisms which are
in contact by their edges, that are somewhat ground away.
The
reflected rays are received at a proper distance for binocular vision
upon two other rectangular prisms and again bent at right angles,
being thus either completely inverted, for an inverted microscope,
or restored to their original direction. These outer prisms may be
cemented to the inner, by means of Canadian balsam, or left free to
admit of adjustment to suit different observers.
Prisms of other
forms, with due arrangements, may be submitted." He emphasized
the microscope's ability to present a true stereoscopic effect.
Riddell was quick to point out that his microscope gave a
psuedoscopic effect that impaired its performance, and acting upon
his own suggestion, he tried "prisms of other forms."
A description
of his new design was published in the New Orleans Monthly Medical
9
Register's April 1853 publication. In this design, he explained that
only two prisms were used: "They must be of such form, that the
faces, at which the light is immergent and emergent, shall form
equal angles with the face on which the internal reflection occurs."
He continued to explain that with this new arrangement, in order "to
produce orthoscopic binocular vision, simple, not erecting eyepieces are required."
Riddell Binocular Microscope
}
objective
}
objective
improved design
original design
Although it was his microscope that gained recognition for
both him, and the college, Dr. Riddell was also instrumental in
discovering the microscopic characteristics of the blood, and black
vomit in yellow fever. His microscopy work continued, and in 1846
10
he "predicted the existence of the constituent particles of the atom
and the existence of internal forces between these particles" (Times
Picayune, 1955).
Dr. Riddell religiously kept a journal.
He wrote, not only
about events of the days, but about ideas, dreams, inventions, and
his controversial lectures, such as the one about the possibility that
there was conservation of momentum just as there was conservation
of mass (Riddell, 1838). He had several notes and sketches about
his various science projects in his journal that clearly describe his
eclectic interests.
For all of his talent and work with chemistry,
botany, and pharmacy, it is his innovation in the world of
microscopy that brought him, and the Medical College of Louisiana,
international attention.
11
On a personal note:
During the Civil War, New Orleans was in need of a
postmaster to do an unbiased job, despite the hostilities
across the Mason- Dixon line. John L Riddell, being from
Massachusetts, but living in Louisiana, volunteered for the
job. He remained head post master until the end of the war.
So agitated was he by the end of the war, that his mind had
shown signs of failure. His death in October of 1865, at 59
years old, came as a surprise to no one.
12
C h a pter 4
Dr. Rudolph Matas
His world wide reputation as a surgeon was
universally described in superlatives such as,
"greatest," "most learned," "most illustrious,"
"best;" his valuable contributions to medical
science as, "first in the South," "first in America,"
"first in the world;" and his writing as "brilliant,"
"masterful," "exhaustive," "most attention
holding."
-from In Memorium about Dr. R. Matas
13
For more than seventy of his ninety-seven years, Dr. Rudolph
Matas was involved and dedicated to Tulane University.
Matas was
born on September 12, 1860 in Bonnet Carre, Louisiana, where his
father was a plantation physician.
He graduated from St. Johns
College at Matamoros, attended Soule College, and began medical
school at Tulane School of Medicine (Medical College of Louisiana).
As an 1880 graduate of medical school, the nineteen-year-old Dr.
Matas began a two-year internship at Charity hospital and was
appointed clerk and microscopist of the Federal Havana Yellow Fever
Commission.
While in Cuba, Matas conducted more than 100
microscopic studies of living yellow fever samples. These samples
helped lead to the discovery that the mosquito was the carrier of the
dreaded fever. He began his career at Tulane as demonstrator of
anatomy in 1886, and was promoted to professor of surgery in
1894.
Dr. Matas was recognized almost immediately as a talented
physician, and a brilliant surgeon. In 1888, only eight years after
graduating from medical school, he made medical history, which
was hailed at the time as the greatest advance in vascular surgery in
200 years. The procedure of treating aneurysms was developed by
Matas while treating a patient at Charity Hospital.
Although the
standard procedure was to ligate, Matas boldly cut into the bulging
aneurysm and sutured the weakened tissues and orifices.
This
procedure, later called an endoaneurysmorraphy, was named after
the innovative young doctor, and is still commonly referred to as
the "Matas operation."
14
During his lengthy career, Matas pioneered many medical
advances. He was the first in Louisiana to perform thyroid surgery,
he was the first to use catgut rings for suturing intestines, the first
to utilize intravenous drip, the introduction of fluids into a vein
drop by drop, the first to perform surgery using spinal anesthesia,
the first to use a simple siphoning process to avert post-operative
discomfort, and among the first to advocate the use of movies in
medical education, and he was the co-inventor of the Matas-Symthe
pump for artificial respiration.
Dr. Matas received worldwide attention for his brilliance, but
was always quick to link his accomplishments and honors with
Tulane University and his faculty status. He took enormous pride in
his affiliation with the University, and it was his work, which led to
Tulane's status as a vascular surgery center. Matas was a professor
at Tulane for 42 years, and it was his title as "professor", and later a
"professor emeritus", that he cherished more than any of his other
titles. In addition to teaching medicine at Tulane, he kept a rigorous
surgical schedule at Charity Hospital, and later, at Touro Infirmary.
He practiced surgery until the age of 87, despite the loss of sight in
one of his eyes in 1908. He was extremely enthusiastic about his
practice, and was active in several medical societies.
He was
president of the International Surgical Society, and the American
College of Surgeons, in addition to donating time to student and
professional groups. He was heavily involved in the fundraising for
the University, and he willed $1,000,000 to the Tulane Medical
Library, and willed the rest of his estate to the University. In 1937,
the Tulane Medical Library was named after its honored benefactor.
15
Matas has been called Tulane's most illustrious alumnus. His
friend and colleague, Dr. Alton Ochsner, said it well: "there has been
no other person who has brought so much renown and distinction
to his beloved Alma Mater... Tulane is proud of her most
distinguished son and will always be grateful to have been able to
share with the world the accomplishments of the great benefactor,
Rudolph Matas."
In a December 17, 1931 award acceptance speech, Matas said,
"Personally, I am happy to say that I have crossed the danger line
without fear and without regret, and that my interest and
enthusiasm for my profession and all that concerns its health-giving
and humanitarian mission, has never abated. This I attribute to my
good fortune in inheriting good health and preserving my
enthusiasm. Please remember that enthusiasm is the salt of life. It
seasons our lives with a flavor that makes living palatable, giving
zest to our existence.
Without it, life becomes vapid and tasteless
and we no longer care to sit at the table.
"As long as enthusiasm remains we need not worry. We can
still indulge in the spirit if not in the substance of our dreams even
though we may be well aware, like the venturesome Alpine climber
treading on the thin ice that bridges over a bottomless pit, that the
next step may be his last."
The world of medicine and early biomedical engineering were
touched by that enthusiasm and brilliance that was so much a part
of this great man.
16
On a personal note:
In 1949, at the age of 89, Dr. Matas was present to
welcome the International Surgical Society at its New
Orleans Convention. He made the welcoming address in
English, Spanish, French, and Italian. This, he did, without
notes or manuscripts.
Dr. Matas was a schoolboy when Lincoln was assassinated,
and Dwight D. Eisenhower was president when Matas died
in 1957.
17
C h a pter 5
Dr. George Burch and
Professor James Cronvich
Dr. George Burch
Professor James Cronvich
"Doctors could not practice modern medicine
without electronics, their dependence on it has
grown so. We all must remember, however, that
the equipment is our slave, we are not slaves to the
equipment."
-Dr. George Burch Medical World News
May 17, 1968
Actual biomedical engineering at Tulane, as we know it today,
started in the mid 1900's when the faculty from the School of
18
Engineering joined forces with the faculty from the School of
Medicine. With the physicians' knowledge of the human body, and
the engineers' understanding of mechanics and electronics, new
challenges could be faced in the pursuit of medical technologies.
From 1944 until the early 1970's, Jim Cronvich of the School
of Engineering, and George Burch from the School of Medicine
worked together in the study of biomedical engineering. Dr. Burch
received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Tulane
University. He worked at Charity for a year, and was hired as an
assistant professor at Tulane in 1934. He became a full professor in
1947, and was considered a leading authority on cardiovascular
disease.
He studied the effects of room climate control on the
heart, and he was a great aficionado of clinical observation, rather
than computers, charts, or graphs for patient diagnosis. In the June
4, 1965 edition of Medical World News , he noted, "As long as
clinical observation continues to be dismissed as unscientific and
unobjective, and even unreliable, students and young physicians will
become more and more dependent upon the laboratory for
diagnosis.
The physician who presents charts, graphs, and
computations to support his diagnosis will be considered modern
and scientific, whereas the physician who supports his diagnosis by
data collected at the bedside, no matter how accurate, objective,
and critical, will be considered old-fashioned and nonscientific."
Despite this attitude, Dr. Burch did not deny the importance of the
laboratory in medicine. He, after all, worked with Jim Cronvich on
many diagnostic tools.
19
Jim Cronvich received his B.S. at Tulane University in 1935, his
M.S. at Tulane University in 1937, and his S.M. at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1938. He went on to become assistant to
full professor at Tulane in 1942 where was responsible for the
instruction and laboratories in electronics, communications, and
microwaves. A doctor from Charity Hospital who was in charge of
the electroencephalographic laboratory called the Department of
Electrical Engineering at Tulane for help when some of his
equipment was causing problems. Cronvich solved the problem for
the hospital and continued to help with the maintenance of this
doctor's equipment for years to come.
This was Cronvich's first
contact with biomedical engineering.
In 1944 Dr. Burch ran into some difficulties with the control
system he was using in his research.
He brought the apparatus to
Cronvich who was able to show him what was causing the trouble.
Not long after that, Burch was getting odd results from his basal
metabolism apparatus. He called Cronvich, described the problem
over the phone and Cronvich told him how to fix it even though he
had never seen the device.
In late 1945, or early 1946, Dr. Burch found great interest in
some electrocardiology work that had been reported by Dr. Frank
Wilson of the University of Michigan.
He thought of Cronvich and
decided to ask him if they could try to reproduce Dr. Wilson's work.
So one evening, Cronvich took some equipment from the electrical
engineering lab down to Burch's laboratory at Charity hospital. He
and Burch were able to recreate vectorcardiograms like those of Dr.
Wilson's. Because of this success they decided to pursue the
20
research further. Doctor Burch was able to get enough funding for
the research equipment needed and to hire Cronvich full-time
during the summer and part-time during the school year. In June of
1946, Cronvich and Burch began what would be 40 years of steady
association which each other.
Together they tackled projects relating to electrocardiology,
radioactivity's affect on humans, and digital plethysmography to
study blood flow into the fingers and toes and the effect of the
environment on this flow. Even after Burch's retirement at age 65,
he and Cronvich continued to work together on research projects.
Their funding came from donations made by Burch's grateful
patients and Cronvich worked with Burch even though he no longer
received monetary compensation.
In addition to
employing
Cronvich personally, Dr. Burch also had him appointed to the
faculty of the School of Medicine in the same title positions he held
in the School of Engineering... assistant professor, associate
professor, and professor of Biomedical Engineering in
the
Department of Medicine.
For forty years Burch and Cronvich worked together tackling
biomedical engineering challenges.
Together they witnessed the
invention of ultrasound, pacemakers, electron microscopes, the
polio vaccine, CAT scans, MRI's, radioactive tracers, and heart
transplants, among others.
As Cronvich recalls, "My 40 years of
association with Dr. Burch, until his death in 1986, were most
enjoyable. We respected each other's abilities, and I cannot recall a
single disagreement that was not easily resolved. We had essentially
the same political and social outlooks," (Cronvich, 1995).
21
On a personal note:
Late in his career, Burch returned from some medical
meetings and told Cronvich that some of his former
associates did not look well. Within six months they all
died. Watching a Sugar Bowl game, he saw a well known
former Tulane star appear on the television screen in a halftime interview. Burch told his wife that the man looked
sick and should not be out. Two weeks later the Tulane
star died. During a visit to New York for an athletic
conference, Cronvich told Burch, "NEVER tell me I don't
look well."
-As told by James Cronvich,
1995
Cronvich's family was from the New Orleans area and his
brother was sheriff of Jefferson Parish for several years.
22
C h a pter 6
Dr. L. Matthew M. Bach and
Professor Claude J. Sperry,
Jr.
400 HUMAN ENGINEERING (1) Dr. Bach.
Human Engineering seeks to match human beings
with modern machines so that their combined
output will be comfortable, safe, and more
efficient. Electronic applications in medicine,
acoustics and hearing, space medicine, heating
and ventilation, aerodynamics, illuminations and
dial design, feedback theory in nervous system
function, recording problems, prosthetic design for
amputees, and man-machine relationships.
Technical terminology will be minimized. The
importance of this rapidly expanding field to the
engineering profession will be emphasized.
-from Tulane University
Bulletin, a listing of
classes for the College of
Engineering. December
15, 1952.
23
"Human Engineering," taught by Dr. Matthew Bach, is perhaps
the first class offered at Tulane that centered around Biomedical
Engineering. Bach was a professor in the Department of Physiology,
and his "Human Engineering" course discussed the engineering
analogies of certain physiological functions.
Matthew Bach's
research interests, for a great part of his career, revolved around
Biomedical Engineering.
In 1949, Dr. Bach contacted Professor Claude J. Sperry of the
Department of Electrical Engineering. Bach needed help in designing
and building a blood-flow metering device for a research project.
This project was only the first of many in Bach and Sperry's long and
productive collaboration and friendship (Sperry, 1995).
Together, Bach and Sperry tackled several projects ranging
from cats to weapons. Their first joint research project occurred
during 1951 and 1953 for the United States Army Research and
Development Laboratory. It was named "Artificial Moonlight." The
Korean War was underway, and the troops were in danger during the
very dark nights.
"Artificial Moonlight" was based on the theory
that atmospherically scattered light from powerful searchlight
beams would allow the troops to see the approaching enemy
soldiers.
The "Artificial Moonlight" research consisted of laboratory
work and field work. The field work was done along the western
levee of the Bonnet Carre spillway away from the city lights. Insect
repellent was purchased by the gallon! The project entailed setting a
searchlight beam at various altitudes and azimuths under varying
climatic conditions and then measuring both the illumination on the
24
ground and the visual acuity of personnel in a field situation using
artificial moonlight.
Based on the data Bach, Sperry and the other
researchers found, the army constructed a slide rule which field
commanders used to set searchlight elevations and azimuths for
optimum illumination under various weather conditions. They were
told that the "Artificial Moonlight" greatly improved morale on
pitch-black nights (Sperry, 1995).
The Army Research and Development Laboratories turned to
Bach and Sperry again in 1954. They wanted to know how flickering
lights affected the human mind.
Bach and Sperry found
that
"unpleasant and hypnotic subjective effects consistently were
reported when exposed to diffuse flickering light (Sperry, 1995)."
However, it was not proven that the cognitive processes were
affected by the flickering light used in the investigation.
This
project, which was conducted from 1954-1956, was classified due to
its potential use as a weapon.
In April of 1957, the results were
published. Mr. Phil Johnson, a reporter for the New Orleans Item
Newspaper, published an article on April 7, 1957 in which he quoted
Dr. Bach out of context in order to sensationalize the project
results.
The title of the article was, " 'War Winning' Weapon
Unveiled Here By Army." He gave the impression that the army
intended to use flickering lights to distract enemy soldiers, when in
fact, that was not the case. As Sperry recalls, "The fact was that the
process was essentially useless as a weapon and the Army
declassified the results."
For the next eleven years, Bach and Sperry's joint research
involved trying to understand and quantify the relationship between
25
the electrical activity of the brain, and defensive behavior in cats.
Initially, the experiment took place in an isolation chamber.
The cat was prepared with implanted cortex electrodes, and placed
in
the
chamber.
The
electrodes were
connected to
an
electroencephalogram (EEG), with flexible wires through a connector
in the wall of the chamber.
The cat would then be subjected to
various controlled stimuli while the brainwaves and behaviors were
recorded.
Unfortunately, the results of the experiment were
criticized due to the behavior of the cat being severely limited by
the wire leads and the artificial environment.
Sperry decided to attempt to devise a radio transmitter, which
was small enough to be implanted subcutaneously, and which would
broadcast brainwaves to a remote receiver. This would allow the cat
to function naturally, in an unrestrained environment, while the
scientists recorded the behavior and the brainwaves.
With the help
of engineering colleagues, Sperry accomplished his goal towards the
end of 1961. This invention, published in SCIENCE, received a great
deal of attention. Bach and Sperry received correspondence from
all over the world, including iron-curtain countries. They were also
interviewed and featured in the September 1961 issue of TULANIAN.
By 1968, the telemetering transmitter had been drastically
improved, and a completely implantable stimulator had been
devised. Bach and Sperry were able to analyze the differences in the
evoked potentials between a resting, isolated state and the defensive
state in the cat. The analysis was performed on an early main-frame
computer.
The experiment was then ready to be moved to the
Hebert Research Center, near Belle Chasse, which would serve as a
26
natural habitat.
However, before significant results could be
obtained, Dr. Bach was asked to help start a new medical school at
the University of Nevada in Reno. The experiment was terminated
when Bach left.
Sperry did very little Biomedical Engineering independently of
Bach.
He participated with some colleagues from the Tulane
Biophysics program in the study of sonic signaling, taking into
account the frequency response of the human ear.
Sperry also
served as an expert witness concerning visual acuity at night, and
noise induced hearing loss.
Claude J. Sperry, Jr. retired as Professor Emeritus and is
currently living in New Orleans.
27
On a personal note:
When asked to describe Dr. L. Matthew M. Bach, Sperry
replied:
"He was one of the three most intelligent colleagues of my
acquaintance. Matt's quick wit allowed for instant and
sometimes sharp retorts. It was amusing to observe him
using that ability on slower antagonists who sometimes
were not immediately aware that he had made a devastating
point. He had a highly developed sense of humor and was
extraordinarily cooperative and pleasant to work with.
Matt was a large man: about 6'3" and over 300 pounds. He
was a compulsive eater and avoided exercise. He jokingly
told me that whenever he felt like exercising, he would lie
down until the feeling passed. He also told me that he
knew he would die young, probably of a heart attack.
Indeed, that happened."
28
C h a pter 7
Dr. Jack Wickstrom and
Professor John Martinez
Professor John L. Martinez
Dr. Jack Wickstrom
"Once, our whiplash [experiment] was covered by
a German magazine which photographed Donald
Garcia, our engineering graduate student at the
time, together with a test monkey in the test
vehicle. This magazine turned out to be the
equivalent of the National Enquirer and the
picture caption showed 'The smiling executioner
and test animal’ when it was published."
- John Martinez
29
Another great Tulane physician/engineer pair was that of Dr.
Wickstrom of Orthopedics, and Professor Martinez of Mechanical
Engineering. Together, these men explored the causes and effects of
whiplash using laboratory animals, and equipment which simulated
the rear-end collision in automobiles.
The animals were tested
during impacts with headrests, and impacts without headrests.
Because this work took place in the early 1960's, headrests were not
yet a required safety feature, and the effects of whiplash were not
well understood.
In addition to whiplash, brain injuries were
inflicted with no impact to the head, just rotational acceleration.
The
test
animals
were
examined
by
Orthopedics,
Psychiatry/Neurology, and finally, by Pathology for signs of injury.
This highly technical work was accompanied by highly
technical equipment such as high-speed motion pictures that ran at
3000 frames per second, and "flash" X-rays taken of the head and
neck positions during the acceleration.
So well received was their
work, that Professor Martinez was hired as a deputy policeman for a
year in the investigation of car accidents that occurred with cars
made in 1968 which had installed various safety devices.
In addition to working on projects together, they were
partners in education.
Doctor Wickstrom would ask Martinez to
lecture to his medical students about strength of materials or
mechanics. Many medical students had taken only one course in
physics, and had only a minimum education in mathematics.
Wickstrom and Martinez both saw the importance of physics in
orthopedics, and Martinez would provide them with that kind of
information.
30
Doctor Wickstrom was always munificent both to Martinez
and the Tulane School of
Engineering.
Martinez describes
Wickstrom as a man who was, "very smart [and] tough but admired
by his students and residents who referred to him as 'Cactus Jack.'
He was nationally known and the source of most of our grants. He
was very generous professionally -- always listing me as co-principal
investigator, something not usually done."
In addition to sharing
credit for the work they had done, he once gave nine out of ten slots
of a three-year training grant to the School of Engineering. This
generosity was a vital step toward starting the Biomedical
Engineering Department.
Doctor Wickstrom spent the last 24 years of his life at Tulane
University, and was Chairman of Orthopedics for the majority of
that time. He died in 1979 leaving behind a legacy of work and slew
of orthopedists. John Martinez still lives in New Orleans, and works
every morning as a consultant to Tulane Medical School's
Development Office. If Martinez were still a researcher at Tulane,
he thinks he would "probably still work in Orthopedics using physics
and math -- improving joints such as knees, elbows, shoulders, and
fingers."
31
On a personal note:
Known as "Cactus Jack" for his 'prickly' personality, Dr.
Jack Wickstrom was given a six-foot cactus one year from
his interns. He was so proud of this sharp gift, that he
planted it right in his front yard.
32
C h a pter 8
Drs. Raymond Bailey, Duane
Bruley, Bob Chambers, and
Bob Weaver
"My prediction is that Bioengineering will be the
fifth traditional engineering discipline. Napoleon
started military engineering in the 18th century.
His soldiers came home and built roads and
bridges, which led to civil engineering, which
progressed into mechanical and electrical
engineering. Those disciplines are based on
physics and math. Then, in World War I, the
Germans' work led to chemical engineering. The
only science left is biology which leads to the fifth
traditional discipline... bioengineering."
- Dr. Duane Bruley on the progression of
engineering disciplines. April, 1995
The Chemical Engineering Department had several engineers
on its faculty whose research interests crossed over into the
biomedical discipline.
The Chemical Engineering Department Head
from 1951 until 1967, Dr. Raymond Bailey, was a great proponent of
biomedical engineering.
Bailey earned his B.S. in Chemical
Engineering from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in 1944, his M.S.
and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State
33
University in 1948, and 1949 respectively.
He was an associate
professor at the University of Mississippi from 1948 until 1951, and
came to Tulane as Chemical Engineering Department Head in 1951.
In 1967, Bailey was appointed to Assistant Dean of Engineering, and
in 1973 he was appointed Associate Dean of Engineering.
While at Tulane, Bailey developed the first accredited chemical
engineering program for Tulane and he initiated one of the first
programs for pre-medical students in engineering.
From 1970 to
1972, Bailey chaired an engineering task force to start the five-year
engineering masters program.
It is this task force
that
recommended the establishment of a biomedical engineering
program staffed by mechanical engineering faculty.
In 1960 Dr. Bailey hired Dr. Robert E. C. Weaver. Weaver grew
up in New Orleans and attended Warren Easton High School. When
Weaver earned his high school diploma in 1949, he also earned the
distinction of attaining the highest-grade average in the history of
Warren Easton High School -- a 98.5%.
His performance in high
school earned him a scholarship to Tulane University in 1949. His
first year of college Weaver's major was pre-law, but as a
sophomore he transferred into chemical engineering.
On June 2,
1953 Weaver graduated from Tulane University as the first student
to achieve a straight "A" average in the history of Tulane's School of
Engineering. In 1955 Weaver earned his M.S. in Chemical Engineering
from Tulane and then continued his studies at Princeton where he
earned his M.S. in Economics and his Ph. D.
Weaver joined the Chemical Engineering faculty in 1960 and
was involved in research dealing with complex automated control
34
systems.
This work eventually prompted Weaver to look at the
body's nervous system. The complexity and the interdependency of
bodily systems led Weaver's research towards the integrated
functions of the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and
eventually, kidney function. Weaver and his research team were the
first to publish material describing, in detail, a single neuron and the
effects of stress and fatigue on neural function.
Weaver taught
physiology to engineering students, was a consultant for the
vascular department of the V.A. Hospital, and was the first to
simulate physiological processes from an engineering standpoint.
In 1973 Dr. Samuel F. Hulbert, the new Dean of the School of
Engineering, hired Dr. Duane Bruley as the Chemical Engineering
Department Head.
Bruley received his B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1956, his M.S. in
Nuclear Engineering from the School of Reactor Technology in 1957,
another M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford in 1959, and
a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tennessee in
1962.
In addition to excelling in engineering, Duane Bruley had a
talent for the game of tennis.
While a graduate student at the
University of Tennessee, Bruley was also head tennis coach.
From
1962 until 1973 Bruley was a professor and the head tennis coach
for Clemson University in South Carolina. When Dean Hulbert was
trying to recruit Bruley to come to Tulane, he offered him a choice
of being Associate Dean, head of the new Biomedical program, or
head of Chemical Engineering. Hulbert also arranged for Bruley to
35
be head tennis coach. In 1973 Bruley came to Tulane as the head
tennis coach and the department head of Chemical Engineering.
Bruley's research in biomedical engineering began long before
he came to Tulane. His primary research was in oxygen transport to
the brain. In 1962, he received funding through NIH to research
oxygen transport, and in 1973 he formed the International Society
on Oxygen Transport to Tissue. They are a group that is still active
and that meets annually around the world. Bruley considers his
major contributions in biomedical engineering to be in areas
relating to human tissues (particularly the brain), blood coagulation
and glutenation, and pathologic states for the viability of neurons.
In 1977 Dean Hulbert became president of Rose Hulman
Institute of Technology, and Bruley left Tulane to be the Vice
President of Academic Affairs at Rose Hulman.
In 1983 Bruley
became head of Biomedical Engineering at Louisiana Tech, and he is
currently Dean of Engineering at University of Maryland - Baltimore
County.
Bruley's main research interest now is in the search for
anti-coagulants that can be used clinically to prevent thrombosis
and coagulation. He is doing research on Protein-C, which, if it can
be manufactured inexpensively enough, can replace more dangerous
anti-coagulant drugs that are now on the market.
After Dr. Duane Bruley left Tulane Dr. Weaver was appointed
Chairman of Chemical Engineering. Weaver remained chairman until
1980 when he went to the University of Tennessee as the Dean of
Engineering. He stayed at University of Tennessee until 1984 when
he moved into private industry.
He is now the Vice President of
International Matex Tank Terminals (IMTT) in New Orleans. IMTT is
36
a Dutch-American partnership company that specializes in the
storage of liquid products.
Another Tulane Chemical Engineering Professor involved in
biomedical research was Dr. Robert C. Chambers. Chambers earned
his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Cal Tech and his Ph.D. at University of
California at Berkeley in 1965. After receiving his Ph.D. Chambers
joined the Tulane University Chemical Engineering faculty where he
stayed until 1976.
In 1973 Chambers was a principal investigator for research on
an enzyme reactor. The blood of a patient afflicted with an enzyme
disorder would be circulated and filtered through Chamber's
enzyme reactor. Through this process, necessary enzymes could be
added to the body, or excess enzymes could be removed. In 1975
Chambers studied the methods to convert whey, a waste byproduct
of cheese, into useful sugar and protein nutrients. He predicted that
he could reclaim 70 million tons of sugar syrup each year for the
whey produced in American dairies.
In addition to working with enzymes Chambers researched
inherited genetic diseases, liver assist devices, and cancer
chemotherapy.
Chambers is now the Chairman of Chemical Engineering at
Auburn where he continues his work in two main areas of enzyme
research. The first is in the use of multi-enzyme systems to lower
alcohol levels, and the second is in environmental biotechnology
using fungi to remove harmful materials produced by industrial
pollution.
37
On a personal note:
One of Dr. Bruley's students built a random number
generator. This machine was a box about six inches long by
eight inches wide. On its face it had about 30 little lights
that would randomly flash on and off. One evening it was
left, turned on, in Bruley's office. His secretary went in to
his dark office and the flashing lights startled her. The next
day she asked Bruley what it was and he told her he was
intercepting signals from the planet Mars. His secretary
was scared to death and went around telling everybody that
Dr. Bruley was talking to Mars. Bruley allowed her to go
on believing this for quite a while until he gave in and told
her the truth.
In the 1970's in Louisiana, it was not required to change
license plates when a car was sold from one person to
another. Well, one of the professors in this chapter sold his
car. Unbeknownst to this professor, people started seeing
what they thought was his car parked in front of the
freshman girls dorm at Tulane. One afternoon he received
a phone call from someone who was demanding to know
why this professor's car was always by the girls dorm. So
embarrassed was this professor, that he still wishes to
remain unnamed.
38
C h a pter 9
Drs. Sam Hulbert, Steve
Cowin, Jerry Klawitter, and
Allan Weinstein
Dr. Samuel F. Hulbert
"It is my hope and objective that the Tulane School of
Engineering will become greatly involved in areas
which are of prime importance today -- bioengineering,
energy conversion engineering, and ocean and coastal
engineering. Tulane is particularly well suited to
become a national leader in bioengineering because it
has a medical school of outstanding status and an
engineering school, whose faculty is largely concerned
with the application of engineering to medicine and
the biological sciences."
- Dr. Samuel Hulbert, 1974
39
By 1970, Tulane had a track record and a reputation for
research combining engineering and medicine, thus placing itself on
the path towards the development of a biomedical engineering
curriculum.
William Van Buskirk was hired in 1970 as the first
faculty member to have specific training in biomedical engineering,
and by the mid 1970’s; most of the mechanical engineering graduate
students chose research in biomechanics as the topic of their
dissertations.
The climate for developing a biomedical engineering program
became more favorable when Dr. Lee H. Johnson, after serving as
Dean of Engineering for 22 years, retired in 1973 and was replaced
by Dr. Samuel F. Hulbert. Hulbert attended Alfred University in New
York where he earned his B.S. in ceramic engineering in 1958 and
his Ph.D. in Ceramic Science in 1964.
That year, he joined the
faculty of Clemson University in South Carolina, and in 1970 he
became
associate
dean
interdisciplinary studies.
for
engineering
research
and
While at Clemson, Dr. Hulbert was
instrumental in developing one of the largest and most well
equipped biomedical engineering programs in the country. It was
also at Clemson where he began his association with Drs. Allan
Weinstein, and Duane Bruley, who would follow him to Tulane in the
mid 1970's.
Sam Hulbert began his work at Tulane in 1973.
He had a
strong background in biomedical engineering and saw that Tulane
had many of the resources it needed to establish a biomedical
engineering department. He sat down with every staff member and
40
asked him or her about their personal interests and their visions for
the school's future. Like him, a great many of his faculty had an
interest in biomedical engineering.
The first year he was at Tulane, Hulbert recruited and hired
Duane Bruley as head of chemical engineering, and Dave Wieting as
head of mechanical engineering. Both men had strong research
interests in biomedical engineering.
Hulbert's emphasis on hiring
department heads with biomedical backgrounds was not a popular
move with many of the faculty in the School of Engineering.
In
retrospect, Hulbert attributes that lack of support to jealousy
among departments due to the attention biomedical engineering was
receiving.
Also that first year, Hulbert developed three programs within
the School of Engineering:
Engineering Management, Biomedical
Engineering, and Computer & Information Systems.
He appointed
Dr. William Van Buskirk, an aerospace engineer whose initial Tulane
appointment had been in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, as
director of the Biomedical Engineering Program. Dr. Robert Weaver
was appointed as director of the Engineering Management Program,
and Dr. Victor Law, a chemical engineer, was appointed as director
of the Computer and Information Systems Program.
When Hulbert was an Alfred University graduate student, Jerry
Klawitter was an Alfred University undergraduate student.
They
were in the same small, local fraternity and Hulbert recalls always
seeing Klawitter on his back under an automobile tinkering with
and/or fixing something. Hulbert was in need of someone with good
mechanical skills to help him with his research and he knew
41
Klawitter was the man for the job. They worked together until 1964
when they both graduated... Hulbert received his Ph.D. in ceramic
science and Klawitter received his B.S. in ceramic engineering.
Hulbert joined the faculty of
Clemson
in
1964,
persuaded
Graduate
the
and
he
Clemson
School
to
admit
Klawitter as a graduate student.
Unfortunately, Klawitter did
not
have
an
outstanding
undergraduate
academic
record and Clemson would
only
accept
him
with
a
provision that he would make
up required courses his first
semester.
well
Klawitter did very
that
semester
and
Dr. Allan Weinstein (left)
& Dr. Jerry Klawitter
continued on to get his M.S. in
Ceramic Engineering, and his
Ph.D. in Bioengineering under
Hulbert's direction.
Clemson had a strict rule against hiring their own graduates as
part faculty members. Again, Hulbert put his persuasive talents to
work and convinced Clemson that they would be losing an incredible
teacher if they did not hire Klawitter. Hulbert was then, and still is,
of the strong opinion that "Jerry has an incredible mechanical skill,
42
but his greatest quality is being an outstanding teacher; he can
inspire, encourage and demonstrate difficult concepts."
Hulbert's
passion for Klawitter's ability prevailed, and Clemson hired Klawitter
as the first Clemson graduate in many years to be on the faculty.
Shortly thereafter, Klawitter received a Clemson Award for being an
outstanding teacher.
Another of Hulbert's recruits at Clemson was Dr. Allan
Weinstein.
Weinstein earned his Ph.D. in physical metallurgy in
1971 from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He then spent a
year doing post doctorate work at the University of Pennsylvania. It
was at the University of Pennsylvania that Hulbert and Weinstein
first met. Hulbert was attending a meeting at Penn when he heard
Weinstein speak. Hulbert was "immediately impressed by his work,
his self-confidence, and his oral communication." He invited
Weinstein to interview at Clemson, and he hired him on to the
Clemson faculty.
When Hulbert took the position as Dean of Engineering at
Tulane, he had every intention of bringing Klawitter and Weinstein
along. Hulbert knew he had two talented engineers in Klawitter and
Weinstein, and because of their similar research interests in
biomaterials he knew that they were a team that should stay
together. It wasn't until 1975 that the Tulane positions opened, but
when they did Klawitter and Weinstein moved again to be with their
mentor, Sam Hulbert, and joined the faculty in Mechanical
Engineering at Tulane.
Klawitter never enjoyed the
theoretical side
of
engineering-- he stayed on the practical side. He also enjoyed the
43
clinical side of biomedical engineering.
When he left Clemson to
come to Tulane, he did so partially because of the strong
relationship between Tulane's Department of Orthopedics and the
School of Engineering. He knew Dr. Jack Wickstrom, the Chairman
of Orthopedic surgery, worked with engineers therefore providing
clinical research possibilities.
Klawitter and Weinstein's research interests while at Tulane
revolved around biomaterials and their applications in the human
body.
They worked primarily on the use of porous material
implants, dental implants and the development of hip replacement.
Together they developed a biomaterials lab, which was the most
rewarding project for Klawitter. They enjoyed working with patients
in a clinical environment and were both Clinical Associate Professors
of Orthopedic Surgery at Tulane School of Medicine.
Hulbert's main research interests while at Clemson and Tulane
were in biomechanics and the engineering aspects of developing
artificial body parts. He also was involved in research, using his
ceramics background, to develop materials for a glass-packaging
container, which could be easily processed, to dissolve in water
after use, thus reducing solid waste pollution.
While at Tulane Hulbert, Klawitter, and Weinstein had a very
good relationship both professionally and personally. According to
Weinstein, he and Klawitter operated like one individual. "We were
the best of friends and professional partners. It is rare to find a
professional relationship that existed as ours did.
families together, we did everything together."
We moved our
Every couple of
months Hulbert, Klawitter, Weinstein, Bruley, and their respective
44
wives would buy a bag of oysters and have an oyster party at the
Hulbert's home. The men would shuck the oysters and the women
would each make their "specialty" oyster platter.
Another member of the Tulane's faculty in Mechanical
Engineering was Dr. Stephen Cowin. Cowin earned his B.S. and M.S.
degrees from Johns Hopkins, his
Ph.D. from
Pennsylvania
State, and he spent a year
doing postdoctoral work at the
University of Nottingham.
Dr.
Cowin's
principal
research interest early in his
career was in the mechanics of
materials. He began teaching at
Tulane in 1969 and he was
consistently rated by students
as one of the most effective
professors until he left Tulane
in 1988.
When Hulbert, Klawitter
Dr. Stephen C. Cowin
and Weinstein came to Tulane,
Cowin's research interests moved into bone remodeling.
Cowin's
strengths in theoretical engineering and applied mathematics were a
natural complement to the practical abilities of his colleagues
Klawitter and Weinstein.
With Sam Hulbert as dean, William Van Buskirk as head of the
biomedical engineering program and
Cowin, Klawitter, and
Weinstein as biomedical engineers, Tulane had the most of the
45
faculty it needed to form a separate department of biomedical
engineering. Within the School of Engineering, there was a great
deal of debate surrounding establishing a biomedical engineering as
an undergraduate major.
Dr. Dave Wieting, for example, was adamantly opposed to
offering an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at
Tulane. Wieting was hired by Hulbert as the Head of Mechanical
Engineering in July of 1974. While at Tulane, Wieting furthered his
research that involved artificial heart valves.
Wieting thought
students should have a traditional engineering background and then
add biomedical engineering at the graduate level.
concerned that there would be
no
jobs for
Wieting was
undergraduate
biomedical engineers.
Since his undergraduate studies, Wieting has been involved in
heart valve research. Dr. Wieting is currently working for PfizerShiley Heart Valve Research Center, and he still holds the opinion
that biomedical engineering at the undergraduate level does not
provide enough preparation for work in the industry.
Wieting was always impressed by Tulane University. One thing
that attracted Wieting to Tulane was the close proximity of the
Engineering and Medical Schools.
Unfortunately, he felt a real
reservation on the part of the administration to allow faculty to do
consulting work.
Wieting saw this as a loss of opportunity for the
students to have 'hands-on' experience. In general, he feels that the
education system in the United States is hurting its students by not
providing enough practical application.
46
In 1976 Dr. Hulbert was offered the position of President at
Rose Hulman Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana. Although he was
hesitant to leave Tulane after such a short time, he couldn't pass up
the opportunity to move on to a university presidency.
He
attempted to bring Klawitter and Weinstein with him to Rose
Hulman, but eventually they both declined.
Bruley, however, did
move with Hulbert, and became the Vice President of Academic
Affairs at Rose Hulman in 1978.
Samuel Hulbert is still the President of Rose Hulman, and is
currently working with his graduate students on research areas of
biomedical engineering such
as:
reducing the
loosening of
orthopedic appliances due to wear, improving wear resistance of
polyethylene, making better bearings for hip and knee replacements
and improving bone cement by adding hydroxyapatite.
47
On a personal note:
While growing up, Jerry Klawit
father was a shop
instructor for a high school near where they lived. Jerry
spent a great deal of time at the shop, and it is there that he
developed his great ability to work with his hands. Now, he
spends his free time building road racer motorcycles. He
has built three motorcycles and his "tinkering hobby" has
won him two national championships.
One of the early Biomedical Engineering Department offices
was physically housed on the top floor of Stanley Thomas
Hall. Because little was understood about their work,
people thought 'Frankenstein' type experiments went on up
there. One night, in the office, Klawitter and Weinstein set
up a skeleton in Klawitter's chair wearing Klawitter's jacket
and hat. Early the next morning, Dorothy, the maid came
into the room, saw the skeleton upright in the desk, and
went running out screaming in fright. She vowed she would
NEVER set foot in that office again!
48
C h a pter 10
The Biomedical Engineering
Program Becomes The
Department of Biomedical
Engineering
"It seemed like a real good gamble at the time"
- Dean Hugh Thompson
on why he turned the
Biomedical Program into
the Biomedical
Department
Following Dean Hulbert's resignation in 1976, Dr. Hugh Allison
Thompson became the Dean of Tulane's School of Engineering.
Thompson earned his B.S. at Auburn University in 1956.
He
completed his graduate work at Tulane, earning his M.S. in 1962 and
his Ph.D. in 1964. Thompson taught at Tulane in the Mechanical
Engineering Department and conducted research in mechanical
vibrations and dynamics at the interface between mechanical and
electrical engineering.
Much
of
Thompson's research was
sponsored by various power companies.
When Hulbert left Tulane in 1967, he had already implemented
three new programs: Biomedical Engineering, Computer and
49
Information Systems, and Engineering Management. Each of these
programs had exhibited great success so Thompson moved to create
departments out of the programs.
The reason Thompson was so
supportive of creating the Department of Biomedical Engineering
was because Tulane's history and principle attraction was medicine.
The most popular of majors in the Tulane School of Arts and
Sciences was pre-medical, and it stood to reason that there should
be a strong pre-medical program in the School of Engineering.
Dr. William Van Buskirk had been the Biomedical Engineering
Program Chair, and because the program was successful, Dean
Thompson appointed Van Buskirk as Department Chair. In 1977 it
was official -- Biomedical Engineering was finally a department of
Tulane's School of Engineering.
Van Buskirk was Chairman, Dr.
Klawitter, Dr. Weinstein and Dr. Cowin were on the faculty, and their
office was "under the leaky skylights on the fourth floor of Stanley
Thomas Hall" (Walker, 1994).
Klawitter and Weinstein were the
department's biomaterials experts and Cowin and Van Buskirk were
the biomechanics experts.
In order to be complete, they needed
someone who was an expert in bioelectronics. Enter Dr. Cedric F.
Walker as the fifth Biomedical Engineering faculty member and their
expert in bioelectronics and medical instrumentation.
One of the first graduates of Tulane's Department of
Biomedical Engineering was Mr. Steven Greenstein, a native of New
York. Greenstein graduated from Tulane in 1978 with a B.S. in
Biomedical Engineering.
Greenstein remembers the department's
early days as being disorganized and difficult.
There was no air
conditioning and very little ventilation in the classrooms and the
50
curriculum had not been well planned.
In his Senior year,
Greenstein and the entire graduating class had to take a Freshmen
English course because the requirements for engineers had changed.
Although Greenstein's memories of Tulane are not all positive,
he was involved in some fascinating research projects regarding
spinal injury due to Air Force Jet ejector seats, electrical stimulus in
blood serum, and intraventricular pressure gradients. Greenstein
was a disc jockey for the Tulane radio station, WTUL, where he was
known as the "Doctor of Soul and Jazz."
Greenstein is now living in Kenner and is the owner of three
companies: Advanced Medical Systems, Laserfile International, and
House of Cards.
Greenstein says he was the smartest one in his
graduating class. Most of his classmates went on to medical school;
Greenstein relied on luck.
In 1990 he won a 27 million dollar
Florida Lottery.
Fransisco Arabia Jr. was one of the people who graduated with
a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering in 1979. Arabia then went to
University of Pennsylvania Medical School where he graduated from
in 1983.
Currently, Fransisco Arabia Jr. is a surgeon at the
University of Arizona Medical Center where he specializes in
cardiothorasic implantations. Arabia's work involves heart and lung
transplants and artificial heart implants.
Arabia has nothing but fond memories of his years at Tulane
University.
He enjoyed studying engineering and he still uses
biomedical engineering in his work. His knowledge of biomedical
instrumentation is a great help to him when implanting artificial
hearts.
There are several patients of his who are awaiting heart
51
transplants. While waiting for a donor heart, these patients rely on
artificial hearts. Arabia is also involved in engineering education.
He is trying to develop an Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
department at the University of Arizona.
By 1980 the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tulane was
a booming success. Unfortunately, 1980 is the year that Dr. Jerry
Klawitter left Tulane. Klawitter's research had led him to discover a
way to dramatically reduce the turbulence in the flow of blood
through artificial heart valves. Klawitter designed his artificial heart
valve but his responsibilities as a professor prevented him from
commercially marketing his invention. He figured he had been in
college, in some capacity, for twenty years and it was time for him
to move on.
Move on he did... Klawitter developed a company
called Hemex, which he sold to Baxter International in 1987.
Klawitter then started his second company, Ascension Biomedical,
which manufactures hand and foot joint replacement parts.
Klawitter is the president and only employee of
Ascension
Biomedical.
In 1981, Dr. Jerry Weinstein left Tulane to be the director of
an orthopedic company called Intermedics Orthopedics. Weinstein is
now the "president, CEO and chairman of the board" for a company
called Orthologic. Orthologic specializes in external fixation devices
and bone growth simulators.
52
On a personal note:
In the fall of 1978, Fransisco Arabia attended a school-wide
party out on the Newcomb Quad. One of the attractions at
this party was the whipped cream pie-throwing booth. For
only one dollar you could have a pie thrown at the person of
your choice. Arabia paid his dollar and pointed out Dr.
Cedric F. Walker. The pie thrower chased Walker clear
across the quad until he finally had a good shot. Walker
was struck by a whipped cream pie. To this day, Arabia
can only describe Walker's reaction in one way: "Ooooh, he
was SO pissed off."
53
C h a pter 11
Drs. William Van Buskirk,
Cedric F. Walker and a Look
Into the Future
"If my only legacy when I am gone is having
developed Tulane Biomedical Engineering into
what it is, than that is a legacy I will be proud of.
It is the accomplishment I am most proud of."
-Dr. William Van Buskirk
54
William Van Buskirk came to Tulane in 1970 as a postdoctorate working with the Head of Biomechanics and Orthopedics
at the Tulane Medical Center on a nine-month research grant. Van
Buskirk started teaching Statics and dynamics as an adjunct
instructor for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The
reason Van Buskirk stayed at Tulane was because there was an
opening in the Mechanical Engineering Faculty. He took the position
as Assistant Professor and also took over advising the pre-medical
students.
Van Buskirk was the first faculty member hired at Tulane who
had actual training in biomedical engineering. He earned his B.S.
from United States Military Academy, West Point, New York in 1964.
He then went to Stanford University where he earned his M.S.
(1966) and his Ph.D. (1970) in Aeronautical and Astronautical
Engineering. While at Stanford, Van Buskirk's graduate research
centered around developing a mathematical model
of
the
semicircular canals in the human ear. His model was the best model
available at that time, and his dissertation research has been picked
up by several other institutions including MIT and University of
Utah.
While Hulbert was Dean
(1973-1976) the
School
of
Engineering took a turn towards Biomedical Engineering and decided
to develop a program that would allow students to major in
Biomedical Engineering even though there was no department. Van
Buskirk was appointed Head of the Biomedical Engineering Program
in 1974. The interest in a Biomedical Engineering major grew and
grew, and by the time the Department was founded (1977) Van
55
Buskirk knew it was destined for success.
Van Buskirk was
appointed to Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering
where he would remain until he was promoted to Dean of the Tulane
School of Engineering in 1991.
Van Buskirk remembers his feeling of gratification when the
new Biomedical Department had its first evaluation and was praised
as being very good.
Right away, the Department was the most
successful and the Biomedical major was the most popular. He had
made a commitment to the Department of Biomedical Engineering
and was determined to make it great.
Biomedical Engineering at Tulane has grown and evolved the
way Van Buskirk hoped it would. He attributes much of the success
to the emphasis put on teaching and the democratic way in which
departmental decisions were made.
Biomedical Engineering's approach to hiring was, and still is, to
never rush the hiring process -- to always wait for the right person
to come along. Van Buskirk wanted his faculty to be a part of the
decisions made. He didn't considered it to be his department, it was
everyone's department and Van Buskirk wanted everyone involved.
The first faculty member hired for the Department of
Biomedical Engineering was Dr. Cedric F. Walker.
Walker earned
both his B.S. and his M.S. from Stanford University in 1972 on a
special five-year plan. Walker went to Duke after graduating from
Stanford. In 1978, Walker earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University.
Van Buskirk saw Walker giving a speech at Duke on the
feedback of an electrical prosthetic hand. After Walker was done
56
speaking the students surrounded him and asked him questions for
about half an hour.
Van Buskirk needed a faculty member who
specialized in bioelectronics and he knew Walker was his man. In
October of 1976 Walker came to New Orleans to be interviewed.
Van Buskirk picked him from his Hotel to take him to campus. They
recognized each other from a biomechanics class they had taken
together at Stanford.
Walker remembers feeling sure he had the
job before the interview even started. He was correct... the job was
his.
Walker taught two classes to the Biomedical Engineering
students. The first was medical instrumentation and the second was
physiology.
When the Biomedical Department was developed, they had to
find a place for offices. For the first semester, which was in the fall
of 1977, the Biomedical Faculty was given tiny offices on the first
floor of Stanley Thomas Hall. The offices were no larger than 8 feet
by 11 feet, and no more than two people could comfortably meet in
the offices. Luckily, in November of 1977, the faculty got to move
up into the fourth floor of Stanley Thomas Hall. There were several
offices, and Walker got last choice.
His office was very different
from the others. It had stark white walls, small white tile flooring
and expensive, bright and hot track lighting.
It was the largest
office, but both Van Buskirk and Walker agree that it looked exactly
like a men's bathroom -- without the urinal.
There was only one laboratory available to the Biomedical
Engineers, and it was under the leaky skylights.
Klawitter and
Weinstein developed their biomaterials laboratory in this space, and
all other experiments took place in corners of the room.
57
It was
difficult, however, to find a place in the lab that would not be under
one of the leaks in the roof.
When Dr. David Wieting, who also had a lab on the fourth
floor, left Tulane, Walker took over his lab space and created the
electronics lab. Walker remembers it being nice up on the top floor
where no one would bother them and they could do any
modifications that suited them.
Of all of Walker's research, the project he finds most
rewarding is a cerebellar stimulator project.
He and Dr. Robert
Heath, a physician specializing in brain function and psychoanalysis,
studied a group of 42 people who were severely emotionally
disturbed.
Walker and Heath implanted electrodes over the
patient's cerebellum that fed stimulants 24 hours per day.
effects were fascinating.
The
The first patient they used was a man
who was completely unmanageable. He was institutionalized and
spent a great deal of time in a straight jacket so he would not hurt
himself or others. He was very strong, and he was slightly retarded.
Four weeks after the electrodes were implanted he was able to move
back in with his parents.
He was home for about three years, and then over
Thanksgiving dinner he became very violent and overturned the
dining room table.
His parents called the police and the patient
ended up hurting one of the officers before they could get him
under control. When they took an X-ray of this patient's head, they
saw that one of the wires from one of the electrodes had come
loose. The problem was fixed and he is now working as a busboy in
a fast-food restaurant.
58
More than any of his research, Walker is proud of his
involvement in developing the
Engineering into what it is today.
Department of
Biomedical
He watched it grow from five
faculty members and one laboratory into one of the greatest
programs in the country. In 1991 when Van Buskirk became Dean
of Engineering, Walker took over as Chairman of the Department of
Biomedical Engineering.
Walker knows the importance of being in
line with technological advancements. All of the students, beginning
with the class of 1996, own Macintosh laptop computers and the
curriculum have been renovated to make full use of that resource.
The laptop computers are used in an electronic classroom
environment, in the teaching laboratories, and for a broad range of
course-related assignments. (Walker, 1994).
Biomedical engineering is moving to a cellular level.
Biomedical Engineers are trying to figure out ways to re-engineer
cells so they'll take on desirable characteristics.
For example, if
biomedical engineers figure out a way to re-engineering cells to
adhere better, they could improve implantation fixation.
Walker
knows this is the future of biomedical engineering, and he is
prepared to make the changes in his curriculum when the time
comes.
William Van Buskirk feels he has a contribution to make as
Dean of the School of Engineering.
His goal is to increase the
amount of research going on in all of the departments while
maintaining the commitment to teaching. He believes that there is
no better job in the world than being a professor of Biomedical
Engineering at Tulane University. When he feels his work is done as
59
Dean, he would be very pleased to be on the faculty of the
department he created.
60
On a personal note:
Dr. Walker’s wife, Julie Walker, also works for Tulane.
She is the Vice President of Development of Institutional
Advancement. They both plan to stay at Tulane until they
retire from education.
One year, Dr. William Van Buskirk received an endowed
chair position. His students all got together and gifted him
with furniture polish that they felt sure he would need for his
new "chair." Van Buskirk didn't think it was all that
humorous, but Reader's Digest did. They published the
story in a section about humorous events that happen at
college.
A man named Max Anliker has played an important part in
the development of Tulane Biomedical Engineering's faculty.
Anliker was Dr. Cedric Walker's undergraduate adviser at
Stanford until 1971. He was William Van Buskirk's
dissertation advisor at Stanford until 1970. In 1971,
Anliker left Stanford and began teaching at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology (SFIT). One of the
Biomedical Engineering faculty members at Tulane, Dr.
Kirk Bundy, attended the SFIT, and Anliker was his
dissertation advisor until 1975. Since then, Anliker has sent
two of his students to teach at Tulane's Department of
Biomedical Engineering.
61
C h a pter 11
Other Contributions
There are many, many scientists that have contributed to
Tulane's history of Biomedical Engineering. Unfortunately, much of
their work and their lives were not recorded.
The people featured
in this chapter have done great research for Tulane and for
Biomedical Engineering; however, the information available about
them is limited.
Dr. Robert G. Heath and Hal C. Becker worked together at
Tulane in the mid 1900's.
Heath was a psychiatry and neurology
specialist at Tulane Medical Center, and Becker was a Tulane
Electrical Engineering graduate. They worked together on a number
of projects using various recording methods.
Heath did work on
electrode recordings relating the brain function to emotion and
mapping out centers for the brain's pleasure system, and other
emotions like rage and fear. He also explored the pathology behind
schizophrenia.
Edward Harris was Head of Mechanical Engineering at Tulane
from 1977 until 1981.
Harris did research on blood cell
deformability, craneospinal fluid pressures, shoulder mechanics,
head impact models, and kinesiology. Harris died in 1982 at the age
of 66.
62
One of Tulane's graduates, Dr. Steve Cook, earned his Ph.D. in
1978 under Dr. Jerry Klawitter's advisement.
He stayed on the
faculty of Biomedical Engineering for four years, but then he began
to work at the Tulane Medical Center. Cook developed a hip implant
called the Long-term Stable Fixation hip, or LSF hip. He is still doing
research at Tulane Medical Center.
63
On a personal note:
Dr. Jerry Klawitter directed Dr. Steve Cook's Ph.D. in
1978. One of Steve Cook's first LSF hip implants went into
Klawitter's father.
64
References
Arabia, Fransisco: personal communication, April 17, 1995
The Raymond Bailey Collection, Archives Department, HowardTilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118.
Bailey, Raymond: personal communication, April 5, 1995.
The Duane Bruley Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Bruley, Duane: personal communication, April 10, 1995.
The George Burch Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
The Bob Chambers Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Chambers, Robert: personal communication, April 19, 1995
The Steve Cowin Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Cowin, Steve: personal communication, 1995
The James Cronvich Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Cronvich, James: personal communication, January 16, 1995
65
Deutsch, Hermann, The Tulanian. December 1957. "A great Man's
Life" re. Rudolph Matas
Dictionary of American Biography. "Matas, Rudolph." Dumas
Malone, editor. Charles Soribner's Sons, NY. 1935.
ibid. "Riddell, John L."
ibid. "Stone, Warren."
Duffy, John. The Tulane University Medical Center. Louisiana State
University Press, Baton Rouge, 1984.
Dyer, John P. Tulane -- The biography of a University 1834-1965.
Field, Beatrice M. "Potpourri." August 1983.
Greenstein, Steven: personal communication, April 18, 1995
The Robert G. Heath Collection, Archives Department, HowardTilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118.
Heath, Robert: personal communication, March, 1995.
The Edward Hooper Harris Collection, Archives Department,
HowardTilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118.
The Samuel Hulbert Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Hulbert, Samuel F.: personal communication, April 10, 1995
Hunt, Thomas, April 2, 1866. "Address on the Utility of Science."
The Thomas Hunt Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
66
The Jerry Klawitter Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Klawitter, Jerry: personal communication, March 9, 1995
The John Martinez Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Martinez, John L.: personal communication, December 9, 1994.
Matas, Rudolph. History of Medicine in Louisiana. Volume II.
The Rudolph Matas Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
The Rudolph Matas Collection, Manuscripts Department, HowardTilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118.
The Rudolph Matas Collection, Special Collections Department,
Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New
Orleans, Louisiana 70118.
New Orleans Times. March 15, 1873. re. Newspaper reprint of the
eulogy of Dr. Warren Stone. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Rand, Clayton. "They Built Louisiana." 1942. re. Warren Stone.
Riddell, John L. New Orleans Monthly Medical Registry.
"Binocular Microscope" October, 1852
The John L. Riddell Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
The John L. Riddell Collection, Manuscripts Department, HowardTilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118.
ibid.
"Simplification of the Binocular Microscope" April, 1853.
67
Stone, Warren., New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal.
September, 1859 "Ligature of Common Iliac Artery for
Aneurysm."
The Warren Stone Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Thompson, Hugh Allison: personal communication, April 10, 1995.
Times Picayune. December 31, 1955. re. Riddell's prediction on
existence of constituent particles of the atom in 1846.
Times Picayune. August 22, 1976. "Spare Human Parts to 'Grow'
May One Day Be Commonplace." re. Allan Weinstein. New Orleans,
Louisiana.
Times Picayune. September 25, 1849. re. Stone's use of
chloroform.
New Orleans, Louisiana.
Times Picayune. July 15, 1851. re. Hunt's slaying of John w. Frost
Tulane University Bulletin. College of Engineering. "400 Human
Engineering." December 15, 1952. Series 53, No. 17. Tulane
University of Louisiana.
Van Buskirk, William: personal communication, April 18, 1995
Walker, Cedric F. "Department of Biomedical Engineering." 1994
Walker, Cedric F.: personal communication, April 17, 1995
The Bob Weaver Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Weaver, Robert: personal communication, April 7, 1995
Weinstein, Allan, and James J. Klawitter, Jr. Orthopaedic Review.
Vol. VI, No. 8, August, 1977. "Need For Permanent Prosthetic
Attachment Demands Development of Biologic Mechanism."
68
The Allan Weinstein Collection, Archives Department, Howard-Tilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
70118.
Weinstein, Allan: personal communication, April, 1995.
The Jack Wickstrom Collection, Archives Department, HowardTilton
Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans,
Louisiana 70118.
Woodward, J.J., New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal. April,
1881. "Riddell's Binocular Microscopes: An Historical Notice."
69
Jennifer S. Stearns-Drake has attended Tulane University
School of Biomedical Engineering since August of 1991.
Born August 7, 1973, she grew up in Boise, Idaho and has
attended Miami Dade College in Israel, Boston College, and
now, Tulane University.
70