A new scholarship at Texas A&M University honors a longtime champion of its biomedical engineering program. The Dr. William Hyman Scholarship in Biomedical Engineering was announced at a tribute dinner organized by former students.
Lead gifts came from three of Hyman’s former students: Dennis Grounds, Class of 1973; Alan Brewer, Class of 1977; and Mike McGee, Class of 1978. Other students and colleagues continue to make contributions to the endowment, funded through the Texas A&M Foundation with an initial goal of $25,000.
“I was truly honored that Dennis, Alan and Mike put both the scholarship and the dinner together, and that so many former students attended and contributed. It is humbling to be recognized both as an effective teacher and as a positive influence on people’s lives,” Hyman said.
Hyman plans to retire from the university in 2011, after 40 years in the department that he guided and watched grow from its beginning. Hyman joined the university as an assistant professor in 1972 to help launch the fledgling program. After successfully guiding the program through recognition by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, he twice served as biomedical engineering program chair from 1978–1989 and 1996–2002. The program became a department in 2002, and he served as interim department head until 2005.
Hyman is a long-time contributor to MD+DI, and has encouraged his students to submit their work to the publication. In addition, Hyman has served as a juror for the Medical Design Excellence Awards.