It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of one of bioengineering’s greatest individuals, Professor Warren Grundfest. We are sure you are acquainted with Professor Grundfest’s many accolades that he received throughout his lifetime that were in recognition of his creative technical contributions to bioengineering. But it was his selfless devotion to helping propel bioengineering forward that truly helps define who Professor Warren Grundfest is. In particular, his contributions to the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Riverside are equally as significant, for which, we have always been most grateful.

Even at the beginning of our program, Professor Grundfest was there to support us. In 2007, when our department was barely one year old, we were tasked with hosting the UC Systemwide Bioengineering Symposium. The UC Systemwide Bioengineering Symposium is the annual gathering of all the biomedical engineering and bioengineering programs in the UC System. Professor Grundfest helped us find significant financial support for the event and secured sponsorship with TATRC (Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center of the United States Army). Through his efforts the UC Systemwide Bioengineering Symposium was one of the best programs in recent years.

Since 2013, Professor Grundfest has been a member of our Bioengineering Advisory Board. We recall the pivotal discussions that began the year he joined as Professor Grundfest recognized the needs for the program and, with his usual, no-nonsense, tireless approach, shared his concerns with our dean and others. Today, though his efforts, our program is rapidly moving towards distinction.

Given all of his technical accomplishments and time commitments, we were especially grateful that Professor Grundfest took the time to support Bioengineering at UCR. Professor Grundfest was a wonderful friend of the department and we will miss him.

Sincerely,

Xiaoping Hu
Provost Fellow
Professor and Chair, Department of Bioengineering