Hosted by Dr. John Mecholsky

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seminar Series

Tuesday, October 25, 2016                 4:05 – 4:55 p.m.                Rhines Hall, 125

Speaker:

Dr. David Greenspan

Retired V.P. Product Development for Tutogen Medical & RTI Biologics,

Chief Technical Office and Co-founder of Novamin Technologies, and

V.P. Research and Development and Co-founder of USBiomaterials

 

Title:

Larry Hench and the History of Bioglass

 

Abstract:

In the late 1960’s, a young professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida was energized to explore a better way to make bone replacement materials.  He invented the material we know as Bioglass, and in so doing, created an entirely new paradigm for how biomaterials research viewed the interactions between synthetic materials and the human body.  It was Larry Hench’s discovery of the “bioactive” nature of his invented Bioglass material that has led to the field of bioactive materials in the medical device industry.

 

This presentation will briefly review the early days of discovery and of the excitement surrounding this new discovery and will describe those seminal advances made by Professor Hench that continued to advance the field of bioactive materials from the early 1970’s until his death in December, 2015.

 

Bio-Sketch:

David Greenspan has 39 years of experience in the medical device industry in numerous capacities.  He has served as V.P. Product Development for Tutogen Medical and RTI Biologics, Chief Technical Officer and co-founder of NovaMin Technologies, VP Research and Development and co-founder of USBiomaterials. He began his career with Howmedica, an orthopedic implant manufacturer. His experience includes R&D in synthetic and allograft biomaterials including nano materials, bioactive ceramics, materials characterization, corporate management, quality and regulatory affairs. He is co-inventor of the NovaMin technology, along with numerous patents for application of bioactive glasses in medicine and composite materials. His educational background includes a B.S. in Glass Science from Alfred University and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Florida.  He holds over 40 U.S. and International patents and has published and presented scientific papers, with 45 peer-reviewed publications and more than 65 presentations at international conferences. He is a member of the ASTM F-4 Committee on Medical Devices, as well as a past member of ISO TC 150 and 194.  He served as Chairman of the External Advisory Board for the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and has also served on the External Advisory Boards of both Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida and Florida Institute of Technology.