Boyan’s new position will be effective January 1, 2013.  She will be working with faculty, staff, students and administrators during the fall semester, however, to ensure a successful ABET accreditation site visit and forward progress on a strategic vision for the School of Engineering.

“I have loved GT, and have been thrilled to be a part of its growth in biologically based engineering research and education, and it will be very difficult to leave,” said Boyan.  “The opportunity to help VCU meet the challenges that engineering education will face over the next decade was irresistible to my entrepreneurial spirit.  Fortunately, today’s technology will make it possible for me to continue to collaborate with my GT colleagues and students and to forge important new partnerships between the two institutions.”

Boyan is a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and in the American Institute of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering.  In 2012, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and just this past June inducted into the Fellows of the World Congress of Biomaterials. Boyan is also the recipient of numerous awards, the author of more than 370 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters and holds 14 U.S. patents.  She received her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in biology from Rice University.

"Under Barbara's leadership as our associate dean for research and innovation, the College of Engineering has made extraordinary progress in the areas of collaborative research with Emory University, Children's Healthcare, industry, and other partners,” said Gary S. May, Dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech.  “She has brought a cutting edge vision to biomedical research and translational research especially in the areas of pediatric devices and regenerative medicine. Barbara's energy will be missed at Tech and we wish her much success at VCU."

Prior to her appointment as associate dean, Boyan was deputy director for research, Georgia Tech/Emory Center for Engineering of Living Tissues. From 1981 to 2002, Boyan served as professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she also served as director of the Industry University Cooperative Research Center and director of the Center for the Enhancement of the Biology/Biomaterials Interface.

In addition to her academic background, Boyan has founded a number of companies, including Osteobiologics, Inc., an orthopedic device company, and most recently SpherIngenics, Inc., a stem cell delivery company.  She also sits on the boards of a number of companies, including Arthrocare, Inc. and Carticept Medical, Inc.