2015 Richard Skalak Award

Abstract

Each year, the EditorsinChief and the editorial board members of the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering identify the most meritorious papers published in the journal in the previous calendar year, and an external committee selects the top paper of the year from that list. The authors of this paper are the recipients of the Richard Skalak Award, named after an early leader within the ASME Bioengineering community. Richard Skalak (1923–1997) played a leadership role in the formative decades of the discipline of biomedical engineering through his technical contributions in biomechanics, his educational influence on students, and his service to many developing societies and journals. Richard Skalak believed in several central approaches to bioengineering and several central values in working with people. In bioengineering, these were: (1) the useful combination of mathematical and computational modeling with experimental results, to better inform the new biological understanding that is derived and (2) the inclusion of both microscale and macroscale phenomena in understanding complex biological systems. In terms of mentoring students and collaborating with colleagues, these were: (1) share ideas freely, (2) listen to ideas of others and integrate the best into new developments, and (3) show tolerance and respect for others at all times. These tenets help guide us as a community and as a journal, and we are honored by the opportunity to contribute to Richard Skalak's legacy by giving an award bearing his name. The Editors thank the 2015 Skalak Award committee: Jimmy Moore (chair), Michael Sacks, Jeff Weiss, and Lori Setton.