Dr. Y. C. Fung's Contributions to Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Humanity: Warmest Celebration for a Magnificent Centenarian

Abstract

Professor Y. C. Fung has made superb contributions to science, engineering, and humanity through his research and its applications, as well as his words and deeds. By setting the highest standards of rigor and excellence, training many outstanding students and their students, and providing his exemplary leadership, Dr. Fung has made tremendous impacts that spread across the world and transcend time. He established the foundations of biomechanics in a variety of living tissues, including the lung, the heart, blood vessels, blood cells, ureter, intestine, skin, as well as other organs and tissues. Through his vision of the power of “making models” to explain and predict biological phenomena, Dr. Fung opened up new horizons for bioengineering, from organs/systems to molecules/genes. He has initiated and fostered the research activities in many institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. He has made outstanding contributions to education in bioengineering, as well as service to the professional organizations and translation to industry and clinical medicine. He is widely recognized as the Father of Biomechanics and the leading Bioengineer in the world. His extraordinary accomplishments and commands in science, engineering, and the arts make him a Renaissance Man whom the world is most fortunate to have.