Keith Paulsen Th’84 Th’86, Dartmouth’s Robert A. Pritzker Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Election as an NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction for academic inventors “who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.”

In addition to teaching at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, Paulsen also serves as professor of radiology and surgery at the Geisel School of Medicine, scientific director of both the Advanced Imaging Center and the Center for Surgical Innovation at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and co-director of the Translational Engineering in Cancer Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Professor Keith Paulsen at the Center for Surgical Innovation (Photo by John Sherman)

“I am honored to be named a Fellow of NAI,” Paulsen said. “Dartmouth has created an incredibly supportive environment and culture that values entrepreneurship within its faculty. I feel especially indebted to Dartmouth’s Associate Provost for Entrepreneurship Eric Fossum, and Director of Technology Transfer Nila Bhakuni, for their continued encouragement and the support of their respective teams.”

Paulsen is a renowned expert in biomedical imaging and computational modeling. His research focuses on the development and translation of advanced imaging technology, primarily for cancer detection, diagnosis, therapy monitoring, and surgical guidance. Along with his team, he has developed and patented devices and methods for intraoperative quantitative fluorescence imaging, image updating with stereovision and 3D ultrasound, and magnetic resonance elastography of brain and supine MRI imaging and image-guidance for breast surgical oncology.

Paulsen has authored 450 scientific publications that have been cited more than 30,000 times, and has maintained an active research program, continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over the past 30 years. He has taught at Dartmouth since 1988.

In 2016, Paulsen was named Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) “for leadership in biomedical technologies in medical imaging for diagnosis and intervention.” He is also a Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA), the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

As the newest NAI Fellow, Paulsen joins Professor of Engineering Rahul Sarpeshkar, the Thomas E. Kurtz Chair in the William H. Neukom Academic Cluster in Computational Science; John H. Krehbiel Sr. Professor of Engineering Eric Fossum, associate provost for entrepreneurship and technology transfer, and director of the PhD Innovation Program; Professor of Engineering Tillman Gerngross; Adjunct Professor of Engineering Richard Greenwald Th’88; Elsa Garmire, Sydney E. Junkins 1887 Professor of Engineering Emeritus and former Thayer dean; and Adjunct Professor of Engineering Emeritus Robert Dean Jr.; as well as other faculty across Dartmouth.

The formal induction ceremony for this year’s fellows will take place at the annual meeting of the NAI in April 2020 in Phoenix, Ariz. The 2019 Fellow class represents 136 research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide and collectively hold over 3,500 issued U.S. patents. Their collective body of research covers a range of scientific disciplines including neurobehavioral sciences, horticulture, photonics and nanomedicine.

The NAI was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the US Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

Hear Paulsen discuss engineering research opportunities for graduate students at Dartmouth: