Jun 24, 2008 - Claremont, Calif. - Inventor and medical researcher William P. Wiesmann, M.D. (pictured in photo, right), a trustee of Harvey Mudd College (HMC), and HMC President Maria Klawe received honorary doctoral degrees at university ceremonies held in June.

Wiesmann received the Honorary Doctor of Science at the University of Cincinnati’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, June 14, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the university. Klawe received the Honorary Doctor of the University degree from the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, during convocation ceremonies Sunday, June 8.

Wiesmann and his military and civilian research teams invented and developed the HemCon® Bandage, which provides a chemically activated seal that stops uncontrolled bleeding. He co-founded HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc., at the request of the U.S. Army to produce the lifesaving bandage prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its use on the battlefield is credited with saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers. The bandage earned the “Top 10 Greatest Inventions” award from the U.S. Army for its innovative technology and impact on Army capabilities. First responders are now using the bandage to treat civilian trauma hemorrhage cases.

Wiesmann is founder, president and CEO of the BioSTAR Group in Germantown, Md., a collective of companies specializing in lifesaving advances in physiological monitoring and medical support equipment and technologies. He is CEO of BioSTAR West, a research and development company in Claremont. He is also president and CEO of Hawaii Chitopure, Inc., a company that is developing new antimicrobial materials to destroy drug resistant bacteria, and a co-founder of Spectral Energetics Inc., a technology development company, in Beavercreek, Ohio, specializing in physiologic monitoring devices and minimally invasive medical diagnostic tools.

He holds more than 30 awarded or pending patents, and has directed multi-million dollar programs for NASA and for the Department of Defense. His numerous awards include the U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal, the U.S. Army R&D Achievement Award and the U.S. Army Commendation Medal.

Wiesmann’s external committee memberships include serving as the senior consultant for advanced technology at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology at Massachusetts General Hospital; senior consultant and principal investigator for the U.S. Military Space Test Program; principal investigator, advanced life support systems, for the U.S. Army and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory; and senior medical advisor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Advanced Prosthetic of the Future program.

In addition to being a trustee at Harvey Mudd College, Wiesmann is chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Tissue Engineering Center; a member of the external advisory boards for the UC Department of Biomedical Engineering, the National Council of the Washington University School of Medicine and the Board of Councilors for the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering; and Chairman of the Board of HemCon Medical Technologies.

Wiesmann graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Cincinnati, and earned his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine. Following internship and residency at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, he completed fellowships in medicine, nephrology and medical research at Washington University and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He served as a medical researcher for the U.S. Army at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, D.C., rising to research director for combat casualty care at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Ft. Detrick, Md. The development of the HemCon® Bandage was completed after he retired with the military rank of colonel.

Klawe, a Canadian citizen, was honored as one of ten prominent Canadian persons who have contributed significantly to their business, their profession, their discipline or their art. The citation read, in part:

Renowned computer scientist and scholar, and a tireless advocate for women and minorities pursuing careers in engineering, science and mathematics, Maria Klawe brings as much passion to her demanding duties as President of the prestigious Harvey Mudd College as she does to kayaking and playing the electric guitar.

Her distinguished career has included research and management work at IBM, professorships at Oakland University and the University of Toronto, and serving as vice president of Student and Academic Services at the University of British Columbia, and dean of engineering and professor of computer science at Princeton.

Recognizing the continuing barriers to women in her chosen academic disciplines, Maria Klawe has been active in many organizations promoting women and leadership in science and technology. She is currently chair of the board for the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology in Palo Alto, California, and fellow and past president of the Association of Computing Machinery.

She has also held leadership positions with the American and Canadian Mathematical societies, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and the Computing Research Association, from which she received the Nico Habermann Award. The other organizations she has served include the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley and the Canadian Information Processing Society.

She has been honored as a distinguished alumna of the University of Alberta, a YWCA Women of Distinction, a Wired Woman Pioneer, the Canadian New Media Educator of the Year and the BC Science Council Champion of the Year, among others.

In her acknowledgment speech, Klawe said, “Based on the turns and twists of my career, I have two suggestions that you might find helpful. First, stay open to the unexpected and the unwanted. My second suggestion is look for ways to pursue your passions where there is a need.”

She summed up by saying, “Finally, I have a request for each of you. Please help us make the culture of science and engineering supportive to everyone with the interest and ability to contribute. There are fewer barriers for women and minorities studying science or engineering than 40 years ago but cultural issues still impede success, especially at the more senior career levels. My request is that throughout your career, you encourage and support all your colleagues whether junior, senior, male or female. And help teach parents, teachers and children that science and engineering offer great careers for everyone.”