UC biomedical engineering faculty honored by college
Four biomedical engineering faculty members received awards from the University of Cincinnati for their work in research and teaching.
Doug Mast, Ph.D., earned the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science's Distinguished Researcher Award. Mary Beth Privitera, Ph.D. earned the Master Educator Award. Jason Heikenfeld, Ph.D., received the Research Award. Angela Boronyak, Ph.D., earned the Neil Wandmacher Teaching Award for Early-Career Faculty.
Mast is a research leader in several areas, including ultrasound imaging, drug delivery and acoustics. In those areas, he has published 50 journal articles, including 26 that involved his students in the research. He co-invented ultrasound imaging techniques, including passive cavitation and echo decorrelation, and two patents for cavitation-enhanced drug delivery.
Privitera directs the Medical Device Innovation and Entrepreneurship program for hundreds of biomedical engineering students. She receives consistently high marks as an educator while collaborating across colleges at UC and institutions such as Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She focuses on undergraduate and graduate student alike, having graduated five master’s students and a doctoral student.
Boronyak has quickly became a favorite of engineering students, receiving over a 4-out-of-5 on all of her course and instructor evaluations by students. Her students remarked on how much she taught them in a single semester, their ability to apply what she taught, and her ability to explain hard concepts in a clear way. She developed new courses and labs for classes such as Control for Dynamic Systems and Basic Electric Circuits, while implementing flipped classrooms and test review games to help students.
Heikenfeld’s Novel Devices Laboratory has achieved global leadership in three distinct areas – electrowetting, electronic paper and wearable biochemical sensing. In his 14 years at UC, he has helped UC become the leading authority on biochemical monitoring. His numerous startup companies include Eccrine Systems, boasting 60 full-time employees and a spot on Forbes’ top global startups to watch.
For more information on the biomedical engineering department at UC, visit ceas.uc.edu/biomedical-engineering.
Excellence is Impact
UC offers a highly innovative academic and professional development experience. The university is committed to academic excellence, a platform of UC's strategic direction, Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Cincinnati sees record rainfall in weekend deluge
July 21, 2026
The Cincinnati Enquirer talks to UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Professor Patrick Ray for context about a July 17 rainstorm that dumped a record amount of rain on parts of Cincinnati.
Engineering magnets for a cleaner future
July 20, 2026
The United States is heavily reliant on imported rare-earth materials to make permanent magnets. Ugochukwu Philip Ochieze, materials science student at the University of Cincinnati, is studying how to use common materials to create permanent magnets, eliminating the need for expensive and scarce rare-earth materials. Pursuing his PhD, Ochieze was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
Students shape the future of UC's Industrial & Systems Engineering Program
July 17, 2026
Industrial engineers work in the overlap between engineering, business, and systems. Fourth-year Industrial and Systems Engineering student Phoebe Ting knew Industrial and Systems Engineering was right for her when she discovered it. UC brought back ISE to the College of Engineering and Applied Science in 2022 and will graduate the first cohort in 2027. The program is being refined and strengthened with help of the students.