Alumnus Elected as Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors
Victor L. Piorier, BSME'70, was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Poirier is a professor at the USF Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation, former CEO and president of Thermo Cardiosystems, and former chief technology advisor for Thoratec Corp. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer of artificial heart technology and invented the Heartmate Technology used to take over the pumping function of the natural heart. He has a BSME and MBA from Northeastern University and was an assistant professor at the Tufts School of Medicine. He has served as chairman of the board as a trustee of two hospitals. In 2013, he organized and chaired the International Gordon Research Conference on Assisted Circulation in Tuscany, Italy.
- Founding Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
- Member of the National Academy of Engineering
- Holds 17 U.S. patents and has published more than 110 papers
- Recipient of the Mediterranean Institute of Cardiology Award (France), the Himet Award, and the Barney Clark Award from the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs
- Elected by his peers as the national “Engineer of the Year” (Design News, 1992), among other honors and awards.
The academic inventors and innovators elected to the rank of NAI Fellow are named inventors on U.S. patents and were nominated by their peers for outstanding contributions to innovation in areas such as patents and licensing, innovative discovery and technology, significant impact on society, and support and enhancement of innovation.