BME community members inducted into the AIMBE College of Fellows

April 28, 2026 — The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Matthew D. Johnson, David K. Wood, and Achin Bhowmik to its College of Fellows. Johnson and Wood are Professors with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, while Bhowmik is a member of the department’s internal advisory board and Chief Technology Officer at Starkey Hearing Technologies.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biological engineers, comprised of the top two percent of engineers in these fields. 

College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education."

According to AIMBE, Johnson, Wood, and Bhowmik were nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for the following contributions:

• Matthew D. Johnson: “For developing and translating neurotechnologies that resulted in paradigm-shifting treatment approaches and transformative outcomes for those with neurological disorders.”
• David K. Wood: “For outstanding contributions to the understanding of sickle cell disease biophysics and developing platforms for cancer metastasis and therapeutic discovery.”
• Achin Bhowmik: “For pioneering the development and global deployment of AI-powered multifunctional hearing devices that transformed sensory augmentation and health monitoring.”

A formal induction ceremony was held during the AIMBE Annual Event in Arlington, Virginia on April 13. Johnson, Wood, and Bhowmik were inducted along with 175 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2026.

While most AIMBE Fellows hail from the United States, the College of Fellows has inducted Fellows representing more than 35 countries. AIMBE Fellows are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice, and government.

AIMBE Fellows are among the most distinguished medical and biological engineers including 4 Nobel Prize laureates and 27 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation awardees.