ORONO — Caitlin Howell, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Maine, was awarded a 2023 Gilbreth Lectureship from the National Academy of Engineering.
NAE established the Gilbreth Lectures in 2001 in honor of Lillian Gilbreth, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1965. The lectureship recognizes outstanding young American engineers and provides them with the opportunity to make presentations at NAE’s fall Annual Meetings and spring National Meetings.
“I am honored to receive this lectureship and to be able to share my research with such a distinguished group of engineers,” Howell says.
Howell’s research focuses on guiding the interactions of biomolecules, micro-organisms and cells using nontoxic, noninvasive surface-based methods to accomplish specific goals. She leads a team of researchers at the UMaine Biointerface and Biomimetics Lab studying different coatings that can help prevent protein deposition that could lead to urinary tract and blood infections.
Howell’s lecture at the 2023 NAE conference, which took place Feb. 9, in Irvine, Cali., was entitled “Materials-Based Approaches to Prevent Biofilm-Associated Infections.” (Howell’s presentation in the video starts at 54:09.)
“Presenting at the NAE annual meeting was an incredible opportunity to engage in insightful discussions with both members and local high school students. I am hopeful that this lectureship will open new doors for collaboration and outreach with us here at UMaine,” Howell says.
