Cato T. Laurencin

Sir Cato Thomas Laurencin, born January 15, 1959, is an American physician, engineer, and scientist who serves as a professor at the University of Connecticut and chief executive officer of the institute there that bears his name. Regarded as the founder of the field of regenerative engineering, which combines surgery, materials science, and biomedical engineering to regrow damaged tissue, he developed a ligament substitute designed to regenerate the anterior cruciate ligament and other systems for soft tissue regeneration. He is the only surgeon ever elected to all four national academies, engineering, medicine, sciences, and inventors, and he has received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the Spingarn Medal, and the Hoover Medal.