Cato Laurencin, M.D., from the University of Connecticut, was elected a foreign fellow of the National Academy of Sciences in India for his pioneering work in the field of materials science. He was recognized for his research in polymer ceramic composites, technologies for bone regeneration, and tissue generation and bioengineering.

Dr. Laurencin holds a prestigious University Professorship at the University of Connecticut, the eighth in the history of the school. In addition, he is chief executive officer of the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science; director of the Institute for Regenerative Engineering; endowed chair professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UConn Health; and tenured professor in the School of Engineering, teaching chemical and biomolecular engineering, materials science and engineering, and biomedical engineering. Previously, he was at the University of Virginia.

Laurencin is also an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and a number of other prestigious institutions and associations in the medical and engineering fields. His BSE in chemical engineering was received from Princeton in 1980. In 1987, he simultaneously earned an M.D. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from MIT.