Guruprasad Madhavan

Guruprasad Madhavan, widely known as Guru Madhavan, is a biomedical engineer and senior policy adviser recognized for his work at the intersection of engineering, science, and public policy. Madhavan serves as the Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar and Senior Director of Programs at the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, where he leads initiatives focused on engineering practice, education, research, communication, and policy development. His work includes directing a global health program on microbial threats and developing a decision support tool for prioritizing new vaccines.

Madhavan has contributed to the research and development of cardiac surgical catheters for ablation therapy and neuromuscular stimulators to improve blood circulation. He has led analyses on vaccine development prioritization, prescription drug pricing, and cancer control strategies. Madhavan has served as a technical advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the European Union Malaria Fund. Earlier in his career, he worked in the medical device industry as a research scientist and has been a strategic consultant for technology startups and nonprofit organizations.

Madhavan is the author of "Applied Minds: How Engineers Think," which has been translated into several languages. He has co-edited "Career Development in Bioengineering and Biotechnology," "Pathological Altruism," and "Practicing Sustainability." For his books and lectures, he received the IEEE-USA Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions Furthering Public Understanding and the Advancement of the Engineering Profession.

Madhavan's work in engineering and public policy has been recognized with honors including the National Academies' Innovator Award, the National Academy of Medicine's Cecil Medal, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation's Laufman-Greatbatch Award, the AAMI Becton Dickinson Award for Professional Achievement, and the Washington Academy of Sciences' Leadership Award in engineering. He was named one of the "New Faces of Engineering" in USA Today and selected to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions. The State University of New York, where he earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and his M.B.A., honored him with the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public Affairs.

Madhavan has served as vice president and board member of IEEE-USA and is a founding member of the Global Young Academy and an IEEE ambassador. Through his publications, leadership roles, and advisory work, Madhavan demonstrates the application of engineering thinking to address complex societal challenges in biomedical engineering, health technology, and science policy.