Delphine Dean Honored with Class of ’39 Award
Faculty have named Delphine Dean, the Ron and Jane Lindsay Family Innovation Professor of Bioengineering, one of the very best among them by awarding her the Class of ’39 Award for Excellence.
Endowed by the Class of 1939 to commemorate its 50th anniversary, the award is presented annually to a faculty member whose contributions for a five-year period have been judged by peers to represent the highest achievement of service to the student body, University, and community, state or nation. Recipients also become honorary members of the Class of 1939.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dean set up Clemson’s first high-complexity clinical diagnostics lab to run all of the University’s COVID-19 screening tests. The lab runs more than 3,000 tests a day, which includes all of Clemson’s COVID-19 surveillance testing as well as testing for the community.
“Dr. Dean is at the forefront of international scientific trends in COVID-19 saliva testing, a skill which has benefited Clemson University students, faculty and the community,” Terri Bruce, academic program director of the Light Imaging Facility, and Windsor Westbrook Sherrill, associate vice president for health research, wrote in their nomination letter.
“Dr. Dean is at the forefront of international scientific trends in COVID-19 saliva testing, a skill which has benefited Clemson University students, faculty and the community.”
Dean’s work during the pandemic is just the most recent reason she has been recognized. With a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she heads a lab that conducts studies focused on understanding mechanics and interactions of biological systems. Dean also works on several applied translational design projects primarily aimed at enabling health care in low-resource areas in the U.S., Tanzania and India.
Dean currently mentors more than 50 undergraduates in the Creative Inquiry program who work on a variety of projects, from understanding the effects of ionizing radiation on tissue to developing medical technology for the developing world.
“I am honored to be a part of the Class of ’39,” said Dean. “It’s amazing to be a part of such an illustrious group. The fact that service to the University and beyond is encouraged and celebrated at Clemson is part of the reason I’m always proud to say that I’m part of the Clemson Family.”