AlumnusParker H. “Pete” Petit (ME 1962, MS EM 1964) recently made a commitment toestablish the first endowed director’s chair for a research institute atGeorgia Tech.

TheParker H. Petit Director’s Chair in Bioengineering and Bioscience will be withinthe Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB), aninterdisciplinary research facility that Petit helped create with an endowment 15years ago.

Thenew endowed director’s chair position is designed to significantly enhanceIBB’s ability to attract and retain an eminent researcher-scholar to thisposition of academic leadership without regard to the academic discipline of
the incumbent.

RobertE. Guldberg, director of IBB, will be the first to hold the endowed position. Aprofessor of mechanical engineering, Guldberg was named IBB director in 2009after serving as associate director since 2004. Guldberg is widely recognizedfor his research in biomechanics, biomaterials and tissue engineering with anemphasis on orthopedic applications.

“Pete’spast generosity and good will toward Georgia Tech and IBB catalyzed theformation and growth of a unique and thriving bio-community,” Guldberg said.“Now, he is once again paving the way in support of innovation andinterdisciplinary research by providing this unique endowment—the first of itskind on the Georgia Tech campus.”
 

Petitis chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based MiMedx Group, an integrateddeveloper, manufacturer and marketer of patent-protected biomaterial-basedproducts focused on augmenting the repair of traumatized tissues andstructures. An exceedingly active alumnus for nearly five decades, Petit serveson the IBB Advisory Board, the Campaign Georgia Tech Steering Committee and theAlexander-Tharpe Fund Board of Trustees.

Petitis also among a handful of Georgia Tech pioneers who recognized very early thevast potential of bioengineering and bioscience, and provided the significantsupport required for that potential to be realized.

Twenty-fiveyears ago, Petit established the Parker H. Petit Distinguished Chair forEngineering in Medicine in the George W. Woodruff School of MechanicalEngineering. In 1995, Petit committed an additional $5 million to establish anendowment for IBB. Petit is once again leading the way in providing vitalsupport for the life sciences at his alma mater.

“What started in the mid 1980s as an initialinvestment on my part has resulted in this amazing program at Georgia Tech,”Petit said. “To see this facility, and the students and faculty and thegroundbreaking interdisciplinary research they’re doing in the facility—there’sno other word for it—it’s overwhelming.”