Savio Woo Receives Inaugural WACBE Yuan-Cheng Fung Lifetime Achievement Award

Savio L-Y. Woo, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering, has been named the inaugural recipient of the WACBE Yuan-Cheng (Y. C.) Fung Lifetime Achievement Award by the World Association for Chinese Biomedical Engineers (WACBE).

This honor is the highest distinction conferred by WACBE, established to recognize extraordinary lifetime contributions that have fundamentally transformed biomedical engineering and society. Woo, a founding president of the organization, has authored more than 311 peer-reviewed publications and worked with over 640 students and fellows throughout his five-decade career at Pitt’s Musculoskeletal Research Center and UC San Diego’s Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory. His pioneering work on ligament and tendon biomechanics, knee joint mechanics, and tissue engineering has set the scientific foundation for generations of research.

Woo has also been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering and Academia Sinica, only one of five people who have gained all three of these honors.  He is also the recipient of the 1998 Olympic Prize for Sports Medicine from the International Olympic Committee and the first Olympic Gold Medal at the Nagano Games in Japan.

“This is the first and only time that I have received an award bearing Professor Fung’s name. His mentorship throughout my 20 years at USCD and our close friendship shaped both my scientific thinking and my approach to teaching.” Woo said. “His vision, humility, philosophy, integrity and dedication to advancing biomedical engineering continue to guide me every day. I thank the WACBE for giving me this coveted prize and trust that all of you could appreciate how much I am loving it.”

Named in honor of Yuan-Cheng Fung, regarded as the “father of biomechanics,” the award recognizes groundbreaking, long-term contributions to biomedical engineering, global impact through research, education, leadership, or translation, and a career that serves as a lasting legacy for future generations. The award will be presented at the 12th WACBE World Congress of Bioengineering in Changzhou, China, July 28–31, 2026.