The International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE) has elected Professor Christine Schmidt a 2012 Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE). Professor Schmidt has been recognized with the honor for her contributions to cellular and tissue engineering, including the design of biomaterials to stimulate nerve regeneration.

Fellows are recognized as accomplished members and role models in the field of biomaterials science and engineering. There are currently 216 fellows recognized with this unique honor out of 26,000 members belonging to the IUSBSE.

Election and induction to the FBSE occurs once every four years at World Biomaterials Congresses. Dr. Schmidt will be inducted at a special ceremony on the first day of the 9^th World Congress for Biomaterials in Chengdu, China, on June 1, 2012. She will be inducted by Professor Nicholas A. Peppas, current President of the IUSBSE and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Rutgers University Professor Joachim Kohn, the Chair of the International College of Fellows. 

Dr. Schmidt is one of 13 fellows to be elected from the U.S. in 2012; she is the third faculty member at The University of Texas at Austin to be inducted, after Professor Nicholas A. Peppas, inducted in 1996, and Adjunct Professor Lisa Brannon-Peppas, inducted in 2008. Department of Biomedical Engineering External Advisory Committee member Dr. Joseph Salamone is also an FBSE.

Candidates are nominated and evaluated by existing fellows and must have at least ten years of scientific or professional contributions to the field of biomaterials and engineering. The mission of the fellows is to foster the field of biomaterials science and engineering and to support its professional development as a practical and intellectual endeavor.