Christopher J. Bettinger, PhD

Dr. Christopher Bettinger earned his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University before he came to Pittsburgh, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. The Bettinger Group at Carnegie Mellon University is broadly interested in the applying principles of polymer synthesis, materials science, and microfabrication for use in next-generation biomedical devices for rehabilitation, regeneration, and controlled release. Members of the Bettinger Group work at the interface of several disciplines including polymer synthesis, characterization, microfabrication, and bioelectronics to achieve these goals. Dr. Bettinger has won numerous awards, such as:

• Carnegie Institute of Technology Early Career Professorship (2015)
• DARPA Young Investigator Award (2014)
• Gordon Research Conference on Biomaterials – Junior Faculty Poster Award (2013)
• National Academy of Sciences – Award for Initiatives in Materials Science Research (2012)
• Pittsburgh City Council – “Christopher Bettinger Day” in Pittsburgh PA (February 14, 2012)
• Beckman Young Investigator Program – Finalist (2012)
• American Heart Association – AHA Scientist Development Grant (2012)
• MIT Technology Review TR35 – Young Innovator Award (2011)
• Frontiers of Engineering – Invited Member – National Academy of Engineering (2011)
• American Chemical Society AkzoNobel Award – Outstanding Graduate Research in Polymer Chemistry (2009)

Since 2010, Dr. Bettinger has enhanced the educational experience for his students. At Carnegie Mellon University, his teaching efforts have advanced students’ understanding in the following areas:

• Engineering Biomaterials: Redesigned an undergraduate course in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science that studies fundamentals of biomaterials interactions including thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, cell behavior, and tissue interactions.
• Synthetic Polymer Networks: Created a new graduate course in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science that explores the design, synthesis, and characterization of synthetic polymeric materials for biomedical applications.
• Virtual Intellectual Property Laboratory (VIPlab): Designed a new course component in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science that interfaces with “Synthetic Polymer Networks.” The VIPlab introduces students to intellectual property strategy in the context of designing new polymeric materials. The VIPlab allows students to learn about licensing, prior art, claims strategy, and the like in a mildly competitive group activity. This activity operates in a virtual IP landscape that is free of the restrictions of complex and overbearing real world IP literature.

Dr. Bettinger is a member of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Society for Biomaterials, the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society, the Metals, Minerals, and Materials Society, the American Chemical Society, and the Materials Research Society. He is also the author/co-author of numerous publications, proceedings, and book chapters and is an invited speaker both nationally and internationally. Dr. Bettinger is an ad hoc reviewer for many journals, including but not limited to the Journal of American Chemical Society, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, Journal of Materials Science, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Journal of Polymer Science Part A, and Journal of Visualized Experiments. View a list of Dr. Bettinger’s publications here.