Steve Barrett. (UWyo Magazine)

UW Professor Receives Bioengineering Symposium's Top Award

May 28, 2007 - The Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium (RMBS) presented its top award to Steven Barrett, associate professor in the University of Wyoming Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The RMBS has since 2001 presented its President’s Award to a member who has provided “sustained, significant contributions to the society.” Barrett has previously served as RMBS president for three terms and now serves on the executive board.

Specializing in image processing, medical laser applications, and embedded controllers, he has led a research group in developing a parallel, analog vision system inspired by the eye mechanics of a common housefly. Barrett earned a B.S. degree in electronic engineering technology (1979) at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, a master's degree in electrical engineering at the University of Idaho-Moscow (1986) and a Ph.D. at the University of Texas-Austin (1993).

Barrett received the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Rocky Mountain Section Teaching Award. That same year, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education along with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching selected him as the Wyoming Professor of the Year.

The RMBS has been held annually since 1964, making it the oldest continually-held bioengineering conference in North America. Originally considered a regional conference, contributors and attendees now come from all over the United States, Canada, and the world. The conference is sponsored by the Instrument Society of America.