Elazer R. Edelman ’78, SM ’79, PhD ’84, an engineer and cardiologist who helped develop cardiovascular stents that have been used by more than 100 million people, has been named the recipient of the 2026-2027 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award.
The award committee recognized Edelman, the Edward J. Poitras Professor in Medical Engineering at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, for his work at the interface of engineering, science, and medicine. In addition to his work on stents, he has made significant contributions to tissue engineering and to deciphering the fundamental biological processes underling cardiovascular disease.
A member of the MIT faculty for more than 30 years, Edelman is renowned as a teacher and mentor. He is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a critical care cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and he served as director of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science from 2018 to 2024.
“He is a clinician of the highest order who has touched the lives of many, a teacher of greatest passion who has mentored hundreds and taught thousands, and an engineer whose work has reached around the globe,” states the award citation, which was presented at today’s faculty meeting by Xuanhe Zhao, chair of the Killian Award Selection Committee and a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT.
