David A. Edwards, Ph.D., was awarded the Melvin Calvin Medal of Distinction, Michigan Tech's highest honor, at the Spring 2007 Commencement. Dr. Edwards earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Tech, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Edwards is the fifth recipient of this award since it was created in 1985.

Dr. David A. Edwards is the Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Engineering at Harvard University, where he has taught since 2002. His research focuses on drug delivery, infectious diseases, and childhood vaccines. He has pioneered medical aerosol technology, including inhaled insulin. Dr. Edwards founded Medicine in Need (MEND), a nonprofit organization that targets new treatments of diseases of poverty, including tuberculosis, in developing nations.

Dr. Edwards also works at the interface between science and the arts, promoting art education for at-risk urban youth. An advisor to the American Repertory Theater, he has written the book Artscience: Creativity in the Post-Google Generation, which underscores what Edwards calls “the relevance of artistic engagement as a scientist and scientific engagement as an artist.”

Dr. Edwards graduated from Michigan Technological University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1987 and has taught at Israel Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Edwards inspires students and colleagues alike as he leads inquiry into the eradication of poverty, the control of diseases, and the delivery of medical care to the developing world.