Department
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Expertise
Bio
Dr. Otto C. Wilson Jr. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Catholic University of America. Dr. Wilson earned a B.S. (1988), M.S. (1991) and Ph.D. in Ceramic Science and Engineering at Rutgers University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Maryland on enhanced machinability of dental ceramic materials (1995-1996) and was a Ford Foundation Postdoctoral fellow at John’s Hopkins in 1996 prior to joining the Materials Science and Engineering faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Wilson became a faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Catholic University in 2003 and established the Biomimetics, Orthopedics, and Nanomaterials Education/Composite Research for Advanced Biomaterials (BONE/CRAB) Lab. The research vision of the BONE/CRAB Lab is to develop nanophase materials to enhance the healing and remodeling of hard tissue at the whole tissue, cellular, and subcellular levels. Dr. Wilson’s research interests include biomineralization phenomena, nanomaterials chemistry, biological liquid crystals, and the synthesis and surface modification of hydroxyapatite. Dr Wilson was awarded a NSF CAREER Award (DMR-0645675) in 2007 for his work involving bone inspiration in research and education. He is very active in K-12 educational outreach and developing tools and teaching methodologies to encourage young people to excel in STEM education.
Representative Publications
L. Borum and O. C. Wilson, Jr., "Surface Modification of Hydroxyapatite: I Dodecyl Alcohol," Biomaterials, 24(21), 3671-3679 (2003).
L. Borum and O. C. Wilson, Jr., "Surface Modification of Hydroxyapatite: II Silica," Biomaterials, 24(21), 3681-3688 (2003).
L. S. Gyer , P. Kulkarni, H. Bruck, S. K. Gupta, O. C. Wilson, Jr, "Replamineform Inspired Bone Structures (RIBS)? Using Multi-piece Molds and Advanced Ceramic Gelcasting Technology," Mater Sci Eng C, 27(4), 646-653 (2007).