Dr. Michael D. Whitt is currently instructing in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the California Polytechnic State University where he is a Faculty Fellow for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Faculty Advisor for Circle K and the National Society of Black Engineers. His academic and industrial experiences include positions and consulting with, the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, Miami Dade College, Purdue University, Intraluminal Therapeutics, Guidant Corporation, Medtronic Corporation, Eli Lilly and Company, Georgia Power Company, Dow Chemical Company, Union Carbide Corporation, and Eveready Battery Company. 

Dr. Whitt’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University, a Master of Science and Doctorate of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering from Rutgers University/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UNDNJ), and a Masters in Business Administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. While at Rutgers/UMDNJ, Dr. Whitt focused his studies in the areas of biomechanics and biomaterials while simultaneously performing research in the areas of medical instrumentation and hemodynamics.

Dr. Whitt is a patent holder of five medical device patents and developed a successful product development course as part of the Burton D. Morgan Certificate of Entrepreneurship while at Purdue University. He has carried the importance of product development into his involvements with the non-profit organizations Center for Leadership Development (Indianapolis, IN) and Academy of Business Leadership (Rosemead, CA) while helping to facilitate the success of each group’s mission to ‘foster the advancement of minority youth’ and ‘inspire, educate, and expand the educational and career goals of mostly high-potential low-opportunity students’. Dr. Whitt is the 2008 Center for Leadership Development Achievement in Science and Technical Disciplines Award Recipient. 

Dr. Whitt’s publications in the areas of technology and vascular mechanics include journal articles in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering and International Journal of Nano and Biomaterials in addition to chapters in book titles; The Handbook of Technology Management, Surface Engineered Biomedical Devices, and Biomedical Engineering Principles of the Bionic Man. 

Dr. Whitt has served as an Industrial Advisory Board Member for the University of San Diego Bioengineering Program, the Academy of Engineering, and the Florida International University Department of Engineering. In addition to acting as reviewer for journals and grants in the biotech sector, Dr. Whitt has served as a reviewer for the Florida Department of Health’s James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program, and the National Science Foundation American Recovery and Reinvestment Act