Changing The World Through Medical Technology
Biomedical engineering professor enhances hospitals in the developing world
Name: Robert Malkin
Position: Professor of the practice in the Biomedical Engineering Department and director of Duke-Engineering World Health
Years at Duke: 7 years at Duke
What I do at Duke is: Because I'm a professor in Biomedical Engineering, the majority of my responsibilities are classes and working with undergraduate engineering majors. I also work with undergraduates in summer experiences for hospitals within the Duke Global Health Institute and lead a small research group focused on medical technology in the developing world.
If I had $5 million, I would: work to expand Engineering World Health, which allows undergraduates to work in hospitals in the developing world. We're already in places like Honduras, Ghana, Rwanda and Cambodia and we have an enormous impact on those countries. I'd like to go to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
My first ever job was: I was a paperboy when I was 10 years old. I was delivering newspapers in Cleveland, Ohio, and it would sometimes snow so much I couldn’'t use a wagon to carry the papers. I'd use a sled.
My dream job is: I'd like to teach sailing. I really enjoy sailing, and I enjoy teaching, so I'd put them together.
The best advice I ever received was: Listen before you act. The biggest mistakes you ever make in my life is when you don't listen carefully first.
What I love about Duke is: For me, it's absolutely the Duke students. I'm here because I love working with the students here. My colleagues are also unbelievably talented, and it's a great opportunity to work with them.
When I'm not at work, I like to: I have a 30-feet long catamaran near Oriental, N.C., and I try to get out there most weekends. Sailing in North Carolina is unique because there are miles and miles of undeveloped coastline so I can pull into some little cove, drop anchor and spend a night there absolutely alone. It’s gorgeous.
If I could have one superpower, it would be: Turn back time so I could not make the same mistakes I made when I was younger.
Something most people don't know about me is: While I was a graduate student at Duke, I played club badminton and was nationally ranked at the time. I was never good enough for the Olympics, but I played all four years as a graduate student here.