2021 Jacob Rabinow Applied Research Award

Dr. Simon is recognized for developing tools that enable reliable characterization of fiber-based tissue engineering scaffolds that are widely used by the regenerative medicine industry. The tools include: 1) open-source, validated software called DiameterJ for automated analysis of scaffold micrographs; 2) images of a wire mesh to verify accuracy of DiameterJ; 3) a DiameterJ training website; 4) a handling device for efficient, gentle manipulation of the scaffolds; and 5) an ASTM standard for characterizing scaffold fibers. Product developers needed these tools to properly measure scaffold quality attributes prior to clinical use, and a majority of the manufacturers in this field have used these NIST tools to characterize their products.