April 2003
Last week, Guidant Corporation, a leader in the design and development of cardiovascular medical products, presented the Berkeley Bioengineering Department with a $70,000 check to support the Guidant Summer Research Program. The research program provides stipends to students working on a 10-week research project with a Berkeley professor. This year the summer research program funded 25 students, chosen from a pool of 138 applicants. Guidant has been funding the program since 1999 and has doubled its yearly contribution from its initial gift of $35,000. Guidant employees and Berkeley Engineering alumni Richard Rapoza (ChemE ’84) and K.T. Rao (MSE ’88) personally presented the check to BioE department chair Thomas Budinger. Both Rapoza and Rao are members of the Berkeley corporate recruiting team.