Dr. Bruce Wheeler Retires after 28 Years
Dr. Bruce C. Wheeler, the first Interim-Head for the Bioengineering Department, will retire after 28 years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His career at Illinois is represented by ground breaking scientific endeavors involving signal processing in neurons as a faculty member in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department. Furthermore, his impact on undergraduate education and student-faculty relations has been a cornerstone of his administrative activities. His contribution as leader of the Neuroscience graduate program (1990-1993), the Bioengineering program (2002 – 2003), and most recently as Interim-Head of the Bioengineering Department (2004 -2008) will have a long lasting impact on the University of Illinois.
Dr. Wheeler began his career at the University of Illinois as a Visiting Assistant Professor in 1980 in the ECE Department. He joined ECE as an Assistant Professor in 1982 and an Associate Professor in 1988.
Dr. Wheeler earned B.S. degrees at M.I.T. in Physical Science and History in 1971 where he was known for his prowess on the basketball court and the baseball diamond. Notably, he was named M.I.T,’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1971. He was captain of the basketball team his senior year. In baseball, he was twice named Most Valuable Player in the Greater Boston Baseball League as a pitcher and then an infielder.
Dr. Wheeler has remained an athlete and in recent years it was common to encounter him playing pick-up games with graduate students at Kenney gym. Bioengineering staff are often awed by his ability to ride his bike to work in the snow.
After a stint as a high school teacher, Dr. Wheeler attended graduate school at Cornell University receiving an M.S. in 1977 and a Ph.D. in 1981 in Electrical Engineering.
At the University of Illinois his research initially focused on the development of microelectrode arrays for simultaneous recording of signals from large numbers of neurons. In his research lab, he worked with graduate students to create a 32-channel planar electrode array. This led to discoveries concerning epileptic phenomena.
More recently, his work has focused on the creation of wet neural networks cultured on top of an electrode array. His research group succeeded in creating a discernable neural tissue in a culture dish, or a “brain on a chip,” for purposes of basic research. Further, they have developed innovative ways to detect and record electrical activity of neural cultures using microfabricated surface electrode array technologies.
Dr. Wheeler devoted much time to improving the undergraduate experience as the ECE Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs overseeing the Advising Office between 1995 and 2001. During his tenure as Chief Advisor, Bruce initiated changes in student outreach leading to a reduction in the number of students on probation and dropping out of school. This role culminated in his receiving the Campus Award for Excellence in Advising Undergraduate Students in 2000. Additionally, Bruce designed and taught ECE Explorations, a weekly seminar for undergraduates focusing on new technologies, industry trends, and career opportunities.
By the year 2000 Dr. Wheeler was a member of the Bioengineering Department Formation Committee and in 2003 he was named the first Interim-Head of the new department – a position that had been proposed to last one to two years but ended up lasting five years. As Bioengineering Department Interim-Head he has been instrumental in designing and implementing both the undergraduate and graduate curriculum and recruiting and hiring new faculty. He continues to advise undergraduate Bioengineering students on course selection and career opportunities.
Dr. Wheeler will be retiring to Florida, but hardly in the customary way. He will accept a position at the University of Florida in Gainseville as Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
