Don Peyton Giddens
Don Giddens began winning academic awards in elementary school and this pattern continued throughout his career. In February of 1958, he was one of five students in Richmond County chosen as guests of the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers for a get-acquainted tour of the Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating from ARC in 1958, Giddens did attend Tech, receiving a Bachelor of Engineering in 1963, followed by a Master of Science in 1965, and a Ph.D. in 1966. He joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 1968, after working two years in the aerospace industry. He became Chair of Aerospace Engineering and held this position until 1992. As another promotion, he accepted the position of Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, where he remained for five years. He received the H R. Lissner Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineering in 1993. In 1997, he returned to Georgia Tech to serve as Founding Chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomechanical Engineering, a joint department between Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering and Emory University School of Medicine. In 2002, he became Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Engineering, a position he held until 2011. Other positions include Lawrence L. Gellerstedt Jr. Chair in Bioengineering and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar at Georgia Institute of Technology.
In addition to his professional work, Dr. Giddens also supported extracurricular activities at Tech and taught whitewater canoeing to students for over fifteen years in the Outdoor Recreation Program. He raced competitively himself and was Chair of the United States Canoe/Kayak Team from 1992-1996.
During his career, Dr. Giddens has served in many professional capacities, including on the Scientific Advisory Council of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for the National Institute of Health, the ASEE Engineering Deans Institute and Council, the Georgia Tech Research Corporation Board of Directors, the NAE Committee on Developing Effective Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering, and the Engineering Deans Council Executive Board. He served as President of the American Society of Engineering Education. He was recognized by the Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows for significant contributions to understanding the role of Fluid Dynamics in Arterial Disease. He has contributed over one hundred publications, including book chapters and articles, and over two hundred presentations to scientific and professional organizations.