DanPuperi

About
Dan Puperi is an assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. He received a B.S. in aerospace engineering from Purdue University and a Ph.D. in bioengineering from Rice University. While at Rice, he worked with Dr. K. Jane Grande-Allen and Dr. Jennifer West on bioinspired design of heterogeneous tissue-engineered heart valves.

Prior to earning his Ph.D., he worked as a lead aerospace engineer with the United Space Alliance, a spaceflight operations company in Houston, where he worked in mission control during Space Shuttle launches. His team evaluated structural loads based on launch-day conditions and reported results and a decision on whether or not to launch to the flight director and mission management team. 

He is a recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, an Outstanding Teaching Assistant award from Rice University and the NASA Space Flight Awareness Award, among others.

Puperi embraces his role in caring for and serving the biomedical engineering undergraduate student community in their growth and journey through college toward a professional career, and therefore has no interest in pursuing biomedical research. Instead, Puperi is focused on teaching scholastic pursuits and embraces evidence-backed strategies to help his students learn more effectively.

Educational Qualifications
Ph.D., Bioengineering, Rice University
B.S., Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University

Select Awards & Honors

• Graduate Research Fellowship – National Science Foundation
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award – Rice University
• Space Flight Awareness Award – NASA

Select Publications