2000 Commencement Exercises, number 001

Abstract

Michael Ellis DeBakey (September 7, 1908 – July 11, 2008) was a Lebanese-American cardiac surgeon, scientist, and medical educator. Dr. DeBakey developed the roller pump, which became an essential component of the heart–lung machine that made open-heart surgery possible. He was one of the first to perform coronary artery bypass surgery, and in 1953 he performed the first successful carotid endarterectomy. A pioneer in the development of an artificial heart, DeBakey was the first to use an external heart pump successfully. In 1999 TAMU established the Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices.--- Dr. Glen A. who services as Director of the Michael E. DeBakey Institute of Comparative Cardiovascular Science and Biomedical Devices. In 2013 he also became Vice President for Research for Texas A&M University.