Rate My Professor Robin Shandas

His research specializes in biomedical engineering, with emphasis on pediatric cardiovascular medicine, medical device design and entrepreneurship, shape-memory polymers for cardiovascular applications, cardiovascular biomechanics, pulmonary vascular function, tissue engineering, and advanced medical imaging techniques such as echo particle image velocimetry. Shandas has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, including seminal contributions like "Unconstrained recovery characterization of shape-memory polymer networks for cardiovascular applications" (Biomaterials, 2007; 759 citations), "Finite deformation thermo-mechanical behavior of thermally induced shape memory polymers" (Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 2008; 511 citations), and "Strong, tailored, biocompatible shape-memory polymer networks" (Advanced Functional Materials, 2008; 453 citations). Holding over 60 patents and patent applications, he has translated innovations into clinical practice through startups, including a novel surgical operating table generating over $10 million in sales and benefiting hundreds of patients. Shandas' exceptional contributions earned him designation as a CU Distinguished Professor in 2019—the system's highest faculty honor—and induction into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows in 2025. He was the first PhD faculty member to receive the National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Career Development Award for patient-oriented research. His mentorship has propelled numerous trainees to leadership roles in academia and industry.