Kyriacos .A. Athanasiou is a renowned bioengineer who has contributed significantly to both academic advancements as well as high-technology industries. He is currently the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor at Rice University. Athanasiou received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from New York Institute of Technology at Old Westbury in 1984. He obtained his Masters degree from Columbia University in 1985, his Masters of Philosophy from Columbia University in 1987, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Columbia University in 1989.Upon obtaining his Ph.D. in early 1989, Athanasiou became an assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He became an associate professor in 1994. He was recruited to Rice University as a full professor of bioengineering at the end of 1999. His group has worked extensively on cartilages of the musculoskeletal system both in terms of characterization but also in efforts to achieve healing or repair of the clinically complex problems of cartilage afflictions, including trauma and osteoarthritis.In addition to his academic accomplishments, Prof. Athanasiou is known for his significant contributions in co-founding five companies based on technologies co-developed by his group. His first company Osteobiologics, founded in 1993, was based, among other inventions, on the development of acellular scaffolds for the treatment of focal cartilage lesions. This was the first ever implant for this application. The company was acquired by Smith & Nephew in 2006. Another company co-founded by Athanasiou is Vidacare based on Athanasiou et al.'s patents on intraosseous infusion.