Pioneer in regenerative engineering Professor Cato T. Laurencin, is now Professor Sir Cato T. Laurencin.

Laurencin is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of regenerative engineering that he founded, along with groundbreaking work in orthopaedic surgery, polymer science chemistry and engineering, and musculoskeletal repair and regeneration.

Laurencin is the first surgeon in the world elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors. He earned his B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, his M.D. from the Harvard Medical School, Magna Cum Laude, and his Ph.D. in Biochemical engineering/Biotechnology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“St. Lucia is an extraordinary country, with extraordinary people,” said Laurencin. “The country has more Nobel Prize winners per capita than anywhere in the world. In being Knighted through the auspices of King Charles III, I am proud to be included among fellow Knights such as the late Sir Derek Wolcott, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.”

Laurencin is the Chief Executive Officer of The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, a cross-university Institute at UConn created in his honor. He is the University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UConn School of Medicine. In engineering, he is professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, professor of Materials Science and Engineering and professor of Biomedical Engineering at UConn.

His research has successfully translated to and influenced technologies affecting millions of patients. His contributions to science include over 500 scientific articles, numerous patents, and he has written or edited 17 books. He received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, America’s highest honor for technological achievement, in ceremonies at the White House. In 2023 he was named Inventor of the Year by the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation.

Laurencin received Knighthood on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Government of St. Lucia. “I’m proud that we have established an MOU between the University of Connecticut and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in St. Lucia and have a number of collaborations established. I’m especially proud that my donated autobiography ‘Success is What You Leave Behind’ sits in schools and libraries throughout the country.”

Laurencin received the NIH Director’s Pioneer Grant Award, and the NSF Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Grant Award for his work in Regenerative Engineering. He has received the highest awards of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the Materials Research Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, and the American Chemical Society, which awarded him the Priestley Medal. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers established the Cato T. Laurencin Regenerative Engineering Founder’s Award, honoring his pioneering efforts in the field.

“My father, the late Cyril Laurencin, was born in St. Lucia and was a distinguished carpenter. He asked me to promise to make a difference in the world, and to pay special attention to making a difference in the lives of St. Lucians. Receiving Knight Commander of the Order of St. Lucia shows a promise kept.”

Laurencin was born in America but also became a citizen of St. Lucia. Thus, his Knighthood is not an honorary one.

The University of Connecticut congratulates Sir Cato Thomas Laurencin.