At the intersection of biologic and physical sciences, a literal handful of scientists created the language, indeed the philosophy of medical device innovation. One of the greatest of these, Vijay Goel, Ph.D., winner of four lifetime achievement awards, has passed away at age 79.
To paraphrase from one of Dr. Goel’s best known papers: “As our understanding of the structure and function of the human body increases (and it never stops changing), performance expectations for medical implants also change. Not long ago, for example, the main purpose of implantable spinal devices was to provide rigid fixation to enhance fusion across a spinal segment. Today our understanding of the function of the human body has evolved and we are now evaluating devices that preserve or restore motion across the affected spinal segment. This philosophical reversal requires revised experimental techniques.”
The models and other tools that Goel and his colleagues created to translate those biologic insights into metal or plastic implants, at their core, are akin to reading the fingerprints of God.
Vijay Goel was one of the all-time best at reading those fingerprints.
Goel’s Early Life and Education
Vijay Goel was born March 5, 1945, in Patiala, a small city and one of India’s academic centers, in the northwestern state of Punjab. At age 21, Goel graduated with honors in Biomechanical Engineering from Panjabi University. Five years later he earned his master’s degree in mechanical design from Roorkee University, the oldest engineering institution in India.
Goel went on to earn his Ph.D. in 1977 at the University of New South Wales. His doctoral thesis addressed the subject of stress analysis associated with total hip prosthesis.
Following his Ph.D. studies in Australia, Dr. Goel returned to India to take the position of Assistant Professor at the Center for Biomedical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi.
The Indian Institute of Technology is one of the top 5 engineering schools in the world and the hardest to enter. Its acceptance rate is between 0.5% and 2.5%. Stanford’s acceptance rate is 5%, Harvard is 5% and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is 7%.
Already, Vijay Goel was making his mark as a uniquely gifted bioengineer and scientist.
In 1979, he caught the attention of another famous bioengineer, the author of the “bible of spine biomechanics,” Manohar M. Panjabi, Ph.D. Panjabi invited Goel to become his first fellow and, in 1979, Goel became Panjabi’s Research Associate in the Department of Orthopedics at Yale University.
In 1982 the University of Iowa offered Dr. Goel his first tenure-track faculty position as an Assistant Professor. Four years later, the University gave Dr. Goel tenure and promoted him to Associate Professor. He became a full Professor in 1990, when he was also asked to serve as University of Iowa’s Chair of Biomedical Engineering.
Finally, twenty-three years after receiving his Ph.D. in 2000, Vijay Goel joined The University of Toledo as a full professor with tenure and Chair for the Department of Bioengineering.
He stayed at the University of Toledo for the next 23 years and during that time:
- Formed the Spine Research Center,
- Became the McMaster-Gardner Endowed Chair,
- Named Distinguished University Professor, one of the highest honors at The University of Toledo,
- Served as Department Chair,
- Started the Engineering Center for Research Excellence (ECORE), an interdisciplinary team of investigators from diverse fields such as medicine (e.g., orthopedics, anatomy, radiology), engineering (bioengineering, mechanical), and allied health care professionals such as physical therapy. To this day, the Center provides a collaborative scientific eco-system with which to decode the complex nature of the human skeletal system, like the hip, knee, and spine with emphasis on traumatic and degenerative conditions of the musculoskeletal system
- Started the Center for Disruptive Musculoskeletal Innovations (CDMI) which is an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC).
Lifetime Achievement Awards
Over his career, Dr. Goel received four lifetime achievement awards:
- 2003: The H.R. Lissner Award for Lifetime Achievement from the ASME Bioengineering Society
- 2006: The Henry Farfan Lifetime Achievement Award from the Northam American
- 2010: Leon Wiltse Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine
- 2014: The Giovanni Alfonso Borelli Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Biomechanics
And then, in recognition of Vijay Goel’s body of work and contributions, the American Society of Biomechanics in 2016 created The Goel Award.
The Goel award recognizes outstanding accomplishments in translational biomechanics research, entrepreneurship, and societal benefit. It is awarded annually based on originality, quality and depth of the candidate’s research, and the commercial and societal benefits emanating from this research. This research is expected to have a biomechanical element. Each winning candidate will have demonstrated the translational nature of his or her work from basic research to the enhancement of human health and well-being.
Vijay Goel’s other awards:
- Excellence in Education Award from The State of Ohio, Ohio Magazine
- The OFC Technology Commercialization Award, Ohio Faculty Council
- The Hamdan Bin Rashid AL Maktoum Award for Medical Research Excellence – Orthopedic Mechanics
When Dr. Goel retired in 2023, he was the Distinguished Professor and Endowed chair & McMaster-Gardner Professor, Co-Director, Engineering Center for Orthopedic Research Excellence at the University of Toledo.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Goel published 322 peer reviewed articles, generating more than 12,000 citations and more than 25,000 reads. But his greatest professional joy was likely the success of the Ph.D. students he mentored.
Dr. Goel’s sons, Anuj and Anish said this about their father: “Our Dad didn’t have any hobbies. His students were his focus, and his goal was to make sure they did the work, and he was strict about doing good work, to get their Ph.D.s. Our father’s students revered him. They truly believe that his mentorship and support is the reason they each earned their Ph.D.”
In the world of spine bioengineering, he is renowned for his 3D finite element model development for the spine that he accomplished by identifying and adapting cutting-edge technology from a completely different discipline, stereophotogrammetry. Stereophotogrammetry is used in aerial surveying, but Dr. Goel applied it to determine load displacement behavior of intact, injured, and stabilized spinal segments.
Dr. Goel used these techniques to generate highly accurate 3D mapping of the spine in the finite element models. The ability to rapidly and accurately map 3D coordinates of the spine under loading conditions dramatically increased the utility of the models as a tool for analysis of spine biomechanics. Prof. Goel made the next major leap in model development by including muscle forces in the spine models, greatly increasing their predictive ability.
Memorials From Those Who Knew Dr. Vijay Goel Best
Al Kiapour, Ph.D., MMSc, Director of Biomechanics Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass
We have lost a prominent figure in the field of spine biomechanics. Dr. Vijay Kumar Goel passed away yesterday Aug 22, 2024. He was undoubtedly one of the pioneers in the field, making significant contributions to spine biomechanics. His work had a profound impact on improving surgical techniques in spine surgery by enhancing the understanding of the biomechanical effects of these procedures on the spine. His contributions extended far beyond scientific research and publications, ultimately improving the quality of life for countless patients with orthopedic and spine-related disorders.
I was fortunate to be his Ph.D. student, and he was an exceptional mentor. I’ll never forget when I presented my Ph.D. proposal—after an hour of diving into technical details, he simply asked, “Putting all the technicalities aside, how will your work make the world a better place?” That question initially caught me off guard, but later, it transformed my career and deeply reshaped how I perceived research and the importance of my work.
He will be remembered for his remarkable academic achievements and the tangible advancements in spinal health that his work made possible.
Aakash Agarwal, Ph.D.
Vijay Goel, Ph.D., always maintained a humble demeanor and avoided any pretense. He always urged everyone to keep up with the new research work as he did and think in terms of meaningful contribution rather than the volume of work involved in completing their research or dissertation. He believed that focusing on volume, such as time and effort, constrains creativity, so he advised setting those concerns aside for later.
Personally, to me, he was proof that you can keep evolving and broadening your interests no matter your age; he never “truly retired.” He also believed that expanding your horizon complements specialization, enhancing your ability to be independent, generate ideas, solve problems, and manage projects more effectively. As a result, I have embraced a range of interests, from biomechanics, spine, and R&D to hip, knee, ophthalmology, clinical marketing, without restraining myself.
For anyone embarking on independent research, he always advised thinking at least a decade ahead and laying the groundwork accordingly. What’s relevant today may not be the critical question in the years to come.
This forward-thinking approach was precisely how he operated. For new product development, he always stressed that there is no ideal implant, and any implant will alter the biomechanics. Therefore, it is essential to establish the essential outcomes you expect from your design and which attributes you are willing to compromise upon to achieve those outputs; and don’t wait for the perfect design, early prototyping and testing will help you identify if you are on the right trajectory.
Dr. Goal also emphasized that while a new design might look promising on paper and perform well in standardized tests, it can still fail in clinical settings. Conversely, a novel device that may perform well clinically might not pass the standardized testing to get there. Recognizing these limitations with standardized testing, he collaborated with the FDA a long time ago to advance regulatory science for newer generations of devices, such as ones associated with early onset scoliosis.
Anuj Goel, Software Engineer and Son of Vijay Goel, Ph.D.
One of my earliest memories was in Australia when my father was a Ph.D. student at the University of New South Wales. We were living on a graduate student’s salary, which was very small, and I remember having to walk to places because we could not afford the bus fare. Being my father’s son gave me a world-wide perspective. We lived in Australia, India, Connecticut, Iowa and so forth. The first time I realized that my father wasn’t like other professors was when his team won the Volvo award for the third time in ten years. When my father gave his remarks at the award ceremony, he quipped “Since this is the 3rd time our team was won the Volvo award, perhaps we can get a car?”
Among the lessons I learned from my father is, whatever job you have, you do it right.
Anish Goel, National Security Policy Advisor for the United Stated Department of Defense and Son of Vijay Goel, Ph.D.
The primary thing I learned from my father is that you have to work hard, that you can’t do a half job and that you must put in the effort to do a job right. He taught my brother and I to be proud to put our names on our work.
He also taught us to treat others with the deepest respect, collegiality, loyalty and to make time for other people.
