More than 100 scientists, engineers and health professionals in 16 African countries and the United States have discussed progress in a wide range of multidisciplinary subjects, including biotechnology, new solutions for decarbonization, progress in space research, intelligent and connected cities and precision agriculture. Dr. Cato T. Laurencin d’Uconn has been a distinguished member of the surveillance committee for national academies of science, engineering and medicine since its creation.
Sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the American-African program brings together young scientists, engineers and exceptional health professionals from the United States and member countries of the African Union to discuss advances and exciting opportunities in their fields. The objective of meetings is to improve scientific exchange and dialogue between young researchers in African countries and the United States, including the African scientific diaspora, and thanks to this interaction, facilitate the collaboration of research within and beyond the region.
Laurencin, an internationally recognized scientist, engineer and surgeon is actively involved in Africa thanks to his work with the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) and other African scientific organizations. He has been a member of the AAS since 2012. Laurenc has also participated in the first American-Africa Borders of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Symposium, contributing to discussions on research collaboration and scientific exchanges between African countries. He also spoke at the Galien 2024 Forum in Dakar, Senegal, on the role of women in STEMs in the fight against environmental crises in Africa.
Laurencin is a member of the Senegalese Academy of Arts and Sciences, and member of Benin National Academy of Science and Arts. He received the 2019 UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in Life Sciences at the Summit of Heads of State of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Laurencin received the 2019 UNESCO-Equatorial International Guinea Prize for Research in Life Sciences, becoming the first American to win this prestigious prize. The ceremony took place at the Summit of the United States of the States located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In Uconn Laurencin is the university professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen, professor with orthopedic surgery, at the UCONN medical school, professor of chemical engineering, professor of materials science and engineering, and professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Connecticut. He is the chief executive officer of the Cato T. Laurenc Institute for regenerative engineering, an interuniversity institute created and appointed for him at the University of Connecticut. Surgeon shoulder and knees, he is a pioneer in the field of regenerative engineering. By receiving the spingarn medal, the NAACP appointed it the first engineer-medicine-scientific in the world. He is the first surgeon elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors.