Expertise
Medical Devices, Biomedical Optics, Computational Modeling
Research Interests
Prof. Franco's research initiatives span the design, development, and fabrication of devices, sensors, and computational tools for solving health-related problems.
Education
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Concentration: Thermal and Fluid Sciences
Dissertation: Hydrodynamics and Control in Thermal-Fluid Networks - M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
Concentration: Thermal and Fluid Sciences - B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México
Concentration: Thermal Sciences
Thesis: Composite materials extrusion using oscillating dies
Biosketch
Walfre Franco, Ph.D., is an associate professor and chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Before joining UMass Lowell, Franco was an assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and an assistant in Biomedical Engineering at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Notre Dame in the USA. His doctoral training was in heat transfer, fluid mechanics, and control. His postdoctoral training was in biomedical optics at the University of California with appointments at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Riverside and the Beckman Laser Institute in Irvine. After his postdoctoral training and before joining HMS and MGH, he worked as an engineer for a medical laser company.
Franco has led the translation of medical devices from concept to commercialization in academic and industrial settings.
Selected Publications
For a full list of publications please see my Google Scholar profile.