Dr. Nerem has been active in bioengineering for more than thirty-five years. His initial interest was motivated by the possible role of fluid dynamics in atherosclerosis, and he has conducted fundamental research on problems in cardiovascular fluid dynamics. In 1981 he established a cell culture laboratory and began to study the influence of physical forces on anchorage-dependent mammalian cells, with much of this work focusing on the cells which make up a blood vessel.