Lifetime Creative Achievement
Award Recipients


2006: Allen H. Bar
Dr. Allen H. Bar receives this recognition for his almost 40 years as a mentor to generations of physicians -- particularly surgeons. Dr. Allen H. Bar has refined, disseminated, and changed the way surgical rotations are conducted and has infused creativity and innovation into medical education. Dr. Bar puts the med students into a creative problem solving method where they begin their diagnostic pathway by questioning the patient, brainstorming possible reasons for symptoms, using this data (including lab results) to identify the real problem, engaging in Socratic discourse with Dr. Bar a nd their fellow students to catalogue possible diagnoses, and over time verify their diagnosis and plan of treatment. Through this approach, Dr. Bar promotes creative problem solving among his residents, who then carry that attitude and learning into their future careers.

2003: Willem J. Kolff
Dr. Willem J. Kolff was a distinguished professor of medicine and surgery at the University of Utah. He used his skills as an entrepreneur, researcher, inventor, and writer to become known as the "Father of Artificial Organs." Born in Holland, he developed the first practical artificial kidney machine during the German occupation of the Netherlands, with materials scrounged from a local factory and carefully concealed from the Nazis. The artificial kidney dialysis machine Kolff invented has been perfected through a series of improvements so that there are an estimated 55,000 people in the U.S. with end-stage renal disease that are being kept alive by this invention or a subsequent modification of it. During his life, he has received more than 100 awards and published more than 600 articles.

2002: Morris I. Stein
Dr. Stein is Professor Emeritus in Psychology at New York University. Known as Moe to his colleagues and students, Dr. Stein is one of the founding fathers of creativity research. He has written numerous articles and given presentations all over the world. He has authored and edited over a dozen books. His two-volume work, Stimulating Creativity has become a canon in the literature of the field.

2000: William Edward "Ned" Herrmann
Ned Herrmann (1922-1999) was known as a brain and creativity pioneer. In 1970, Herrmann was named Manager of Management Education for General Electric where he began his groundbreaking study of creative human development and learning which resulted in the formation of the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). He has authored several books outlining his findings and received numerous awards. A prolific artist, he painted and sculpted over 600 works of art and also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.

1999: John Glenn
John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth in 1962 and then 36 years later as a payload specialist on Discovery. His careers in between were in private industry, most notably as an executive with the Royal Crown Cola company, and as US Senator from Ohio.

1998: Raymond V. Damadian, M.D.
Dr. Damadian not only invented the MRI that has revolutionized the field of diagnostic medicine, but founded a company in 1978, FONAR Corporation, to bring his invention to reality. The MRI is not being manufactured for a worldwide market. Dr. Damadian attended the Julliard School of Music for 8 years where he studied the violin. He holds a M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and received the National Medal of Technology from President Reagan in 1988.

1997: The Carter Center
Former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn Carter founded The Carter Center in 1982 to resolve conflict, promote peace and human rights, and fight disease, hunger, and poverty. The nonprofit Center has more than two dozen programs that impact the lives of people in some 65 countries. By working hand-in-hand with individuals, governments, and organizations with similar goals, The Carter Center is committed to helping those in need to improve their own lives.

1996: Earl Bakken
Earl Bakken is the inventor of the first wearable heart pacemaker. He was Chairman, CEO and co-founder of Medtronic, Inc., the major driving force behind the worldwide use of the implantable pacemaker for human heart stimulation. He has been involved in the creation of a hospital that combines allopathic and complementary medicine.

1995: Jack S. Kilby
Jack Kilby is the inventor of the microchip which laid the foundation for the entire field of modern microelectronics, the basis of sophisticated high-speed computers and other "miracles" of today's information age. He went on to pioneer military, industrial, and commercial applications of microchip technology.

1994: E. Paul Torrance
Dr. Torrance is Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia and one of the pioneers in education and creativity research, studying the identification, development and utilization of creative talent. He has written many books and articles in the field of creativity. He has developed a battery of tests to measure mental abilities in creative thinking. His tests have been translated into a dozen languages and administered around the world.