Alumni Spotlights
Ken Yip
Engineering alumnus Ken Yip recognized for biomedical contributions
UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering alumnus Ken Yip (BASc ’72), Director of Biomedical Engineering for Vancouver Coastal Health, was recently named Outstanding Canadian Biomedical Engineer for 2006 by the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society.
The certificate award, established in 1989, recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical engineering and healthcare delivery in Canada.
Ken has been recognized for helping develop a biomedical engineering program at Vancouver Coastal Health that ensures the safest and most appropriate healthcare technology for patients, while achieving significant cost savings. Part of this success can be attributed to the development of a web-based healthcare technology management system that is now widely used throughout British Columbia.
"I've been able to take what I learned in the UBC Engineering program and apply it to healthcare technology to allow doctors and nurses to treat patients safely and effectively," says Yip. "Being part of a patient care team has made my career very rewarding."
Ken is highly regarded in the biomedical engineering field—his expertise has been acknowledged nationally since the early days of laser use in medicine. He has served as a corresponding member of the Canadian Standards Association committee for laser safety. He also developed a regional laser safety program for Vancouver Coastal Health, which serves as a model for several other hospitals.
With expertise in the assessment and use of pacemakers and technology management, Ken has also collaborated with cardiologists and cardiac surgeons to develop a multi-million dollar regional plan for selecting the most appropriate and cost-effective pacemakers for Vancouver Coastal Health.
Ken shares his expertise and experience in many ways including serving on the advisory council of the recently established UBC graduate-level Biomedical Engineering Program, contributing to publications, lecturing at conferences and events, and teaching for BCIT's Biomedical Engineering Technology program.
Over the years, Ken has supported the Faculty of Applied Science as a donor as well as serving on the Biomedical Engineering Advisory Council.
Applied Science congratulates Ken on receiving the Outstanding Canadian Biomedical Engineer award and thanks him for his continued support.
