Dean Kamen
Dean Kamen is an inventor, an entrepreneur, and a tireless advocate for science and technology. His passion for innovation has driven groundbreaking advancements in healthcare, mobility, and education, shaping industries and inspiring future generations.
Kamen is the founder of DEKA Research & Development Corporation, FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), FIRST Global, and the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) | BioFabUSA.
Supported by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARMI is a national Manufacturing Innovation Institute and nonprofit organization focused on building a competitive, capable, and innovative domestic ecosystem for cell, tissue, and organ manufacturing. Under Kamen’s leadership, ARMI and its nearly 200 members nationwide are integrating expertise in biomanufacturing, medicine, and engineering to de-risk and accelerate the development of regenerative therapies that will revolutionize healthcare for chronic illness and traumatic injury.
As president of DEKA, he has developed category-defining, transformational innovations to include: revolutionary drug delivery systems – as with the twiist™ Automated Insulin Delivery System and the Remunity® pump which safely delivers stable doses of Remodulin; mobility systems that restore health and quality of life – as with the iBOT™ Mobility System, and the LUKE robotic arm; devices that change the healthcare paradigm – as with cardiac stents, the HomeChoice™ portable dialysis machine; and innovations that change what the world believes is possible – as with a new and improved Stirling engine.
In addition to DEKA, one of Kamen’s proudest accomplishments is founding FIRST®, an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use and enjoy science and technology –and to apply it for societal contribution. Founded in 1989, FIRST® serves more than 2,500,000 young people ages 6 to 18 annually. He expanded this initiative to create FIRST Global, which last year united teams from over 190 countries to its annual competition in Athens, Greece.
Kamen’s contributions have earned him numerous honors, including the National Medal of Technology in 2000, presented by President Bill Clinton. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1997, awarded the Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002, and inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. He is also a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
ARMI
Universal Immunity
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What if immunity wasn’t just personal—it was programmable, portable, and universal? This session explores the cutting edge of immunological engineering, converging rapid-response vaccine platforms, AI-designed antibody libraries, and global health deployment systems to build a world no longer vulnerable to pandemics. From biofoundry-enabled vaccine design to distributed manufacturing and last-mile delivery, the conversation will examine the technological, clinical, and infrastructural shifts needed to create scalable immune resilience—across pathogens, across borders, and across populations. Join us as we reimagine the immune system not as a biological lottery, but as an engineered global asset.
The Future of American Bioinnovation
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How does a nation turn bio-revolution headlines into hospital-ready cures? This conversation surveys the full innovation stack—from lab-bench breakthroughs in gene and cell therapies to the gritty realities of bioprocess scale-up, supply-chain resilience, and workforce training. We’ll unpack the manufacturing leaps required to mass-produce living tissues, explore emerging automation that slashes cost and variability, and ask what policies, public-private partnerships, and investment models can keep America at the cutting edge of regenerative medicine. Expect a candid look at the roadblocks ahead—quality-control analytics, raw-material bottlenecks, reimbursement hurdles—and the bold engineering solutions poised to overcome them.
