Nicholas A. Peppas, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and professor of chemical engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmacy at UT Austin, has been awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Patras in Patras, Greece.

He was awarded the doctorate from the university’s Chemical Engineering Department, the top chemical engineering department in Greece. Peppas will be honored at a ceremony on June 3, 2015 in Patras, Greece.

Peppas is considered the leading researcher in the field of biomaterials, drug delivery and controlled release. His leadership in these fields has led to numerous biomedical products and devices. The Korsmeyer-Peppas equation, the basic theoretical model for controlled release systems, is one is his most important developments to date.

Peppas is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, French Academy of Pharmacy, Royal Academy of Spain, Academy of Athens, and The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas. He was recently named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and a member of the United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Chemistry.