Carlo De Luca, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus Carlo J. De Luca (BME, ECE), who played a leading role in the College of Engineering’s early development as a research institution, died on July 20. He was 72 years old.

De Luca joined the faculty in 1984, having previously served at MIT, Harvard Medical School and Queens College (where he earned his doctorate). He also held appointments as research professor of neurology at the School of Medicine and professor of physical therapy at Sargent College. De Luca also served as dean ad interim of the College of Engineering from 1986 to 1989.

In a message to faculty, Dean Kenneth Lutchen noted De Luca’s impact on the College’s early efforts to establish a research portfolio. “Carlo was the director of the Neuromuscular Research Center and was probably the first real star research faculty recruited to the College of Engineering. His reputation helped attract some of leading faculty thereafter,” Lutchen said. “Our standards of excellence as a research college perhaps started with Carlo.”

De Luca is known for introducing engineering principles to the field of electromyography, a diagnostic procedure that records electrical activity in muscle tissue. He founded Delsys Inc. in 1993, a company that produces wearable sensors for movement technology, where he served as its president and CEO until his death.