Dane Miller, Ph.D.

A gift from Mary Louise Miller, wife of the late engineer and entrepreneur Dr. Dane Miller, will name the headship of Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering as part of Ever True: The Campaign for Purdue University.

As co-founder and later CEO of Biomet Inc. (now Zimmer Biomet), an orthopedic devices manufacturer in Warsaw, Indiana, Dr. Miller helped lead the company from its creation in 1977 in a converted barn to a $2 billion global enterprise employing more than 4,000, many of them Purdue graduates in key positions. Under his guidance, Biomet became known for innovation in orthopedic implants, including joint-replacement systems.

"Dane Miller was one of the greatest engineers and job-creators our nation has known. And one of the great human beings – unpretentious, unaffected, kind to all around him,” Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. "Purdue is honored to be associated with his name and memory."

At Biomet, Miller spearheaded advances in biomaterials and implant design—two focus areas of the Weldon School since its founding in 1998. For nearly two decades, Biomet and the Weldon School partnered on design projects and undergraduate internship programs that sharpened the Purdue biomedical engineering program’s responsiveness to industry needs.

Collaborations with corporate and clinical partners spur innovation and enable Weldon students and faculty to incorporate ideas rapidly into patient care.

“There was a natural resonance between Biomet and our educational and research programs,” said George Wodicka, head of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. “Dane’s support helped make biomedical engineering at Purdue an industry-ready program, which is one of our strengths. For this world-renowned leader in orthopedics, and friend of Purdue, to be forever associated with the Weldon School through this named headship is a tremendous honor for us.” Wodicka will assume the title Dane A. Miller Head of Biomedical Engineering.