Inventor of the artificial kidney and winner of the 2003 Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize, Willem J. Kolff died Feb. 11 at his home in Newton Square, Pa. at the age of 97.
Kolff was born in Leyden, the Netherlands, on Feb. 14, 1911. The biomedical engineer constructed the first practical artificial kidney out of sausage casings while working in the Netherlands during the German occupation in World War II. Kolff later created the first artificial heart, implanting it in the first patient at the University of Utah in 1982.
The Russ Prize was established in 1999. It awards $500,000 to someone who has made an engineering accomplishment of critical importance that contributes to improving the human condition
according to its Web site. The prize, awarded biennial, is funded through a multi-million-dollar endowment made by Fritz and Dolores Russ, both Ohio University alumni.
(The Russes) hope in endowing the prize through Ohio University was to bring more recognition to Ohio University said Colleen Carow, director of external relations for the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. She said they also wanted the award to encourage more people to enter the field of engineering.
This year's Russ Prize will be awarded in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. tonight. The recipient is Elmer L. Gaden Jr., who started a system for rapidly growing large quantities of yeast to produce penicillin and other antibiotics.
The Russes founded Systems Research Laboratories in Dayton in 1955. The engineering and research company and is one of the largest employers in the Dayton area, with a workforce of more than 1,000. Fritz died in 2004 and Dolores died in 2008.
A month after Dolores' death, President Roderick J. McDavis announced an estimated $80 million gift from Russ estate that has since ballooned to about $92 million after the university accounted for additional property and securities.
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Anne Elliott
