Bernard Lown Initiatives
The Honors College is proud to claim Dr. Bernard Lown, Class of 1942, as an alumnus. Bernard Lown came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Lithuania at age 14 in 1935. He graduated from the University of Maine with a B.A. in Zoology in 1942. He completed a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1945 from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Lown became widely respected as a cardiac care pioneer, who invented the first effective defibrillator in 1961 and organized the first cardiovascular care unit in 1965 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He authored and co-authored 447 medical journal articles. Dr. Lown was part of a passionate group who gathered in 1961 to address the risk of nuclear war and formed Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Dr. Lown accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 on behalf of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a group he co-founded with a Soviet cardiologist. In 1987, Dr. Lown launched SATELLIFE, to provide medical information to health professionals in developing countries, and he established ProCor in 1997 as a global network to prevent heart disease. He received 21 honorary doctorates from universities in the U.S. and around the world including the University of Maine in 1982, Bates College in 1983, Colby College in 1986, and Bowdoin College in 1988. In 2024, the U.S. mint honored Dr. Lown with the American Innovation coin for the state of Maine. More information about Dr. Lown and his relationship to UMaine can be found here.
The 2024 American Innovation Maine Coin honoring Dr. Bernard Lown.
A truly extraordinary physician and humanitarian, Dr. Lown often credited the Honors program at the University of Maine for sparking his passion for research and life-long learning. In recognition of this and in memory of their father, Naomi Lown, Anne Lown, and Fredric Lown established two funds at the University of Maine Foundation: the Dr. Bernard Lown ’42 Honors College Teaching Professorship Fund and the Dr. Bernard Lown ’42 Honors Thesis Fellowship Fund. Both funds are designed to recognize faculty members and students whose research and creative interests are in keeping with Dr. Lown’s passion for social justice, human health, and the health of the planet.
Awarded biennially for a two-year term, the Lown Professorship recognizes UMaine faculty members with distinguished records of teaching innovation and research/creative excellence that align with the causes for which Dr. Lown was known. The purpose of the Professorship is to both foster the careers of such faculty members and enable them to bring their expertise, passions, and practices to the Honors College community. More information about the Lown Professorship can be found below.
The Bernard Lown Thesis Fellowships are awarded annually to undergraduate students whose thesis research engages the humanitarian themes demonstrated by the work and social justice advocacy of Dr. Bernard Lown. First preference shall be given to students with financial need. Possible areas of research may include, but are not limited to peace studies, international relations, social justice issues, social responsibility in science, climate change, medicine and health services, innovative medical devices, and healing treatments or therapies. More information about the Lown Thesis Fellowships can be found below.
The Honors College is deeply grateful to the Lown family for establishing these funds, which provide support for faculty and students, and which enhance the reputation of the Honors College as an engine of student growth and development and an incubator for innovative teaching practice.