November 27, 2000
Dr. William A. Zamboni, a professor of surgery at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas, will receive the first Rudolf W. Gunnerman Silver State Award for Excellence in Science and Technology for his medical and research advances in reattaching limbs, Desert Research Institute (DRI) President Stephen G. Wells announced.
Wells said the $5,000 annual award, administered by DRI, recognizes the "best and brightest" of scientific achievement and technology development in Nevada, thereby showcasing the state as a strong supporter of these key areas of innovation. Zamboni is a graduate of Reno's Bishop Manogue High School and received his undergraduate degree at the University of Nevada, Reno, and his medical degree at Nevada's School of Medicine. The award will be formally presented at DRI in Reno February 12.
Zamboni's widely followed research shows that putting reattachment surgery patients into hyperbaric chambers will cause the blood vessels, skin, muscle and nerve tissues to regenerate or recover more quickly and completely. The technique appears to reduce or reverse chemical changes that inhibit recovery occurring in the body following severe trauma.
Hyperbaric chambers contain 100% oxygen under higher than normal air pressure and are typically used to help divers recover from nitrogen narcosis-"the bends"-caused by surfacing from deep dives too rapidly. The highly concentrated oxygen, a natural antibiotic, is also used to fight infection in burn patients.
Following medical school, Zamboni took his residency in general surgery and in reconstructive and plastic surgery at Southern Illinois University, eventually becoming chief resident. Upon joining the Nevada School of Medicine's faculty in Las Vegas in 1994, Zamboni started the state's first program using microsurgical techniques and replantation surgery for reattaching severed limbs. In May 1998 he performed the state's first full arm reattachment in a delicate, five-hour operation on a man injured in a dune buggy accident.
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society recently gave Zamboni its international 2000 Paul Bert Award for outstanding research contributions in the field of hyperbaric physiology, named in honor of a French physiologist who is considered the "Father of Pressure Physiology."
Dr. Rudolf Gunnerman, the namesake of the award, is an environmental inventor and scientist who came to the United States from Germany in 1945 and is now chairman of Clean Fuels Technology, Inc. of Reno. The company is actively involved in promoting the use of A-55 Clean Fuels, a water-bearing emulsified fuel that reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulates.
The Gunnerman Award was established earlier this year by Dr. Gunnerman to recognize Nevadans whose achievements clearly satisfied a societal need either through fundamental science or its application. The award's namesake Gunnerman holds seven U.S. patents and over 70 international patents in the area of energy-related sciences and has devoted a significant portion of his life to studying the effects of pollution and the technological responses to these effects.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 400 full and part time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 140 research projects at DRI annually. Approximately 85 percent of DRI's annual $23 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.