Dr. Christian M. Puttlitz

Dr. Christian Puttlitz is the mechanical engineering department head at Colorado State University (CSU). He is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Advanced Materials Discovery, and School of Biomedical Engineering. He also serves as director of the Orthopaedic Bioengineering Research Laboratory. In these roles, Dr. Puttlitz leads large personnel programs of over 70 researchers, staff and faculty, and manages multimillion dollar research and department budgets.

Dr. Puttlitz joined CSU’s mechanical engineering department in 2005. Since then, his achievements include helping to establish M.S. and Ph.D. programs in biomedical engineering, transfer pathways with Colorado community colleges, and a mechanical engineering bachelor’s degree partnership with Adams State University. He leads innovations in graduate and undergraduate mechanical engineering curricula, including decreasing undergraduate class sizes to a max of 85 students.

Dr. Puttlitz has a B.S. in materials science and engineering mechanics from Michigan State University, an M.S. in bioengineering from Clemson University, and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Iowa. He did his post-doc work at the University of California, San Francisco in their Orthopaedic Bioengineering Laboratory.

Dr. Puttlitz’ research interests are focused on using experimental and computational techniques to investigate orthopaedic conditions and their treatments. Examples of his current research include fracture healing prediction using direct electromagnetic coupling, 3D printing for fibrocartilage tissue regeneration (intervertebral disc and temporomandibular joint), and cell-free tissue engineering (exosomes). He’s made key contributions to advancing our understanding of the mechanobiology of orthopaedic soft tissues as well as the time-dependent behavior of these soft tissues. Dr. Puttlitz holds 5 patents and has over 120 peer-reviewed journal publications with more than 7,400 citations. He is regularly invited to give lectures and seminars at institutions around the world.

Dr. Puttlitz’ awards include Editor’s Choice for one of the ten highest impact papers in The Journal of Biomechanical Engineering in 2014 and 2019, Distinguished Visiting Research Scholar at the University of British Columbia, Monfort Professor at Colorado State University, Editor’s Choice for one of the ten highest impact papers in Anesthesiology in 2009, and a Whitecloud Basic Science Award for Advanced Spine Techniques.

He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Additional professional affiliations include the Orthopaedic Research Society, Cervical Spine Research Society, American Society of Biomechanics, International Society of Biomechanics, International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery, and the North American Spine Society.