Michael Daro Buschmann

Michael Daro Buschmann, a beloved teacher, Eminent Scholar and Chair of the Bioengineering Department at George Mason University, died on March 2, 2022 in Virginia. Born on May 14, 1962 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, Mike obtained his Bachelor of Engineering Physics with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan in 1984. He met his wife Caroline Hoemann while studying Medical Engineering and Medical Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After they became married on August 31, 1991, he graduated with a Ph.D. in 1992. His post-doctoral research in cartilage tissue engineering in Bern, Switzerland was followed by his becoming awarded the Melville Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1997. Mike was a talented ice hockey player from a young age, and played with other Canadian classmates on an intramural A team they called the “Habs” as well as the MIT junior team for one season. He was also a talented jazz pianist, subscribed to Downbeat magazine, and enjoyed going to the zoo and cat cafés. In 1994, Mike accepted a faculty position at the Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal. He built a large and productive research group in the areas of cartilage tissue engineering and mRNA delivery. He worked closely on many research projects as a husband-wife team with Caroline while founding three biotech companies and raising two sons, Max and Axel. Mike and Caroline were both recruited to George Mason University in 2017, where Mike helped develop and grow the relatively young Bioengineering department with a unique vision and direction. Mike also founded another spinoff company to develop safer and less expensive mRNA vaccine technologies. He recently became a naturalized U.S. citizen and had a perfect score on his citizenship exam except for his wedding date, which he most usually couldn’t recall. He is survived by his loving wife Caroline, his son Axel, mother Marina, older brother Kim, nephew Leif and niece Maia. A service will be held at Demaine Funeral Home, 10565 Main Street, Fairfax, VA, on Saturday March 12, 2022, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, with visitation from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Smithsonian Associates.