Robert H. Allen, PhD, PE is Research Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women’s Health at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, where he directs training of obstetric providers in managing mechanically difficult deliveries. Prior to that he was the founding Undergraduate Program Director of the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design within the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to coming to Hopkins, Dr. Allen developed and directed team-based design programs since 1984; first at the University of Houston, then the University of Delaware and subsequently at Hopkins. Over this time, he has mentored over 250 design projects, many for the disabled population, with more than 40 teams or design students capturing national and international design competition awards. His research interests include the mechanics of birth, injury prevention and design education. He has authored or co-authored over 60 journal publications, over a dozen book chapters, and has generated over $4M in external support for research and teaching. A retired professional engineer, he is an inventor on three issued patents, and several pending ones, and co-founder of Birth Injury Prevention, LLC, a Maryland-company dedicated to improving maternal-child health.