A pioneer in biomedical engineering, Polytechnic University alum William B. Kouwenhoven '06 '07 is responsible for saving innumerable lives. After inventing the Cardiac Defibrillator, Kouwenhoven envisioned the first non-invasive method to restart the human heart after noticing that the weight of defibrulator pads pressed upon a test dog's ribcage increased blood pressure. Thus, Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, or CPR, became the first-response treatment for professionals and layman facing heart attack victims. For his remarkable contributions to cardiology, in 1969 Kouwenhoven received the first-ever honorary Doctor of Medicine from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.