Charles Laszlo

Dr. Laszlo is a pioneer of biomedical engineering at UBC. He established the Clinical Engineering Program in 1980 and pursued research applying signal processing, pattern recognition, and computers to diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Motivated by his own hearing loss, a focus of his work has been on technologies for people with disabilities. Transferring his work into the industrial domain he co-founded Assistive Listening Device Systems Ltd. and Mitroflow International Inc., a developer of unique heart valves. Combining his experiences with his professional background, he had made major contributions to the development of standards and regulations affecting people with hearing loss. He served as founding president of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, and as president of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People. His many honours include the Gold Medal of the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, the Order of British Columbia, and the Order of Canada.