The Mary Black Ralston Chair of Education and Research in Orthopaedic Surgery

Edgar L. Ralston, MD (1911–2003) established the professorship through a trust to honor his wife of 59 years, Mary Black Ralston (1912–2000).

Throughout her life, Mary Black Ralston was a noted soprano in the Delaware Valley. She learned her craft in the Philadelphia public schools and at the Peabody Conservatory. Among her best-remembered performances were her annual appearances in Strawbridge & Clothier’s Christmas Pageant and in the Palm Night Service, which took place at either Convention Hall or the Academy of Music.

At Penn, she was an active volunteer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where her husband spent his career. Dr. Ralston, a member of the Perelman School of Medicine Class of 1937, joined Penn following service in the U.S. Army. He served as Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery from 1963 to 1977, a period of tremendous expansion. The McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory was founded during his tenure, and Dr. Ralston was honored as the inaugural holder of the Paul B. Magnuson Professorship of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Current Chairholder
Robert L. Mauck, PhD

Robert L. Mauck, PhD is the Mary Black Ralston Chair and Professor of Bioengineering at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is the Director of the McKay Orthopaedic Research Laboratory and the Biomechanics Core of the Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders. Dr. Mauck also co-directs the Musculoskeletal Regeneration Program at the Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Mauck obtained his undergraduate and PhD degrees at Columbia University. Following post-doctoral studies at the NIH, Dr. Mauck moved to the Perelman School of Medicine, where he has developed a new research program focused on the engineering of musculoskeletal tissues, with a particular interest in restoring articular cartilage, the knee meniscus, and the intervertebral disc.

Dr. Mauck is a member of professional societies, including the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the Orthopaedic Research Society. He has been recognized for his contributions to the field, receiving the Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.