The History of LSBEB

The Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Branch was founded in 1965 by its first President, Colonel Alvin Meyer. The organization was known as the Bio-Environmental Engineering Section (BEES, 1965), the Bio-Environmental Engineering & Sciences Branch (BEESB, 1966), and the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Branch (BSEB, 1968). In 1974, the merger of BSEB with another organization of AsMA, the Aerospace Industrial Life Sciences Association (AILSA), founded in 1962, resulted in the current LSBEB.

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Alvin was born in 1920 of Alvin Meyer and Bertha Weil-Meyer in Shreveport. Louisiana. He became an engineer who graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (1941) and served the US Air Force (1941-1969). “Alvin F. Meyer has lived life to it's fullest, and now, with an octogenarian's complacency, he walks down memory lane to gather the laurels of success with nostalgic pride. Born into the Weil-Meyer family and heir to wealthy grandparents, Alvin chalked his way through various schools to Virginia Military Institute, hardly affected by the Depression of the 1930's. His career took him places and he found himself tied up with people who left a lasting impression. The foundation of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and the creation of the United States Air Force Biomedical ScienceCorp earmark his illustrious career. Sprinkled through it are his personal moments with his wives, children and family that cement the loose ends of his life. An interesting and candid autobiography of a well-lived and well-fought life” is located here. Alvin also served as Deputy Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and spoke as an expert for the USAF and EPA at several congressional hearings related to clean air and noise abatement.

On Jan. 28, 1965, Col. Alvin F. Meyer, Jr. had a vision to have a scientific and engineering corps and thus formed the Biomedical Sciences Corps. The formal establishment of the BSC was on March 15, 1965, where Meyer was appointed as the first BSC Corps chief. The Medical Service Corps and the Medical Specialist Corps went through a transformation that combined all the scientific and technical members.