Message from the Chair

Robert G. Radwin (31K JPG)

Design transforms scientific knowledge into reality. It is the essence of engineering. Today's remarkable advances in biotechnology and medical science demand that biomedical engineers receive special training to bring the promises of these advances to fruition. Creating new medical instruments, making the world accessible to people with disabilities or developing new therapeutic devices and treatments requires that we educate engineers in multiple disciplines, foster innovation and instill a strong command of design. Our objective is to offer a unique program that promotes design throughout the education of biomedical engineers.

"Our biomedical engineering educational program will produce a new generation of biomedical engineers who will help lead the biotechnology revolution by realizing the potential of today's advances in biology and medical science ..."

We believe that biomedical engineers can effectively acquire design skills by following an educational program that offers a combination of technical depth, hands-on experience, real-world challenges and industry involvement. An educational program that emphasizes design must train students in cutting edge technologies, prepare engineers for the future needs of the biomedical industry and foster innovation and creativity. Our biomedical engineering educational program will produce a new generation of biomedical engineers who will help lead the biotechnology revolution by realizing the potential of today's advances in biology and medical science in practical and innovative new technologies.

Design in biomedical engineering combines knowledge in engineering, biology and medicine to produce new medical tools and devices. The historic development of the cardiac pacemaker in the 1950s required engineers to draw on knowledge from numerous disciplines (e.g. cardiology, surgery, electrophysiology, electronics and materials science). Today's biomedical engineers need to be able to identify key elements applicable to their designs from an even wider range of disciplines (including molecular biology, imaging science, microelectronics and biomaterials) and integrate these elements into their designs. A biomedical engineering program that emphasizes design cannot simply build its foundation on educational models from other engineering disciplines. It must tailor interdisciplinary training to biomedical engineers' specific needs, provide opportunities to exercise creativity and entrepreneurship and prepare them for unforeseen challenges they will face in transforming creative ideas into viable medical applications.

We feel that design is best learned by increments and mentoring, which is why we engage our students in design throughout their education. Our innovative approach to team-based learning in design courses enables students at early and intermediate levels to work together and allows beginning students to learn from the experience of their more advanced peers. We intend to integrate additional aspects of design into the entire curriculum, offering new courses and laboratory exercises targeted at providing biomedical engineers with the tools necessary to design new medical devices, instruments, treatments and rehabilitation technologies.

We have a great deal of exciting things to look forward to as our department rapidly grows. This year we welcome two new faculty members. Assistant Professors Nimmi Ramanujam and Walter Block share their plans for research and education on pages four and five. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Best Wishes,

Robert G. Radwin
1550 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1609

Tel: 608/263-4660
Fax: 608/265-9239
E-mail: bme@engr.wisc.edu