BMES three-time national winners
n early October, 10 undergraduate members of UW-Madison’s
student chapter of the Biomedical
Engineering Society drove to Nashville to attend the annual BMES
national conference. For the third year running, they came home with
the society’s Meritorious Achievement Award.
The award recognizes student chapters that exhibit
outstanding performance in enhancing the professional awareness and
education of their members. To be considered, chapters must submit reports
of their activities during the previous year. Last year, UW-Madison’s
report was more than 200 pages long, says senior David Meister, the
group’s president.
The document, which contains E-mails, flyers, event
calendars, thank-you notes, budget information, names of speakers, lists
of activities and more, is evidence of the chapter’s vibrancy
and its members’ enthusiastic participation. “It’s
probably one of the most active organizations on campus—certainly
around engineering,” he says.
The group formed in 1997 as the UW Biomedical Society
and four years ago, when it became affiliated with the national BMES,
it had fewer than a dozen members. Today about 120 students—roughly
two-thirds of BME students—participate in activities that range
from cookouts, movie nights, hiking trips and volunteering at the Salvation
Army or Special Olympics to biweekly general meetings featuring industry
or academic speakers.
Speakers’ topics have included orthopedic implant
devices, working in industry versus academia, corporate structure, MRI
machines, the medical-school experience, and intellectual property and
patents. The popular Wednesday-evening gatherings—complete with
pizza—draw about 50 students. “The speakers are always interesting
and our members tend to ask a lot of questions,” says Meister.
As a chapter, BMES prides itself on self-evaluation
and regularly discards ineffective ideas and activities in favor of
new ones. “We try to find things that fit our members’ interests,”
he says.
Recently the group began a database of BMES alumni
who could share their post-college experiences as speakers. Two years
ago, members launched CRUISE (Counseling and Resources for Undergraduates
Interested in Science and Engineering), a mentoring initiative that
provides social forums such as bowling or a night out for ice cream
in which upperclassmen can help newer students learn the ropes. And
the chapter also sponsors visits each semester to companies such as
Medtronics, GE Medical Systems, 3M and Zimmer Orthopedics, and last
spring added trips to medical schools to its packed calendar.
Meister enjoyed the opportunity to participate in
BMES professional and social activities. He says his role as an officer
has provided him with invaluable leadership experience and organizational
management skills. “As president, I have to give presentations
at every general meeting, so I had to learn how to write and speak effectively
and articulately,” he says. “I have also learned how to
work with different types of people and personalities.”
With 15 officers holding well-documented roles, the
chapter is set up for success and will grow as the biomedical engineering
field evolves, says Meister. “Being at the forefront of a relatively
new field while it’s developing is pretty cool,” he says.
