Datex-Ohmeda engineers Robert Tham (left), Jaron Acker (center) and Duncan Bathe examine a prototype of the Econopulse. Acker worked on the device as a UW-Madison engineering student through the Biomedical Engineering Student Design Consortium. (Photo: Greg Anderson) (18K JPG)

Companies spend thousands of dollars annually on campus recruiting efforts. And in the end, recruiters base their decision to hire a soon-to-be graduate primarily on a couple of hours' worth of interview time.

But members of the UW-Madison Biomedical Engineering Student Design Consortium weekly interact with biomedical engineering students via real-world design projects over several semesters. The connection not only introduces company representatives to potential employees, but also enables students to conduct work in the biomedical industry and tailor their education accordingly.

The consortium centers around continuous design courses-a signature aspect of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Beginning in their sophomore year, biomedical engineering students work on a design project each semester through the end of their senior year.

In the past, all of the projects came from UW-Madison "clients" and each student chose which project team to join. Now the list of potential projects includes some from consortium member-companies Datex-Ohmeda, Madison (a division of Instrumentarium that develops critical products for operating rooms and intensive care units), and Waukesha-based GE Medical Systems. Some students finish their designs in a semester; others continue them for several semesters and during internships or co-ops with the companies.

"We wanted to get the students more deeply involved with the companies so that we create a partnership between the education of the student and training the student to be a potential employee of that company," says Biomedical Engineering Professor and Chair Robert Radwin, the consortium's director.

Such was the case with Jaron Acker, who received his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering in May 2002. With fellow students Mark Flanner, Jen Pakter and Mike Hardell, Acker began working on a prototype of the Econopulse, a portable device that delivers pulsed doses of nitric oxide to patients with persistent pulmonary hypertension, for Datex-Ohmeda in spring 2000.

With encouragement, guidance and assistance from the company's R&D staff, he refined the design during a nine-month co-op at the company and in spring 2001 exhibited the finished prototype-a winning entry-at the UW-Madison Engineering EXPO.

Acker now is an engineer with Datex-Ohmeda and a part-time biomedical engineering graduate student. "I knew it was a place I liked-between working on this device out here for three semesters and working on my co-op," he says. "When the job position opened up, I was definitely interested in working here. I still went through the interviewing process, but my chances of getting the job were definitely a lot greater, knowing people out here and having worked with the engineers before."

In addition to making valuable contacts, students who work on consortium projects learn more about the industry and develop design and technical skills, says Radwin. Conversely, member companies can meet and mentor students. "So when the student is finished, that student has not only gotten advice from professors, but also from people in companies that they might want to work for," he says.

The companies' high level of involvement in the students' education is important in combating what many call the state's brain drain, he says. "When the students and companies develop a good enough relationship where the student ends up working for the company, then we have a good chance of keeping our top-notch students in the state," says Radwin.

Biomedical Engineering Student Design Consortium industry members ultimately benefit from the students' work, says Robert Tham, program manager for research at Datex-Ohmeda. But his relationship with the students is built upon mutual respect. "I just enjoy working with the students and the tremendous amount of energy the students have," he says. "And they will try anything. They come up with a lot of suggestions, so from that point of view, it makes it a very dynamic relationship."

Contact: Rob Radwin
608/263-6596