Biomedical Engineering Program Spotlight

“Bio(medical) engineering integrates physical, chemical, mathematical, and computational sciences and engineering principles to study biology, medicine, behavior, and health. It advances fundamental concepts; creates knowledge from the molecular to the organ systems level; and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for patient rehabilitation, and for improving health.” - National Institutes of Health

Students choose a career in the field of biomedical engineering (BME) to be of service to people; for the excitement of working with living systems; and to apply advanced technology to the complex problems of medical care.

Biomedical Engineers often serve as integrators or facilitators, using their skills in both the engineering and life science fields. They are employed in industry, in research facilities of educational and medical institutions, in teaching, in government regulatory agencies, and in hospitals.

• In industry, biomedical engineers may work on teams to help design devices, systems, processes and clinical trials that require an in-depth understanding of both living systems and engineering. Frequently they will be found in technical sales and marketing positions in companies seeking to provide their customers with technically trained individuals who are capable of better understanding their needs and communicating those needs back to product development teams.
• In government regulatory positions, such as those with the Food and Drug Administration, biomedical engineers are often involve testing medical devices for performance and safety.
• In research institutions, biomedical engineers participate in or direct research activities in collaboration with other researchers with such backgrounds as medicine, biology, chemistry and a variety of engineering disciplines.

For more information on career opportunities in the field biomedical engineering, follow the links below to view publications produced two of the professional societies in this field.

Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS)

Additional biomedical engineering career information on the field of can be found on the following website.

Sloan Career Cornerstone Center