Bioengineering/biomedical engineering
Description
The terms above are used interchangeably to describe the study of the application of engineering knowledge to the fields of medicine and biology. Bioengineering applies engineering principles to living things. It stands at the intersection of engineering, medicine,
and the natural and physical sciences. It combines design engineering and biological
knowledge to create devices, design operations, and invent techniques to prolong or improve the health and well-being of humans and animals. Bioengineering includes the development of prosthetic devices used to replace lost or nonfunctional parts of the body,
dialysis methodologies, genomic therapies, hip and knee implantations, and techniques
for vascular bypass surgery.
Plan of study
The plan of study follows the structure of all engineering programs, with physics, chemistry, calculus, and engineering sciences at the lower-division level and more engineering course work and supervised research at the upper-division level. In some colleges,
the bioengineering or biomedical specialty is an augment to a major in a traditional engineering area, such as mechanical, civil, electrical, or chemical. Course work in physiology, corrosion, corrosion fatigue, signal acquisition and transmission, and modeling of
physiological systems is stressed. Independent, supervised projects in current topics are
required.
Expect to take
Physics and advanced physics, chemistry and advanced chemistry, calculus, engineering
mechanics, thermodynamics, electrical circuitry, materials science, design project, bioelectric and biocontrol systems, process engineering.
Suggested high school subjects
Advanced science through physics, advanced mathematics through calculus, social studies, foreign language, computer studies.
General interest areas
Mathematics, science, medicine, research, human systems, analysis of data.
Some career possibilities
Bioengineer
Medical consultant
Biomedical engineer
Physician
College professor
Physiologist
Lawyer
Reliability engineer
Materials engineer
Research scientist
Mechanical engineer
Some related majors
Anatomy
Engineering physics
Biology
Human/animal physiology
Biophysics
Mechanical engineering
Chemical engineering
Physics
Chemistry
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Copyright 2009 by Wintergreen Orchard House. All rights reserved.
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