Welcome to Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer
Welcome to BME at Rensselaer — home to one of the oldest and most reputable biomedical engineering departments in the United States. We combine a strong engineering tradition of problem solving with a high level of scholarship and research. For over 40 years, we have produced outstanding academics, industry leaders and research scientists. As part of the Bio-revolution at Rensselaer we are undergoing large expansion and creating a new face of BME.
Deepak Vashishth, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Head
Under the auspices of a newly established 218,000-sq- feet Center of Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, our faculty and students work closely with other Rensselaer faculty to pursue interdisciplinary research. Additional collaborations are in place with the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovation, Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging, Center for Multiscale Science and Engineering, and several Boston, Connecticut, New York, and Rochester area hospitals and medical centers.
At the undergraduate level, we use Rensselaer’s studio model to deliver biomedical engineering content with hands-on experiences. Our “Surgery in the Classroom” initiative allows live video and audio feed between operating surgeons at Albany Medical College and biomedical engineering students in classroom at Rensselaer. Plans are underway to globalize the capstone design experience and provide projects and live contact between students at Rensselaer and their counterparts in developing countries. Study abroad experiences are also becoming a popular choice as we prepare students for a global marketplace.
We are taking ambitious steps to move our Department forward, and we would like to invite you to learn more about us.
Current News Items
NSF Career Award
Thursday, 26 January 2012
It is a great pleasure to share the news that Ryan Gilbert has received an NSF Career Award for the project entitled: "CAREER: Study of Astrocyte Migration and Reactivity Using Novel Biomaterial Platforms". The award, totaling $496,366 over a period of five years, is funded by the Division of Materials Research/ Biomaterials Program. The grant will support the Gilbert laboratory's pursuit of developing novel biomaterial strategies for treatment of spinal cord injury.
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Friday, 20 January 2012
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Materials and Systems Biology Research in Biotechnology and Biomedicine
An REU program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, offers undergraduate students from other universities the opportunity to participate in ongoing research with faculty members during a 10-week period in the summer. For those students considering a career in research, an undergraduate research experience is a great place to start. The program provides students the opportunity to work side by side with RPI faculty and graduate students to investigate a broad range of important and interesting problems at the forefront of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Not only do students gain valuable hands-on experience, they also have the opportunity to see first hand some of the world-class research under way at RPI and find out how discoveries made here benefit society.
Rensselaer Engineering Students To Visit South Africa and Help Innovate New Solutions to Unique Medical Challenges
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Biomedical engineering students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will travel to South Africa next month on a mission to identify the unique needs of remote, under-resourced medical clinics. The students will use these findings and field observations to inform the design and development of new medical technologies.
The RPI news release may be read here, and coverage in the Times Union may be read here: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/RPI-students-study-South-African-clinics-2429241.php.
You can follow the group's travels via their Facebook page, "Stellenbosch Short Term South Africa Trip."
2011 Weinbaum Lecture
Wednesday, 07 December 2011
The 2011 Annual Weinbaum Lecture will be held December 9, at 2 pm in Academy Hall. Dr. Susan Margulies will present a talk titled, "Biomechanics - A Force for Good." For additional details, please click the title of this article.
Professor Vashishth named AIMBE Fellow
Friday, 02 December 2011
The full article may be read here: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2954&setappvar=page%281%29
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Research Areas
Degrees Offered
Biomedical Engineering:
B.S., M.S., D.Eng., Ph.D.
Minor in Management
Concentrations:
Biomechanics
Biomaterials
Imaging/Instrumentation
Undergraduate Research and Job Opportunities
Information regarding opportunities for undergraduate research and job opportunities may be found here.
Contact Information
Program Recognition and Student Awards
Our program, as well as our undergraduate and graduate students, continue to excel and shine in national and international competitions. For more information regarding their accomplishments, please go here.
Weinbaum Lecture
The Third Annual Weinbaum Lecture was held on December 9, 2011. Dr. Susan Margulies, Professor of Bioengineering at Penn, spoke about "Biomechanics - A Force for Good."
The Vollmer W. Fries Distinguished Lecture in Engineering
The Inaugural Vollmer W. Fries Distinguished Lecture in Engineering was held April 15, 2010. Dr. Shu Chien of the University of California at San Diego presented “Effects of Shear Flow on Interactions Between Endothelial Cells and Smooth Muscle Cells in a Co-Culture System.”
Partnership University Fund (PUF) Awards Grant for International Graduate Student Exchange Program
We are pleased to be among the distinguished group of 2010 PUF Laureates (Vashishth Co-PI). For more information please go here.
Undergraduate Seminar Series in Global Health
The inaugral Undergraduate Seminar Series in Global Health was held September 27. Dr. Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic of Columbia University, presented a talk titled, "Engineering Functional Human Tissues." For more information on the series and to see the lecture, please click here.
Support the Department
Click here for information about supporting the Biomedical Engineering Department.