Samantha Clark '10

"Biomedical engineering it is a good combination of all the types of engineering. There’s chemistry and biology as well as a focus in electrical and mechanical engineering."

Biomedical engineering: Asbury, N.J.

Why Bucknell?

“What attracted me to Bucknell was its engineering program. I liked the fact that while I would be in the College of Engineering, I could still pursue classes at Bucknell’s College of Arts and Sciences. I was excited that even as an engineering student I would have room in my schedule to take classes like photography and Spanish. I came to visit Bucknell twice and even though it rained both days, I still realized that Bucknell was the perfect place for me.”

My Major

“My major is biomedical engineering and I picked it because in high school I excelled in science and math. Biomedical engineering is a good combination of all the types of engineering. There’s chemistry and biology as well as a focus in electrical and mechanical engineering. That meant I wouldn’t have to choose just one type of engineering.

“For people who don’t know what type of engineering they want to major in, Engineering 100 is a course followed by three seminars that helps engineering students to choose what specific area of engineering they want to concentrate on. My first year, I took a seminar in civil engineering. One of our projects was to build a tower out of spaghetti. It was fun but difficult.”

My Activities

“A great experience I had was doing summer research with one of my professors. We looked into ACL injuries in the knee when people tear their ligament. We worked with a mechanical engineer who designed a prototype of a testing machine which showed us how ACLs tear. We used the machine on chicken bones and were pleased to get the results that we anticipated.

“I also spent part of the summer writing a paper on the likelihood that you will injure your femur if you are in a car accident. My research group and I ended up presenting the data we collected at the national Biomedical Engineering Society conference in St. Louis which was a very rewarding experience.”

Interview by Allison Zhornist, Class of 2010 and executive intern in the Division of Communications.

Posted Feb. 23, 2009