Biomedical Engineering

The creative integration of engineering, scientific and medical concepts and methods to investigate and develop solutions to modern healthcare challenges

www.bucknell.edu/biomedicalengineering

Career Paths

Biomedical engineering majors are prepared for a wide range of industry, healthcare and research career paths. Recent alumni have secured the following positions:

  • Junior Mechanical Engineer, Brain Scope
  • Research & Development Engineer, Boston Scientific
  • Project Engineer, Covidien
  • Project Development Engineer, W.L. Gore
  • Trauma Specialist, Zimmer
  • Validation Technician, Hospira
  • Biochemical Engineer, Merck and Co., Inc.
  • Project Engineer, West Pharmaceuticals
  • Graduate Student, Cornell University
  • Medical Student, SUNY Upstate Medical University, N.Y.
  • Research Technologist, Johns Hopkins University
  • Dental Student, Tufts University
  • Inpatient Technical Services, Epic Systems Corporation
  • Graduate Student, University of California – Davis
  • Quality Assurance Medical Physicist, Radiological Associates of Sacramento
  • Consulting Analyst, Accenture
  • Research Analyst, World Tech International
  • Medical Student, Tufts University
  • Veterinary Student, UPENN
  • Law Student, Villanova University
  • Surgery Product Specialist, Johns Hopkins Hospital
  • Modeling Engineer, Immunetrics

Quick Facts

Number of full-time, core faculty: 6

Average number of majors per class year: 15

Grants & Awards

Biomedical engineering faculty members have recently secured grants from:

  • National Science Foundation (nanotechnology-education)
  • National Science Foundation (acquisition of nanoindenter)
  • Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center
  • State of Pennsylvania Keystone Innovation Zone (Bucknell University/Geisinger Health System partnership)
  • U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Lab
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (joint grant with Geisinger Medical Center)
  • US Army Medical Research & Materiel Command

Selected Faculty Publications

Bucknell’s biomedical engineering faculty members scholarship has recently appeared in:

  • Journal of Biomedical Materials Research
  • Journal of Materials Research
  • Nano Today
  • Physical Review E
  • Journal of Biomechanics
  • Stapp Car Crash Journal
  • Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation
  • Advances in Numerical Heat Transfer
  • Biophysical Journal
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Annals of Biomedical Engineering

Facilities & Resources

  • Biomedical Engineering Hybrid Instructional Facility with multiple stations for the integration of lecture and laboratory exercises
  • Equipment for instruction in cardiovascular fluid mechanics, pulmonary function, hemodialysis, drug delivery, electrocardiography, electromygraphy, human gait and balance and soft-tissue biomechanics
  • Biotransport Research Laboratory equipped for experiments in the areas of drug delivery, fluid mechanics associated with liquid and gas flows, mass transport, hemodialysis and fluid flow visualization
  • Bioinstrumentation laboratory with instruments for electrocardiography, Doppler ultrasound, blood glucose monitoring, exercise physiology, thermal, electrical and fluid properties of tissues
  • Experimental Dynamics Laboratory:  suitable for biological tisue testing and equipped with instruments to perform high rate impact/failure testing
  • Musculoskeletal biomechanics research utilizing a force-platform, electromyography and motion-capture system
  • Rapid Circuit Prototyping
  • Biomaterials laboratory equipment utilized for characterization of microscale mechanical and chemical properties of tissues and other biological materials
  • Project development laboratory for fabrication of student projects
  • Scanning electron microscope
  • Materials Testing Facility, including Nanoindenter and Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer
  • Langendorff Cardiac Perfusion System with Electrical Stimulation and Recording Equipment
  • Stratasys Rapid Prototyping System
  • Cell Culturing Facility (in biology department)

Courses Offered

  • Advanced Topics in Biomedical Engineering
  • Bioinstrumentation I
  • Biomechanics and Injury Prevention
  • Biomedical Engineering Capstone I and II
  • Biomedical Engineering Project I and II
  • Biomedical Engineering Research
  • Biomimetic Materials
  • Biotransport I and II
  • Fabrication and Experimental Design
  • Fundamentals of Biomechanics
  • Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering
  • Fundamentals of Biomedical Signals and Systems
  • Introduction to Engineering Computing
  • Light-activated Therapy
  • Medical Device Assessment and Development
  • Neural Signals and Systems
  • Statistical Methods in Biomedical Engineering

Related Student Organizations and University Programs

Program Details

  • All lectures and laboratories are taught by faculty members.
  • Small class and laboratory section sizes (10 -18 students) promote student faculty interactions.
  • The biomedical engineering curriculum at Bucknell focuses on educating students to be well-prepared engineers with a strong understanding of the integration of medicine and engineering.
  • Teams of students design and build senior design projects under the mentorship of medical and clinical professionals.
  • Novel biomedical engineering facilities permit the direct integration of lecture and laboratory exercises.
  • Students have opportunities to conduct research with faculty in a wide range of biomedical engineering areas including injury mechanics, biomimetic materials, cardiac electrophysiology and microfluidics.
  • Professors utilize a wide range of teaching styles to promote collaborative learning and individual thought.
  • Student-oriented instructional and research partnerships exist with local and regional medical and clinical institutions.
  • Biomedical engineering students take courses in Bucknell’s biology and chemistry departments, which are nationally recognized for their excellence.
  • A group of external advisers consisting of industry, medical and academic experts participates in program development.

Faculty

Bucknell’s biomedical engineering faculty members provide close, personal attention to students in the classroom and in the lab. The professors are dedicated teachers and active researchers who often invite students to become involved in their work.

James Baish, biomedical and mechanical engineering
B.S.M.E. Bucknell; M.S.E., Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
Scholarly interests: biological heat and mass transport, tumor physiology, system dynamics, origins of biological form, network science

Kathleen Bieryla, biomedical engineering
B.S. University of Pittsburgh; M.S., Ph.D. Virginia Tech
Scholarly interests: fall prevention in older adults, motor learning, postural control, gait biomechanics

Daniel Cavanagh, biomedical and chemical engineering
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Northwestern
Scholarly interests: biomedical fluid dynamics, therapeutic uses of surfactants, intravascular gas embolism, microfluidics, hemodialysis

Donna Ebenstein, biomedical engineering
B.S. California Institute of Technology; Ph.D. University of California at Berkeley
Scholarly interests: structure-property relationships in biological materials, biomaterials, biomimetics, nanomechanics

Eric Kennedy, biomedical engineering
B.S. University of Maryland College Park; M.S., Ph.D. Virginia Tech
Scholarly interests: auto, military, consumer product, sports safety; eye injury biomechanics; lower extremity injury biomechanics

William King, chemical and biomedical engineering
B.S. Pittsburgh; M.S. Carnegie Mellon; Ph.D. Pennsylvania
Scholarly interests: photodynamic therapy, laser-tissue interactions, artificial blood substitutes, mathematical modeling

Joseph Tranquillo, biomedical and electrical engineering
B.S. Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.; Ph.D. Duke
Scholarly interests: electrophysiology of the heart and brain, high performance biocomputing, nonlinear dynamics of coupled oscillators

AFFILIATED FACULTY

Mitch Chernin, biology
B.S.Massachusetts; M.S. Guam; Ph.D. Clemson
Scholarly interests: molecular biology, regulation of gene expression, bone remodeling and growth, regulation of the cardiac rennin-angiotensin system

Margot Vigeant, chemical engineering
B.S. Cornell; M.S., Ph.D. Virginia
Scholarly interests: biotransport in cell migration, bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation

Undergraduate Research and Creative Projects

Each year, students conduct research on campus, in industry or at other academic institutions. Students may participate in faculty research in a wide range of areas including, but not limited to, cardiovascular fluid dynamics, biomimetic materials, injury biomechanics, cardiac modeling and tumor physiology and treatment. Recent projects include:

  • Assessment of Eye Injury Risk from Blast Exposure
  • Development of a Dynamic Impact System Used to Assess Head Injury Risk
  • Bursting Behavior in the Hindmarsh – Rose Model
  • Study of Spider Silk Structure Under Supercontraction Using Raman Spectroscopy
  • Mutations in Cardiac Ion Channels Have Different Effects on Mice and Humans
  • Preparation and Isolation of Low Molecular Weight Hyaluronan for Assessing Its Boundary Lubrication Function on Articular Cartilage
  • Six-month Comparison of Vasomotor Function Associated With Paclitaxel Eluting Stents
  • Femur Fracture Risk Functions from Geometrical Characteristics of Femur Based on Standing Height
  • Epileptic Synchronization in a Simulated Macaque Cortical Network
  • Preparation of a Gel Form of Heart Extracellular Matrix
  • Direct Mechanical Assessment of Bone Quality
  • Intraocular Pressure as a Predictor of Traumatic Eye Injuries
  • Risk Functions for the Prediction of Open- and Closed-globe Eye Injuries
  • Mapping Local Strains in Mytilus edulis Byssal Threads
  • Deficiencies in Mechanical Properties of Peripheral Nerves in Fibrillin-2 Knockout Mice
  • Fabrications and Testing of a Fluid Cell Attachment for a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer
  • A Strain Gauge Based Force Sensor-based Method for Material Characterization of Natural Microscale Fibers
  • Improving Clinical Balance Measures in Older Adults via Wii Fit Training
  • Design and Implementation of Novel Silicone Cup Attachment for Ambulatory EEG
  • Coupling Induced Bursting in a Neuron-glial System
  • Burst Switching Between Incoherence and Synchrony

Senior Design

In the senior year, students participate in year-long capstone projects that provide them with an opportunity to work with an external biomedical expert on real-world design projects. Students are exposed to clinical environments and are challenged to identify current medical needs for which they design and fabricate prototype medical device solutions. Recent projects include:

  • Design Improvement of Catheterization Lab Radiation Shielding
  • Overhead Phototherapy Lights for Jaundice Treatment in an Isolette
  • A New Device for Increased Drug Reconstitution Efficiency
  • Urology: A Force-Sensitive Apparatus for Ultrasound-Guided Needle Placement Procedures
  • Saliva-Collecting Pacifier for DNA/RNA Collection from Infants
  • Development of a Cryosurgical Probe for Use with Liquid Nitrogen
  • Force Feedback for Trocars in Laparoscopic Surgery
  • Drug Injection Device for Use on an Emergency Response Helicopter

Internships

Biomedical engineering majors can gain career experience through summer internships in academia, industry and government. Recently, students have interned at

  • Harvard Stem Cell Institute
  • Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
  • B. Braun Medical
  • Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
  • University of California, San Diego
  • Hospira
  • Pfizer
  • Knopp Neurosciences
  • UBS
  • Corning, Inc.
  • Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
  • MIT Center for Cancer Research
  • Geisinger Medical Center
  • Virginia Tech
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Clemson University
  • Biolex Therapeutics
  • Altea Therapeutics
  • University of Maryland

Study Abroad

Each year, about 20 percent of Bucknell’s engineering students study overseas. Over the past few years, biomedical engineering students have studied abroad at the following institutions:

  • National University of Ireland at Galway
  • Queen Mary University of London
  • University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Graduate and Professional School

Many biomedical engineering students choose to attend graduate and professional school after Bucknell. Recently, biomedical engineering alumni have been admitted to:

Graduate Schools

  • Boston University
  • Carnegie Mellon
  • Columbia University
  • Cornell University
  • Dartmouth
  • Duke University
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Northwestern University
  • Tufts University
  • University of California, Davis
  • University of California, Irvine
  • University of California, San Diego
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • University of Virginia
  • Virginia Tech
  • Wake Forest University
  • Washington University at St. Louis

Medical/Dental Schools

  • Case Western Reserve University Dental School
  • Harvard University Dental School
  • Stony Brook University Dental School
  • Tufts University Medical School
  • Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
  • University of Buffalo Dental School
  • University of Maryland Dental School
  • University of Pittsburgh Dental School
  • University of Vermont Medical School
  • Upstate Medical University

Law Schools

  • American University Washington College of Law
  • Cardozo School of Law
  • Franklin Pierce Law School
  • New England Law School
  • Quinnipiac University School of Law
  • Roger Williams School of Law
  • Rutgers-Newark School of Law
  • Seton Hall Law School
  • St. John's Law School
  • Suffolk University Law School
  • University of Maine School of Law
  • Villanova University Law School