Bringing Science To Life
Imagine computerized neuro-implants that enable people with spinal cord injuries to walk again. Science fiction? Not really. It's one of the goals of Ph.D. student Kate Williams's research at the Laboratory for Neuroengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.
Welcome to the world of biomedical engineering. Essentially the application of traditional, quantitative engineering methods to medical problems, it has the potential to overhaul the practice of medicine with gee-whiz technology. Not surprisingly, it's also one of the fastest-growing engineering disciplines. "It's truly a remarkable story," says Harvey Borovetz, chairman of the bioengineering department at the University of Pittsburgh.
At the undergraduate level, 2,410 bachelor's degrees in biomedical engineering were awarded in 2005, up 137 percent since 1999, according to the American Society for Engineering Education, while master's degrees soared 135 percent to 1,007 and doctorates jumped 78 percent to 333. ASEE also reports that 69 U.S. schools awarded degrees in biomedical engineering in 2005, up from 36 in 2000.
Williams, 28, is a fairly typical biomedical engineering student. She's the daughter of an electrical engineer whose encouragement led her to a bachelor's in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. But Williams also developed an early interest in biology. One attraction was the symmetry between the two: how so many biological concepts apply to engineering and how readily engineering concepts can be applied to medicine.
Inside story
Bioengineering involves many aspects of medicine: diagnostics, therapies, implants, and prostheses. Its methods encompass imaging, materials science, and nanotechnology. A few examples: Researchers are developing nanoparticles to deliver powerful drugs directly to cancer cells without harming adjacent healthy cells; George Stetten, a Pitt professor and imaging specialist, has invented the "sonic flashlight," a hand-held device that visualizes ultrasound images in situ, allowing doctors to "see through" skin to insert needles or scalpels; and engineers working in computational anatomy are using mathematical modeling to differentiate between diseased and healthy molecules, cells, and organs.
Money has played a role in the discipline's recent growth spurt. The budget of the National Institutes of Health doubled between 1999 and 2004, and in 2000, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering was created. But perhaps the biggest push came from the Whitaker Foundation, founded by electronics tycoon Uncas Whitaker with the sole goal of establishing bioengineering as an academic field. It spent $700 million between 1975 and 2006 on research, scholarships, and fellowships-and on new departments at 30 universities and colleges.
Still, the main reason the field took off was student demand. It's a field that resonates with women, while most engineering disciplines struggle to attract females. According to the ASEE, women earn about 20 percent of the bachelor's and master's engineering degrees awarded, but their share more than doubles within biomedical engineering. A 2003 University of Michigan study found that young women who possess the math skills needed for engineering often gravitate instead to the life sciences, saying they want to help people and improve society. The humanitarian aspects of bioengineering certainly appealed to Williams. "I feel that my work has a better chance of being applied," she says. "You can see it actually changing people's lives."
That altruistic streak is common among male students, too. Kartik Sundareswaran, 25, is also working on his doctorate at Georgia Tech. His research involves creating three-dimensional models of pediatric heart defects that will allow surgeons not only to design appropriate remedies but also to simulate the outcome of the surgical technique chosen.
You're never alone
Traditionally, grad school bioengineering programs drew heavily from other engineering disciplines-electrical, computer, chemical, and mechanical. And many graduate students still come from those fields. But the growing number of biomedical engineering departments means that many students entering graduate programs now come armed with undergraduate degrees in the field. The multidisciplinary nature of the work requires engineers to work with a range of collaborators, including biologists and clinicians. "We expect them not to be alone in the lab," says Douglas Noll, interim chairman of Michigan's biomedical engineering department.
Just because bioengineering is cutting-edge science does not mean every idea will work or that there won't be setbacks, even for ultimately successful technologies. Efforts to deliver killer drugs directly to cancer cells can be hampered if the cells mutate and become drug resistant. Permanent implants can be stymied by the human body's efforts to reject them. Biomedical engineering is a field filled with the promise of amazing medical breakthroughs, but there will be many problems to solve en route.
Then again, solving problems is what engineers do best.
Smart Choices
Environmental Engineering. It's a growing field, and engineers are needed to clean up existing pollution problems and prevent future ones.
Services Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME). This emerging discipline is getting a big push from industry, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard. SSME combines engineering, computer science, economics, and management to improve the service sector.
Insider Tip
If you've got an undergraduate degree in engineering but plan to go into biomedical engineering as a graduate student, be prepared to take some life-sciences courses. At Johns Hopkins University, for example, most of the new biomedical engineering grad students end up taking the first-year medical curriculum. Raimond Winslow, director of the university's biomedical engineering Ph.D. program, says the attraction of the field for engineers is obvious: "It's a nice blend of biology and quantitative engineering that helps people."
Reality Check
Increase in doctoral degrees awarded, past three years: 27 percent. Increase in doctoral enrollment, past six years: 50 percent
Top master's engineering discipline: computer science, 5,735 degrees. Next: electrical, 5,615
Most popular doctoral discipline: mechanical, 964 degrees. Next: electrical/computer, 938
Average starting salary for engineers with master's: $50,878. With doctorates: $67,843. With 10 years' experience: $88,433
REALITY CHECK SOURCES: AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION (2006 REPORT); NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS (2007 DATA)
By Thomas K. Grose
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. Welcome to the world of biomedical engineering. Essentially the application of traditional, quantitative engineering methods to medical problems, it has the potential to overhaul the practice of medicine with gee-whiz technology. Not surprisingly, it's also one of the fastest-growing engineering disciplines. "It's truly a remarkable story," says Harvey Borovetz, chairman of the bioengineering department at the University of Pittsburgh.
At the undergraduate level, 2,410 bachelor's degrees in biomedical engineering were awarded in 2005, up 137 percent since 1999, according to the American Society for Engineering Education, while master's degrees soared 135 percent to 1,007 and doctorates jumped 78 percent to 333. ASEE also reports that 69 U.S. schools awarded degrees in biomedical engineering in 2005, up from 36 in 2000.
Williams, 28, is a fairly typical biomedical engineering student. She's the daughter of an electrical engineer whose encouragement led her to a bachelor's in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. But Williams also developed an early interest in biology. One attraction was the symmetry between the two: how so many biological concepts apply to engineering and how readily engineering concepts can be applied to medicine.
Inside story
Bioengineering involves many aspects of medicine: diagnostics, therapies, implants, and prostheses. Its methods encompass imaging, materials science, and nanotechnology. A few examples: Researchers are developing nanoparticles to deliver powerful drugs directly to cancer cells without harming adjacent healthy cells; George Stetten, a Pitt professor and imaging specialist, has invented the "sonic flashlight," a hand-held device that visualizes ultrasound images in situ, allowing doctors to "see through" skin to insert needles or scalpels; and engineers working in computational anatomy are using mathematical modeling to differentiate between diseased and healthy molecules, cells, and organs.
The modern history of the field can be traced to the 1950s-to the kidney machine and the pacemaker. "In that era, it was mainly physicians coming to engineers with problems to solve," says George Truskey, chairman of the biomedical engineering department at Duke University. But by the 1980s and '90s, with the development of magnetic resonance imaging scanners and genomic sequencing, more and more engineers were taking their ideas to clinicians.
Special Section: America's Best Grad Schools
Money has played a role in the discipline's recent growth spurt. The budget of the National Institutes of Health doubled between 1999 and 2004, and in 2000, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering was created. But perhaps the biggest push came from the Whitaker Foundation, founded by electronics tycoon Uncas Whitaker with the sole goal of establishing bioengineering as an academic field. It spent $700 million between 1975 and 2006 on research, scholarships, and fellowships-and on new departments at 30 universities and colleges.
Still, the main reason the field took off was student demand. It's a field that resonates with women, while most engineering disciplines struggle to attract females. According to the ASEE, women earn about 20 percent of the bachelor's and master's engineering degrees awarded, but their share more than doubles within biomedical engineering. A 2003 University of Michigan study found that young women who possess the math skills needed for engineering often gravitate instead to the life sciences, saying they want to help people and improve society. The humanitarian aspects of bioengineering certainly appealed to Williams. "I feel that my work has a better chance of being applied," she says. "You can see it actually changing people's lives."
That altruistic streak is common among male students, too. Kartik Sundareswaran, 25, is also working on his doctorate at Georgia Tech. His research involves creating three-dimensional models of pediatric heart defects that will allow surgeons not only to design appropriate remedies but also to simulate the outcome of the surgical technique chosen.
You're never alone
Traditionally, grad school bioengineering programs drew heavily from other engineering disciplines-electrical, computer, chemical, and mechanical. And many graduate students still come from those fields. But the growing number of biomedical engineering departments means that many students entering graduate programs now come armed with undergraduate degrees in the field. The multidisciplinary nature of the work requires engineers to work with a range of collaborators, including biologists and clinicians. "We expect them not to be alone in the lab," says Douglas Noll, interim chairman of Michigan's biomedical engineering department.
Just because bioengineering is cutting-edge science does not mean every idea will work or that there won't be setbacks, even for ultimately successful technologies. Efforts to deliver killer drugs directly to cancer cells can be hampered if the cells mutate and become drug resistant. Permanent implants can be stymied by the human body's efforts to reject them. Biomedical engineering is a field filled with the promise of amazing medical breakthroughs, but there will be many problems to solve en route.
Then again, solving problems is what engineers do best.
Smart Choices
Environmental Engineering. It's a growing field, and engineers are needed to clean up existing pollution problems and prevent future ones.
Services Science, Management, and Engineering (SSME). This emerging discipline is getting a big push from industry, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard. SSME combines engineering, computer science, economics, and management to improve the service sector.
Insider Tip
If you've got an undergraduate degree in engineering but plan to go into biomedical engineering as a graduate student, be prepared to take some life-sciences courses. At Johns Hopkins University, for example, most of the new biomedical engineering grad students end up taking the first-year medical curriculum. Raimond Winslow, director of the university's biomedical engineering Ph.D. program, says the attraction of the field for engineers is obvious: "It's a nice blend of biology and quantitative engineering that helps people."
Reality Check
Top master's engineering discipline: computer science, 5,735 degrees. Next: electrical, 5,615
Most popular doctoral discipline: mechanical, 964 degrees. Next: electrical/computer, 938
Average starting salary for engineers with master's: $50,878. With doctorates: $67,843. With 10 years' experience: $88,433
REALITY CHECK SOURCES: AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION (2006 REPORT); NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS (2007 DATA)
By Thomas K. Grose
