Conference Session

BME Laboratory and Project Experiences

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jamie Lynn Brugnano, Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University; Kevin Andrew Richards, Purdue University; Marcia A. Pool, Purdue University; Allison L. Sieving, Purdue University; Juan Diego Velasquez, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Sherry L. Voytik-Harbin, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Ann E. Rundell, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

for students tosuccessfully produce a final prototype or design. However, there are comparatively fewer articlesthat focus on best approaches to formally teach engineering students professional skills(sometimes referred to as the “soft skills”), rather they focus on assessment.5, 14, 19, 26 Althoughassessment of these skills is necessary and required for ABET accreditation, it is equallyimportant to disseminate best practices to effectively teach these professional design skills.Traditionally, these professional skills are passively acquired within the engineeringundergraduate curriculum, culminating in the capstone design experience.5 Despite theacknowledgement that ABET professional design skills can, in fact, be taught30 there is

Conference Session

BME Course and Curriculum Development

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alisha L. Sarang-Sieminski, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering; Debbie Chachra, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Biomedical

quantitative measurements in living systems; 4. The ability to use modeling techniques as a tool for integrating knowledge; 5. The ability to formulate and solve problems with medical relevance, including the design of devices, systems, and processes to improve human health.This curriculum philosophy captures an important component of bioengineering that isdemanded by industry: the ability to apply an ‘engineering mindset,’ including quantitative andanalytic tools, to biological problems. But there is also an increasing appreciation of the role ofthe so-called ‘soft skills’ in engineering, including teamwork and communication, as well as thevalue of design and problem-solving skills. For example, the National Academy of