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Session 1309

Development of a Novel Foundation Course for Biomedical Engineering Curriculum

Ann Saterbak, Ka-Yiu San, Larry V. McIntire Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston TX 77005

Abstract

The Bioengineering undergraduate program at Rice University is developing novel courses to meet its primary program objectives. Students are required to take seven core Bioengineering courses and five elective courses in one of the three tracks of Cellular and Molecular Engineering, Systems Engineering and Biomedical Instrumentation, or Biomaterials and Biomechanics. The authors have developed a new sophomore-level course, Conservation Principles in Biology and Medicine, that lays the foundation for achieving the program objectives, prepares students for upper-level core courses, and exposes students to material in all three tracks. This course introduces the general conservation law and then focuses on the application of conservation of mass, momentum, charge and energy in biological systems. Course examples span the breath of modern bioengineering: physiology, biochemistry, tissue engineering, kinematics, biomaterials, biotechnology, cellular engineering, and instrumentation. One unique feature is the use of case studies at the end of the course to illustrate the concept that various conservation principles can be applied to understand and to model different aspects of a system. Case studies of the kidney, cellular metabolism and the circulatory system have been developed. Finally, a group term project focused on modeling an organ and describing an assist device synthesizes material. The term project also emphasizes team work and written and oral presentation skills which are taught in conjunction with the Cain Project in Engineering and Professional Communication. Assessment includes extensive mid-year and terminal surveys which focus on content, mode of presentation and quality of teaching. Conservation Principles in Biology and Medicine is serving as the template for incorporating ABET 2000 into a new department. Course notes are being developed into a textbook for biomedical engineering students.

Biomedical Engineering Curriculum at Rice University

The Bioengineering undergraduate program at Rice University is designed to prepare students for careers in the rapidly developing areas of biomedical engineering and bioprocessing. The undergraduate educational program in Bioengineering has the goal of producing a new type of biomedical engineer, fully conversant with modern biochemistry and cell and molecular biology. This type of biomedical engineer translates bench-scale scientific advances in biological sciences into cost-effective new products and processes. New and innovative curricula are being developed to educate biomedical engineers who not only create new tissues and cell-based therapies but also deliver them at a cost affordable to our health care system.

The educational program objectives of the B.S. degree in Bioengineering are to:

Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2001 American Society for Engineering Education

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McIntire, L., & San, K., & Saterbak, A. (2001, June), Development Of A Novel Foundation Course For Biomedical Engineering Curriculum Paper presented at 2001 Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. 10.18260/1-2--9124