New biomedical engineering graduate degree gets state approval

Cornell's newly established master of engineering degree in biomedical engineering has been approved by the New York State Department of Education

The degree program is part of the two-year-old Biomedical Engineering program (BME), which integrates the life sciences into engineering education, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

The master's program is recruiting fall 2004 students, the first of whom will graduate in May 2005.

Michael Shuler, the Samuel B. Eckert Professor in Chemical Engineering at Cornell, director of the cross-campus BME program, said that the new M.Eng. degree will prepare students for professional practice in biomedical engineering.

"Students in the program will acquire a broad perspective on the biomedical engineering discipline that complements their undergraduate training in engineering or science, and in-depth knowledge of an essential area in biomedical engineering," he said.

The degree's three areas of focus are: biomedical mechanics and materials, bioinstrumentation/diagnostics, and drug delivery and cellular/tissue engineering. Graduates will be equipped to design biomedical devices and develop therapeutic strategies within the bounds of heath-care economics, the needs of patients and physicians, the regulatory environment for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and stringent ethical standards of biomedical engineering practice.

"We believe that the breadth and depth of knowledge needed in biomedical engineering makes a four-year B.S. degree program impractical. By combining the M.Eng. in BME with a strong B.S. program, a student can obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective professional biomedical engineer," Shuler said. Students will be able to link their undergraduate training to the new master's program to create a five-year program in biomedical engineering.

In addition, an undergraduate minor in biomedical engineering, accessible to a broad range of students, was initiated in February 2003.

Although the BME program was established within the engineering college, it involves faculty and assistance from the colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, Human Ecology and Veterinary Medicine.

The graduate field of BME already has 29 faculty, nine of whom are at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, part of the long-standing partnerships with Weill Cornell and the Hospital for Special Surgery, also in New York City. Some engineering faculty split their time between Ithaca and Manhattan, advising graduate students in both locations.

The state education department also has approved a new undergraduate engineering major in information science, systems and technology. Approval of a second new undergraduate program, in environmental engineering, is pending at the state level.