To be completely honest, I didn’t even understand what Biomedical Engineering was for the longest time. When I was seriously considering what I should study, I literally searched it on Wikipedia and saw this: Biomedical engineering (BME) is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes. Not super helpful. And even when I started taking classes, I only had a partial idea of how BME was really applied to in the real world.
My thoughts changed when I heard a lecture by the chair of the Biomedical Engineering department, Dr. Norberto Grzywacz. He was literally the coolest, and told us all about the different branches of the subject: he showed us a picture of the cross section of a prosthetic hand and saw the intense detailing of the machinery, he talked about tissue engineering and the usage of stem cells to build actual organs, and he clarified doubts that many people have about Biomedical Engineering and its utility compared to mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering. Dr. Grzywacz counters skeptics by calling us “masters of everything.” We learn basics of engineering, like math, physics, and coding (similar to the other engineering disciplines) and how to connect this to biology and chemistry. With an ever-growing demand for health care advances, knowing how to use engineering innovation techniques in human systems is becoming more and more important. BMEs are essential for meshing science with technology, yielding products like pacemakers, insulin pumps, prosthetic legs, pharmaceuticals, and more.
I know people who are planning to go into consulting. Some want to go into industry. Some want to do research in biomedical engineering. Others want to go to medical school. I’m not quite sure about my plans with my degree, but I still have a couple years to decide!
Thanks for reading!
Archana
