By Candace Allen

In an effort to recruit more students to the budding field of bioengineering, U of L created a new five-year Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degree.

The program, simply referred to as Bioengineering, was created to meet the increasing need for bioengineers in hospitals and in industries such as biotechnology and medical devices. The demand for such a degree also played a large part in the decision to create the program.

“Over the last two years, I have received over 200 inquiries from high school students and their parents regarding the establishment of a Bioengineering degree program at U of L,” said Robert Keynton, chair and associate professor in the Bioengineering department.

The U.S. Department of Labor predicts a 31 percent increase in demand for highly qualified bioengineering graduates over the next 10 years. This is due to the increased number of senior citizens and the higher demand for quality health care. On July 14, 2005, the Board of Trustees approved the new program’s inception this semester. About 20 students are currently enrolled in BE 102, the introductory class for bioengineering.

Students enrolled in the program will begin their first four years with a foundation in bioengineering, at which time the Bachelor of Science degree is awarded. When the student reaches the fifth year, they will fulfill a requirement of taking advanced, in-depth courses in their specific field of study to receive the Master of Engineering degree. Similar to other programs at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, the program spans five calendar years. It consists of 169 credit hours that will comprise both a mandatory co-op and a master’s level research project.

“Approximately 60 percent of graduates go into industry, 20 percent go to graduate school and 20 percent attend medical school. In industry, bioengineers are responsible for the design and development of new devices such as artificial hearts, joints, etcetera, as well as pacemakers [and] EKG machines,” Keynton said.

According to Mickey Wilhelm, dean of Speed School, the Bioengineering program will attract some of the best and brightest students enrolled in engineering schools across the country, as well as a higher percentage of female students. Biology classes typically have a higher percentage of women than engineering classes. The Speed School believes this will boost the number of women in the Speed School.

“I wanted to be involved in medicine, but not practice it. I want to work in cancer research and find a cure,” explained freshman Christina Ayers, a student in the bioengineering program.

Faculty members feel that the Bioengineering program has gotten off to a good start. They look forward to providing students with hands-on experience and exposing them to real-life situations.

“The goal of the Bioengineering program is to train engineers in translating an idea from the bench-top to the bedside,” Keynton said.