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Historical Notes on the Louisiana Tech Biomedical Engineering Program

The Biomedical Engineering Program was established in 1972 and was the seventh undergraduate biomedical engineering program in the country to be accredited by ABET, the primary engineering accrediting board in the United States. Its first chair, Dr. Daniel D. Reneau is highly regarded for his work on transport across the placenta and is now the President of the University. The program has played a continuous leadership role in defining the field of biomedical engineering and was one of the first in the country to award a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. The Center for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Science (CyBERS) has been identified as a Center of Excellence at Louisiana Tech University, first by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1985 when it was established, and more recently by the University of Louisiana System. The Center coordinates biomedical engineering research on the campus, and brings together faculty from the Biomedical Engineering Program, the Biological Sciences Department, the Institute for Micromanufacturing, and the Center for Numerical Simulation and Modeling. CyBERS has long had international acclaim for its research in physiological modeling and for its research and service in rehabilitation engineering. In collaboration with Louisiana Tech’s Institute for Micromanufacturing, CyBERS has developed expertise in the growing field of Biological Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (BioMEMS).

The number of faculty in the Biomedical Engineering program has grown extensively in the past few years. In August of 1997 the program had 5 faculty members, including Dr. Reneau. As of March, 2004 the number of faculty numbers 13. The program has played a role in the early careers of a number of successful faculty members, including Dr. Bruce Gale, currently at the University of Utah, Dr. Robert Keynton, currently at the University of Kentucky, Louisville, and Dr. David Beebe, currently at the University of Wisconsin.

The program views activity in the areas of micro and nano engineering as highly important to its growth. As a consequence, the new Biomedical Engineering building, which was recently approved by the state legislature, will be physically connected to the current Institute for Micromanufacturing. Construction of the new building will begin in Fall of 2004.

Steven A. Jones

Biomedical Engineering Program, Louisiana Tech University

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