Biomedical Engineering at Louisiana Tech University
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Program
B.S. in Biomedical
Engineering
The Biomedical Engineering Department
was established in 1972 and has gained respect as a leader in undergraduate
education, research, and service. The Department was the seventh program to
become accredited in Biomedical Engineering (1978) and draws students around
the nation and the world. Approximately 50% of the BmE
students are from outside the state of
Program Objectives
The objectives of our program are:
Career Preparation: To prepare graduates for employment as biomedical engineers, for
graduate study in engineering or science or business, and for medical
school. Our graduates will understand
the application of engineering principles to biological systems, and will
receive specific technical training in one of the following four areas:
chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or pre-medical
studies. Career opportunities include clinical engineering, aerospace
biomedical engineering, clinical practice as a physician, or any sector of the
medical device industry.
Skills: To
prepare graduates with skills that will enable them to be immediately
productive in their chosen career. These
tools include a knowledge of contemporary topics in medical technology,
understanding of modern engineering tools, design experience, and professional
experience appropriate to their post-graduation goal.
Professionalism: To produce graduates who communicate effectively, who understand and
undertake professional responsibilities, and who function effectively as
members and leaders of multi-disciplinary teams.
Life-Long Learning: To produce graduates who believe that their undergraduate biomedical
engineering education was a wise investment and who desire to continue to
develop their knowledge and skills throughout their careers.
The program is designed along broad
lines to permit a student to obtain a fundamental education in biomedical
engineering and a specialty in one of the following traditional engineering
areas: chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or
computer information. An additional specialty is available for pre-medical
students. As detailed in the catalog,
the B.S. curriculum consists of 128 semester credit hours, including 31 hours
of biomedical engineering courses, 15 hours of other required engineering
courses, 13 hours of technical electives, 7 hours of biological sciences, 18
hours of engineering mathematics and statistics, 14 hours of chemistry and
physics, and 30 hours of humanities. The curriculum culminates with a senior
design project, spread over the winter and spring quarters of the senior year.
The design course provides instruction in structured engineering design and
enables the students to choose and solve problems using the skills and
knowledge they have gained in their undergraduate careers.
Due primarily to the success of some
of our early graduates, placement from the B.S. program at Louisiana Tech into
entry-level engineering jobs has been very good. Each year, over 55% of these
graduates pursue employment in industry, 35% pursue graduate study, and 10%
enter medical school.
Accreditation
The Biomedical Engineering Program at Louisiana Tech is one of only
twenty two in the United States which is accredited by The Accreditation Board
of Engineering and Technology (ABET) and was the seventh program to achieve
this goal. Graduates of the program are well prepared for taking the
Fundamentals of Engineering examination. Established in 1972, the Biomedical
Engineering Department remains as one of the oldest, largest and strongest such
programs in the
Students in Biomedical Engineering
The Biomedical Engineering Program attracts
students of the highest quality.
Biomedical Engineering students had the highest ACT composite score of
all engineering programs in the
Placement of graduates in medical
school, graduate school, or employment in industry has been excellent. Of the 22 graduates during 1999-2000, 21
achieved their placement goal within six months post graduation (95%), of which
11 were placed prior to graduation. For
2000-2001, 13 of 20 were placed as of the time of graduation (
Graduates during the last two years
seeking admission to graduate school were admitted to prestigious institutions
including Rice University, Boston University, University of Michigan, Purdue
University, Johns Hopkins University, Case Western Reserve University
(receiving one of the two highest fellowships in Biomedical Engineering at
CWRU), University of Virginia, Tulane University, Mississippi State University,
and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
The Program has had a student on the
USA Today Academic All-American Team for the years1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997,
and 2000. Six BIEN students have participated in the highly selective Baylor
College of Medicine SMART (Summer Medical and Research Training) Program in the
last eight years.
The program continues to attract the
best students in the university, many of whom come from out of state to study
biomedical engineering here. One example of these outstanding students is
Solana Christiansen. In 1998-99, Solana Christiansen, a senior in Biomedical
Engineering from
Faculty in Biomedical Engineering