Science Master's Program in Engineering and Global Health Technologies

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The SMP Program in Engineering with a Certificate in Global Health Technologies is training engineering students at Northwestern University to design medical devices for underserved populations throughout the world, including poor communities in the United States. Students completing this program graduate with an MS in either Biomedical Engineering or Environmental Engineering with additional training in product design, regulatory issues, intellectual property, and the commercialization process. Each student enrolled in the program will work in multidisciplinary teams under the direct on-site supervision of a faculty member and one of the program's industry or university partners. Graduates of this program are qualified to work in the medical device industry and related jobs in government, and are exceptionally qualified to join nonprofits and global NGOs that serve resource-poor sectors of the domestic or international society. The US Department of Labor predicts that the next decade will see jobs for biomedical and environmental engineers increase by over 70% and 30% respectively, but cautions that many of these jobs will require graduate degrees. Health is and will remain one of the nation's largest economic sectors and the problems of global and environmental health are among the greatest challenges facing this generation of engineers, scientists, and technology managers. This SMP initiative is designed to draw highly qualified US students into a rigorous and hands-on engineering-focused training program that addresses these challenges though innovation and design.