REU Site: Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Biomedical Devices at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

This three year renewal Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site: Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Biomedical Devices at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), will provide an intensive research experience for undergraduate students in carefully prepared research projects with topics such as robotics, medical instrument design, implanted devices, biomedical imaging, tissue engineering, and related biomedical engineering device areas. This research experience offers two emphasis areas - devices for diagnostics and sensing and devices for therapeutics and intervention. Targeted student participants include science/engineering majors, especially underrepresented students, from institutions across the nation that lack strong research opportunities. Biomedical engineering research is seen as a growth area for scientific and technological discovery nationally. To attract and retain the next generation of diverse, talented engineers, it is critical to provide undergraduates with research experiences that tie together the elements of STEM - fundamentally based in science and math, using technology tools to achieve engineering solutions - in a context demonstrating societal impact. This is particularly important in the engineering field, where a complementary balance exists between traditional undergraduate training, which focuses on producing applied results, and the academic rigor of hypothesis-driven or needs-based research required to generate breakthroughs. The growing field of biomedical engineering (BME) provides an appropriate and effective framework in which to implement a high-impact undergraduate research program addressing this need. UNL will host nine REU students over a 10-week summer program. The objectives of the proposed project are to: 1) provide interdisciplinary research experiences to undergraduates in the area of biomedical devices; 2) give participants confidence to become independent researchers by providing systematic instruction in research methodology; 3) provide participants with a broader view of research and development activities in academia and industry; and 4) expand participants' skills and knowledge regarding academic-industry partnerships, such as technology transfer and entrepreneurship. Structured research activities will be complemented by professional development activities including undergraduate research symposia, designed to prepare participants for STEM careers. It is expected that REU participants will publish research results as lead or co-authors, and project outcomes will be disseminated in engineering education journals for the benefit of other institutions.