Bioengineering Department

Department of Bioengineering

The Illinois Board of Higher Education approved the formation of the Department of Bioengineering on December 9, 2003. Also approved at this time were the granting of Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Bioengineering.

The Department accepted its first class of 22 undergraduates and 3 graduate students in fall 2004. Plans are to build the undergraduate program in the next 5 years to a steady state of 50-75 freshmen entering each year. Graduate enrollment is expected to reach a steady state of 50 over the same period.

The Bioengineering Department is located on the 3rd floor of the Digital Computer Laboratory (DCL) building at 1304 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana, IL 61801. Visit the departmental website at http://www.bioen.uiuc.edu.

What is Bioengineering?

Bioengineering combines the analytical and experimental methods of the engineering profession with the biological and medical sciences to achieve a more detailed understanding of biological phenomena and to develop new techniques and devices. The engineer's quantitative and analytical approach; traditional competence in the processing and control of information, energy, and materials; and ability to design and analyze systems are powerful tools when applied to biology, medicine; and quantitative studies of relationships between biological systems and their environments.

Bioengineers deal with a wide variety of problems. Graduates may work as biomedical engineers with medical practitioners to develop new medical techniques, medical devices, and instrumentation for manufacturing companies. Clinical engineers work in hospitals and clinics to maintain and improve the vast amount of technological support required in modern medicine. With advanced degrees in the various fields of bioengineering, some graduates perform basic research related to biology and medicine in the research laboratories of educational and governmental institutions or in the medical industries.