Biomedical Engineering and Concentrations

Michigan State University is going to add a new department, the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). The MSU Bio Engineering Facility has been under construction for a while now and is scheduled to open this summer. Here is the link to the article about the new department for more exciting details:

http://www.egr.msu.edu/news/2014/10/24/department-biomedical-engineering-bme-approved

Currently Michigan State does not offer biomedical engineering as an undergraduate major or minor, but it is offered as a concentration. The biomedical engineering concentration is available for biosystems, electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering majors in addition to materials science and engineering majors. These concentrations are one way students can complete their technical engineering electives requirements. There are many concentrations available, including biochemical, environmental, food science, bioenergy, and manufacturing engineering. You can find the degree requirements and concentrations for the different majors here.

I am doing a biomedical concentration within chemical engineering. I took a class in genetics last year, and next semester I am taking a eukaryotic cell biology class. Right now, I am in a mechanical engineering class focused on fluid flow and heat transfer in the human body. It is like the fluid flow and heat transfer class for my major, except it covers how some of those assumptions and models change when applied to the human body.

One day in class, our professor brought in an infrared (IR) camera. We were discussing the idea of using an IR beam to detect fevers, and therefore illness, in people leaving airplanes. By taking IR pictures of multiple students in class, we saw that everyone had varying surface temperatures, especially in the forehead region where we were focusing our analysis. I have side bangs, so my hair can get in the way of a temperature reading. So, there are limitations to this method of sickness detection.

A picture of me taken by my professor, Dr. Wright, using an infrared camera

I think that it is great that MSU is bringing people together from various colleges and disciplines to do collaborative biomedical research. I really enjoy taking classes with professors and students from other departments, especially because engineers work with all kinds of people to get things done.

biosystems engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering. - See more at: http://www.egr.msu.edu/news/2014/10/24/department-biomedical-engineering-bme-approved#sthash.zGyN2IcH.dpuf

biosystems engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and mechanical engineering. - See more at: http://www.egr.msu.edu/news/2014/10/24/department-biomedical-engineering-bme-approved#sthash.zGyN2IcH.dpuf

Preview Day

On Saturday, October 11th, the largest engineering recruitment event of the year took place in the Engineering Building. Preview Day is an annual event for prospective engineering students and their families to come visit the College of Engineering. Preview Day is always on a Saturday at the end of September or beginning of October when there is not a home football game. Spots fill up fast and it only happens once a year, so make sure to register in advance if you want to attend.

Visitors first attend a welcome session where they get a broad overview of MSU's College of Engineering and the majors offered through the college. Then there are smaller presentations for the different majors that go more in-depth and have panels of current students to answer questions. There are two sessions, so if students are interested in more than one major, they can visit one presentation during the first session and another during the second. After the sessions are over, there is a resource fair where different engineering student organizations and other offices have booths and talk to students. Women in Engineering, the CoRe Experience, Office of Admissions, Office of Financial Aid, and the Honors College all had tables set up with representatives to answer any questions.

During some of the sessions and the resource fair, there were some other events happening. Throughout the day, people from the CoRe experience were giving tours of some dorms and facilities associated with the program. Here is the CoRe Experience's website if you are interested in learning more about CoRe. Tours of some of the mechanical engineering facilities, including the machine shop, were also available. There was also a WIE (Women in Engineering) Luncheon for prospective female students to eat lunch and talk with current women engineering students.

Working Preview Day with some of my fellow Student Ambassadors! Left to right: Erin, Nayana, me

 

If you want to see more pictures from Preview Day, then you should visit our Flickr page!

After Preview Day, our office (Engineering Recruitment and K-12 Outreach) starts to offer tours of the Engineering Building. Tours start in the afternoon with a presentation that gives an overview of majors and our college, and then a Student Ambassador such as myself leads a tour of the Engineering Building. Visit our Future Engineers website to sign up for tours and register for Preview Day during September and late August. Here is the link to our events calendar where you can directly sign up for tours. Tours fill up fast, so sign up if you are interested! I hope to see you around the Engineering Building.

Career Fair Tips

As I typed this, I was wearing a suit for my interview later. Over the past year, I have interviewed with a few companies that I met at Pre-Gallery, Career Gallery, and Engineering Expo.

Here a some of the tips that I learned during my time at Michigan State:

• Try to get as much interaction with companies that interest you as much as possible. This year when I spoke to the representative from Dow Chemical, he said that he remembered me from last year. Many of the same recruiters return every year and save old resumes. Also attend engineering student organization meetings, info sessions, resume critiques, mock interviews, and/or any other events that companies are hosting.
• You are not too young to attend any of the career fairs. I have gone to all of the career fairs since my freshman year. The first time I went to an event, I only talked to a couple people and felt pretty overwhelmed. Now I am much more comfortable attending these events, especially as I am looking for an opportunity this summer. Also, a lot of companies hand out some really cool free stuff, including full-sized products.
• Go to the career events even if you are not looking for an opportunity within the next year. I have some friends that already have internships or other opportunities lined up for this summer, but went to career fairs to network with companies and inquire about future opportunities. Just make sure that you are professional, clear with recruiters that you are not available, and do not accept an interview for a job that you never intend to accept.
• Visit the booths for smaller companies and/or with smaller lines. While I was waiting in a long line for a large company last year, I talked with some representatives at a small booth. I probably would not have stopped there, but I actually heard back from them and got an interview.
• Use the career resources available to you, such as The Center. The Career Services Network at Michigan State offers a lot of great resources to help you with careers. Their website has a lot of helpful articles about resumes, interviews, professional attire, cover letters, etc. The Center is a branch of career services that focuses on engineering located within the Engineering Building right by Sparty's. It is a really convenient place to visit, just try to do so BEFORE the week of Career Gallery because they are very busy.

Like always, these are my own personal opinions and not the official opinions of Michigan State University and its affiliates.

I was looking at my older blog post from a year ago, and a lot of the advice I would give students now and a year ago is the same. Even as I get older, I still find all of these tips just as important, if not more important.