Vol. 3 No. 1 September 2004

The BioTECH Quarterly

Creating a Foundation, Establishing a Legacy

"We will celebrate our 10th anniversary as an MIT chapter, at the same time that we will oversee, with great excitement, the birth of a new Biological Engineering major."

By Alexis DeSieno, President

    This year will be momentous in BMES history. We will celebrate our 10th anniversary as an MIT chapter, at the same time that we will oversee, with great excitement, the birth of a new Biological Engineering major.

    This year, BMES will serve not only as the nexus of communication between students and faculty regarding the new undergraduate degree in BE, but will be the first to hear about the latest course offerings and possible implementation of the degree into the curriculum. In this role, BMES will become a foundational part of history in shaping the future of engineering at MIT and in the world.

    For this reason, it is important that this year the BMES builds a strong foundation for the future and current students of the biological engineering department. We must prepare for membership growth and increased student interest, but we must also foresee and implement programs that will directly benefit the students who will enroll in the new major, such as a tutoring program for bioengineering classes. It will be important to develop lasting programs and give BMES the momentum it needs to become the strongest undergraduate organization at MIT.

    We must continue the effort to better define “what a bio-medical engineer is and what we can do for the world.” As the President of the National BMES Kyriacos Athanasiou says, “When people realize what we, the members of BMES, are capable of doing in helping humankind, BME will reach a level of unprecedented admiration and its concomitant benefits."

    The BMES at MIT already is a solid program, which the National Organization has recognized as one of the leading college chapters. We have worked towards our founders’ goal of providing students with research, employment, and educational opportunities in biomedical engineering through maintaining the monthly lecture series, the Johnson and Johnson award for excellent student research in biomedical engineering, the big-little sibling program, and the BioTECH among others. 

    But our success in achieving these goals depends on you, on your active involvement and your input. It is for that reason that in this first issue of the BioTECH for this academic year, I would like to encourage you to join us, the MIT BMES. It is a prime time to become involved in the fastest growing industry in the nation, and in a new and exciting major at MIT. Regardless of your major or career interests, join BMES to become informed about an industry that will only continue to lead biomedical developments in the business world. Whether directly or not, progress in biomedical engineering will affect you as new therapies are developed and new drugs are discovered.

    As a member of the MIT BMES, you will not only be at the forefront of biomedical engineering research, learning from faculty who are leaders in the field, but you will also be setting the stage for the future of the undergraduate curriculum and programs at MIT, and ultimately the nation.

    MIT’s bioengineering program forges new ground in the field by emphasizing the connection between engineering and biology, rather than between engineering and medicine. As bioengineering continues to grow worldwide, other universities will look to us, the members of the top engineering campus in the world, to set a precedent for how bioengineering programs should be run and what issues bioengineering can best address.

    I urge you to join us and secure your place in the biomedical engineering world today. I hope you will look through this issue of the BioTECH to see just some of the things that BMES can offer you. Please feel free to contact me at any point with questions or suggestions. I look forward to your active participation this year!

Sincerely,
Alexis DeSieno
President, BMES
<alexisd@mit.edu>