This special issue of IEEE Engineering in Medicine andBiology Magazine is focused on recent advances in bio-medical engineering (BME) education. It has recentlybeen emphasized [1] that BME is benefiting from a

broader reform movement in engineering education. The Na-tional Science Foundation has been supporting a number ofcenters and coalitions for examining methods to improve ped-agogy in engineering in general [2] and bioengineering in par-ticular [3]. Reform efforts have concentrated on what shouldbe taught, how it should be taught, and methods of outreach toboth precollege and postgraduate populations. Of particularrelevance to BME have been the efforts of the NSFVanderbilt-Northwestern-Texas-Harvard/MIT (VaNTH) En-gineering Research Center in Bioengineering EducationalTechnologies. This organization has concentrated on develop-ing methods to synthesize learning science, learning technol-ogy, and the knowledge domains of bioengineering with thegoal of developing a strategic plan for the bioengineering edu-cational system of the future. These workers have utilized newideas on teaching and learning emerging from the book HowPeople Learn, published by the National Research Council[4], and have recently reviewed how these concepts might beapplied to bioengineering [5]. Other initiatives are being fol-lowed in BME. Some of these include the new AccreditingBoard for Engineering and Technology (ABET) [6] standardsfor engineering accreditation, the work of the Whitaker Foun-dation [7], as well as efforts by individual institutions and fac-ulty members to reexamine the teaching of BME. The recentgrowth in BME and BME programs is driving a desire to de-velop new and improved teaching materials and methods.

Contents of the Special IssueThis special issue provides overviews of a number of efforts inthis field. These are as follows:

➤ A discussion of an approach to the analysis of the BMEcurriculum: “What Makes A Biomedical Engineer? De-fining the Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Cur-riculum,” by Robert A. Linsenmeier (NorthwesternUniversity).

➤ Examinations of ways that the “how people learn” frame-work influences the design, assessment, and evaluationof BME teaching and learning innovations: “Construct-

ing Shareable Learning Materials in Bioengineering Ed-ucation,” by Sean P. Brophy (Vanderbilt University) and“The Value of the VaNTH Engineering Research Cen-ter,” by David S. Cordray, Georgine M. Pion, Alene Har-ris, and Patrick Norris (Vanderbilt University).

➤ Summary of ways that novel learning technologies canimprove instruction in BME: “Learning Technologies toFoster Critical Reasoning,” by Christopher K. Riesbeck,Lin Qiu, Baba Kofi Weusijana, Joseph T. Walsh, andMatthew Parsek (Northwestern University) and “Adap-tive Learning Technologies for Bioengineering Educa-tion,” by Larry Howard (Vanderbilt University).

➤ Examples of innovations in teaching the domains ofBME: “Redesigning an Introductory BiomechanicsCourse Using Challenge-Based Instruction,” by Robert J.Roselli and Sean P. Brophy (Vanderbilt University);“Hands-On Learning in Biomedical Signal Processing,”by Julie E. Greenberg, Bertrand Delgutte, and Martha L.Gray (Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences andTechnology); “Optimizing the Delivery of Content inPhysiology Instruction,” by John B. Troy and Robert A.Linsenmeier (Northwestern University); and “The Needfor Effective Biomedical Imaging Education,” byCynthia B. Paschal (Vanderbilt University).

➤ A novel approach to BME laboratory instruction: “Inte-grated Biomedical Engineering Education Using Stu-dio-Based Learning,” by Richard Foulds, MichaelBergen, and Bruno Mantilla (New Jersey Institute ofTechnology) and “Virtual Instruments in UndergraduateBiomedical Engineering Laboratories,” by Randy D.Trumbower and John D. Enderle (University ofConnecticut).

➤ Perspectives on design in BME from industry and acade-mia: “An Industry Perspective on Senior Biomedical En-gineering Design Courses,” by Richard C. Fries(Datex-Ohmeda) and “Standards Education in SeniorDesign Courses,” by Brian S. Kunst (Angiodynamics,Inc.) and Jay R. Goldberg (Marquette University).

➤ Cooperative education and internships in BME: “Univer-sity-Industry Partnerships in Biomedical Engineering,”by Lisa M. Waples and Kristina M. Ropella (MarquetteUniversity).

IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY MAGAZINE 0739-5175/03/$17.00©2003IEEE JULY/AUGUST 2003

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➤ Accreditation issues for biomedical engineering pro-grams: “The ABCs of Preparing for ABET,” by JohnEnderle, John Gassert (Milwaukee School of Engineer-ing), Susan Blanchard (North Carolina State University),Paul King (Vanderbilt University), David Beasley (NorthCarolina State University), Paul Hale (Louisiana TechUniversity), and Dayne Aldridge (Mercer University).

These articles should give readers a view of the scope of edu-cational reform currently ongoing in BME.

AcknowledgmentThis work was supported primarily by the Engineering Re-search Centers Program of the National Science Foundationunder Award Number EEC-9876363. The cooperation of Dr.John Enderle of the University of Connecticut and Dr. JayGoldberg of Marquette University in editing and developingthis issue is gratefully acknowledged.

Thomas R. Harris is the Orrin HenryIngram Distinguished Professor of engi-neering and professor of biomedical engi-neering, chemical engineering, andmedicine at Vanderbilt University. He iscurrently chair of the Department of Bio-medical Engineering. He is an active in-vestigator in the problems of lung

circulation with an emphasis on transport phenomena, quanti-tative physiology, mathematical modeling, and instrumenta-tion. Dr. Harris’ research has been concentrated on thequantitative physiology of the exchange of fluids and solutesin the capillaries of the lung. His current interests focus on thedevelopment of learning science and learning technology forbioengineering. He is currently the director of the NationalScience Foundation Engineering Research Center in Bioengi-neering Educational Technologies. This is a large,multiuniversity effort involving Vanderbilt, Northwestern, theUniversity of Texas, and the Harvard/MIT Health Sciencesand Technology Program that is aimed at developing a newsystem for bioengineering education. He has led the organiza-tion of both the undergraduate and graduate degree programsin BME at Vanderbilt.

References[1] T.R. Harris, “Seeking improvement in bioengineering education: Academic andorganizational concerns,” in Proc. 2nd Joint EMBS/BMES Conf., 2002, pp.2648-2649.[2] National Science Foundation Engineering Education Coalitions. Available:http://www.needs.org/coalitions/[3] T.R. Harris. (2001). Annual Report on the VaNTH ERC. Available:http://www.vanth.org/Annual_Report3.pdf[4] J.D. Bransford, A.L. Brown, and R.R. Cocking, Eds., How People Learn: Brain,Mind, Experience, and School. Committee on Developments in the Science ofLearning, National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy Press,1999.[5] T. Harris, J. Bransford, and S. Brophy, “Roles for learning sciences and learningtechnologies in biomedical engineering education: A review of recent advances,”Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng., vol. 4, pp. 29-48, 2002.[6] M. Besterfield-Sacre, et al., “Defining the outcomes: a framework for EC-2000,”IEEE Trans. Educ., vol. 43, pp. 100-110, Jan. 2000.[7] Whitaker Foundation Educational Summit. (2000). Available: http://sum-mit.whitaker.org, 2000.

The recent growth in BME and BME

programs is driving a desire to

develop new and improved

teaching materials and methods.