Since 2015, the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Department has hosted a BME Research Day to celebrate the field and present the incredible research being conducted by its faculty and students. This year’s BME Research Day took place on November 13 and welcomed 35 attendees to the Lehman Auditorium.
The event kicked off with opening remarks by BME Department Chair and Professor Vesna Zderic, followed by a slew of activities highlighting new research in the field of biomedical engineering. For example, keynote speaker Dr. Siddhartha Sikdar, Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at George Mason University and Director of the Center for Adaptive Systems of Brain-Body Interactions, described his research group’s new control method that overcomes several of the current limitations of surface electromyography, sonomyographic control.
In sonomyography, muscle mechanical deformations are sensed using ultrasound, as compared to electrical activation, and therefore the resulting control signals can directly control the position of the end effector. Compared to myoelectric signals, sonomyographic control may be more congruent with the remaining proprioception within the residual limb.
Following the keynote speaker, nine graduate students presented their research findings, and eight undergraduate students presented after lunch. Each presentation demonstrated the potential of biomedical engineering to solve critical problems in human health. From developing a panoramic imaging system to take images of the heart to a monolithic approach for simultaneous same-site optical and electrical measurements, these students are poised to positively impact the world through their research.
The day concluded with a career panel where panelists Colette Bilynsky, Carnegie Mellon University, Allan Guan, FDA, Scott Downen, Alarm.com, Sarah Malinowski, Seamless Transition, Joshua Samuels, Johnson & Johnson, and Marjan Nabili, FDA, discussed job opportunities and job interview recommendations with current BME students. They covered topics like networking, using keywords in your resume, and creating an effective elevator pitch. Each panelist stressed the importance of building strong communication skills.
The department looks forward to sharing even more exciting research with attendees next November at the 2024 BME Research Day!