DEPARTMENT OF
BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING • BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING NEWSLETTER • 2020
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR What a year of contrasts it has been!
Donald Gaver has served as the Biomedical Engineering Department Chair for the past fourteen years. His laboratory research aims to develop an understanding of the interrelationships between the mechanical and physicochemical behavior of biological systems with a primary focus on the investigations of the pulmonary system. “It is my intent to use this understanding to help, either directly or indirectly, the development of improved therapies for pulmonary disease.”
We began the year with a new krewe of highly ambitious seniors, all (seriously, all) of whom had completed summer internships. These included two new Tulane programs: 1) clinical research internships with the New Orleans VA and 2) BIGI (Biomedical Innovation for Global Impact), a program led by Professors Bayer and Raymond that brings rising seniors to Peru to participate in global health initiatives in low-resource communities. Both programs have been successful in helping our students develop non-academic career development experiences as they conduct “needs assessment” that meaningfully contribute to their capstone team design projects. In the fall semester, we completed our ABET accreditation site-visit. This ‘event’ provides us with the opportunity to demonstrate to external evaluators the coherency and continuous quality improvement approach towards our programs. Frankly, while an onerous process, our department is culturally supportive of ABET student-focused goals, and this visit allowed us to demonstrate our intellectually and (at that moment) socially connected community. We were very happy with the outcome of this visit. During the spring semester, life quickly changed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the necessity for socially distanced education. Given the nature of our department with the many research and teaching connections between us, this was not an easy transition. Nevertheless, we rallied to successfully teach online courses, and hold BME community events that included regular “BME Friday Afternoon Live!” get-togethers, an online Team Design Expo, an Order of the Engineers induction ceremony, and an Awards Gala! Of course, the faculty also completed necessary (and ubiquitous) Zoom meetings to keep us connected and working coherently. The attached picture is from our 42nd Course Roundup – a biannual ritual that brings us together to discuss successes and opportunities for improvement. This semester we critically examined methods to improve upon on-line teaching methods in preparation for the likely scenario that some of our classes will be on-line in the fall. So, this was a year of contrasts. We look forward to a healthy recovery to a less physically distanced situation, with lessons learned from our current situation that may improve our research and teaching practices. We most sincerely hope that this newsletter finds you and your loved ones healthy and happy. With warm regards,
Donald Gaver Chair, Tulane Department of Biomedical Engineering
Our Tulane BME highly connected (and physically distanced) faculty Top row (from L to R): Professors Wang, Gaver, Anderson and Khismatullin Middle row (from L to R): Professors Moore, Miller, Bayer, Bull Bottom row (from L to R): Professors Brown, Raymond, Dancisak, and Mondrinos