A cumulative report on the biomedical engineering research experiences for undergraduates program at Purdue University

The highest need for engineers in the next decade will be in the biomedical sector. For this reason, the objective of the present study was to increase exposure and interest in biomedical engineering (BME) through a National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Purdue University. To meet this goal, undergraduate students participating in the program (http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/BME/REU) conducted BME-related research on the Purdue campus during the summers of 2001-2003. Of these students, 82% were either females or underrepresented minorities and 70% had not had hands-on BME experiences at their undergraduate institution prior to the REU program. REU students attended weekly lab meetings, visited BME industries, made operating room/clinic trips, attended a bioethics series, prepared and presented 4´×6´ research posters, and gave formal 30-minute long oral presentations to Purdue students/faculty/staff and visiting faculty. In addition, the research conducted over the summers by these outstanding students has resulted in 22 manuscripts and 33 abstracts that have been presented at national BME-related conferences, including three REU students who have been recognized with research awards. Finally, survey results provided evidence that REU participants were extremely pleased with the experience and were more likely to enroll in BME graduate programs at the conclusion of the REU program.