The School of Biomedical Engineering and Science (SBES) – A Stellar Partnership
The School of Biomedical Engineering and Science, a collaborative partnership between Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University School of Medicine, exemplifies the premise upon which ICTAS was founded a collaborative interdisciplinary environment that encourages researchers and ideas to prosper across conventional disciplinary lines.
Originally, both Virginia Tech and Wake Forest recognized a need to strengthen existing research focus in biomedical engineering. Virginia Tech lacked a medical school and Wake Forest lacked an engineering college and veterinary program. Teaming to offer what each needed posed a win-win opportunity. This pioneering conclusion is now well implemented through the establishment of a school that is uniquely structured to facilitate interaction. Virginia Tech is connected to research and development at the clinical level, while Wake Forest builds on the quantitative perspective that access to research engineering and veterinary faculty provides. Both universities are better positioned to respond quickly to surfacing needs - the very essence of critical technologies those that advance the industry, often leading to other applications that may not be apparent early in the process, and frequently require a jump forward in the understanding of the underlying science and engineering.
SBES is a strong component of the ICTAS cellular and bio-engineering strategic focus area. SBES provides core leadership through growth of visionary research to advance human discovery in human tissue engineering. The ability to provide this leadership is supported through the production of students who are qualified engineers with strong life science knowledge, the introduction of engineering into traditional medical school subjects, specialty course work that relates engineering to regenerative medicine, partnerships to interact directly with the medical profession, and student design projects that may be commercialized through strategic partnerships.
Tissue engineering student characterizing cell suspensions that will be utilized for implantation on scaffolding and for tissue growth. This approach is the expected to the be utilized in tissue typed matched organ and connective replacements in the future.
SBES also has strong areas of research in musculoskeletal biomechanics, injury biomechanics, imaging, and medical physics. In each of these areas SBES has outstanding faculty, unique facilities for testing and research, and is carrying out some of the leading research in the country. SBES has been successful in garnering a high rate of research funding which has been growing at the rate of $1 million a year in recent years, one of the best research growth rates in the College of Engineering. At present it has over $5 million in research awards for the current year.
Students developing techniques for tracing particles in fluid flow through the heart. Laser light and optical tracking are being utilized to characterize the nature of fluid flow around artificial heart valves.
Crash test dummy instrumented to evaluate the effectiveness of seat belt mechanisms in reducing injury in a car crash.
This flourishing partnership is producing visionary research objectives and results while fostering an intellectual environment that is attractive and stimulating to outstanding researchers worldwide. ICTAS is committed to the pursuit these critical technology research needs and provides ongoing support to SBES. An entire floor and a half of the ICTAS I building, scheduled for completion in 2008, will be occupied by SBES.