Message from the Department Head

Welcome!

I’m happy to report that our department is poised for significant and strategic growth in the coming years.

You may have noticed that our name has changed to the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The change, effective late last year, aligns our department name with our key strategic goals and research initiatives in direct comparison with programs in our peer set. Undergraduate students entering the program now will receive their degree in biomedical engineering; our graduate degree, part of Penn State’s Intercollege Graduate Degree Programs, will remain in bioengineering.

We are eager to welcome approximately 74 juniors into the program starting this fall, continuing our growth trend. Supporting the increased number of students is a commitment to growing our faculty – doubling our full-time faculty within the next three years.

Our current faculty continues to prosper. Collectively, the department has received more than $3.7 million in grant funding this fiscal year as a result of successful research proposals. As for individual accomplishments, we’d like to recognize Peter Butler’s promotion to full professor and Will Hancock’s election as a fellow to the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.

You are part of our success – and we encourage you to stay engaged in the happenings of the Department of Biomedical Engineering through newsletters, our website, or any of the many College of Engineering publications. Also, feel free to reach out to me via email with your questions and comments. I’m always happy to hear from our community.

We may be the youngest and smallest department within the College of Engineering but our considerable growth over the next several years will contribute to the overall success of the college and the reputation of the department among the other programs around the country and around the world.

Dr. Cheng Dong, distinguised professor in biomedical engineering
Head, Department of Biomedical Engineering