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The Biomedical Engineering Program at CU Boulder marks its fifth year with a change in leadership. Director Mark Borden, who helped grow the program into a thriving community of interdisciplinary researchers and students since its inception in 2018, has passed off the reins to Professor Corey Neu.

"We are positioned to be a leading BME program nationally and globally thanks to the efforts of our previous director, Mark Borden," Neu said.

Biomedical engineering is an exciting, multidisciplinary field that lies at the interface of medicine, biology and engineering. It is dedicated to solving a range of health-related challenges in areas such as biomechanics and mechanobiology, medical devices, imaging & diagnostics, and therapeutics.

The Biomedical Engineering Program at CU Boulder is ideally positioned to influence the next generation of biomedical engineers. The state of Colorado has the highest concentration of biomedical engineering jobs in the country and over 90 biomedical companies within the state.

"The interest in our undergraduate program has been tremendous, with growth in an increasingly talented student population year over year,” Neu said. Last year, the first-ever graduating class of 15 students walked across the stage, with a total of 242 students enrolled in the program. This year, 65 students are projected to graduate, with a total of 331 students making up the entire student body.

Presently, the program is #22 among public graduate programs, with 50% women students among its student body and 39% students from underrepresented backgrounds in engineering. Ninety-two percent��of CU Boulder PhD engineering graduates��and�� 87% of MS engineering graduates report being satisfied or very satisfied with their experience as a graduate student

“Neu is the perfect person to lead us into the next era of the biomedical engineering program,” Borden said. “He was one of the original architects during the planning phase and has served the program as Graduate Chair since its launch. Now that the undergraduate program is in place and we have graduated our first class, it’s the perfect time for Corey to take over the reins and focus on expanding the graduate program.”

Neu is also the Donnelly Family Professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering. He joined the CU Boulder faculty in 2015 and is affiliated with the BioFrontiers Institute. His Soft Tissue Bioengineering Laboratory is dedicated to technology development for fundamental study and engineering of connective and cardiac tissues.

“I am excited to help guide continued expansion of our graduate program,” said Neu, “as we look to support interdisciplinary biomedical research across our campus and with our Front Range industry and medical partners."

As the Biomedical Engineering (BME) Program grows, so does the need to share career opportunities in the field.�� To help meet that need, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the Biomedical Engineering Program partnered to host the 2^nd Annual Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium held in the Glenn Miller Ballroom in October.

The career symposium brought CU students together with local biomedical/biotechnology companies that included Medtronic, Tolmar, Terumo BCT, CONMED, Meddux, Stryker, Darwin Biosciences, BOA, KBI Biopharma and Tensentric.�� Company representatives met with students to share internship and career opportunities, as well as career advice.����

The evening was introduced by BMES leaders, Jordan Roos and Ellie Goldman, followed by a presentation from Dean Keith Molenaar and BME Director Corey Neu. Students heard presentations from Medtronic, Terumo BCT and Tolmar, each sharing their company vision; their recent innovations in products and services; and the value of joining their company.����"The Career Symposium allows direct student-industry engagement, and is a fantastic example of how the BME Program is working to help grow the Colorado biomedical technology ecosystem, " said Corey Neu.

Participating students had an opportunity to meet with company representatives. Some students were afforded one-on-one meetings with representatives that allowed more time for an in-depth conversation.�� The career symposium was well-received by students who indicated that they look forward to the next event and that they enjoyed the format of the symposium.�� One student said “I wish the whole thing was longer!�� It would have been nice to hear from more companies and have more time for tabling.�� Great event!"

The career symposium was important to me because��I wanted to give students in the BME program an incredible opportunity to meet with company representatives in hopes of landing a job or internship. I love to see my classmates succeed and I hope that the career symposium opened doors for my peers in the biomedical engineering field.�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� ����Ellie Goldman

This year, BMES in conjunction with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences ProReady Initiative offered a workshop on career fair preparation.�� Presenters went over resume fundamentals like formatting and skills/experiences to highlight.�� They also discussed how best to prepare for the symposium that included company research, questions to ask employers and practicing their introduction.�� Students were even asked to practice their elevator pitch.�� There was a strong emphasis on using the career symposium for networking and how best to follow-up with the contacts made during the event.�� This added workshop had a positive impact, as one company representative remarked “Most students were very well prepared with resumes and background research on the company. Exactly as expected.”

This year’s career symposium brought together BMES leadership with last year’s leadership, when two former BME alumni now at local companies joined this year’s career symposium to represent their company.�� This full circle moment is exactly the sort of alumni engagement the BME program hopes to expand.��

Plans are underway for next year’s Biomedical Engineering Career Symposium, where we hope to attract more companies to attend.��

This event was important��to me because it is the only BME-specific career fair on campus. Last year, I was able to make connections at the career symposium which turned into a summer internship. I wanted to return the favor by hosting the event this year. It is super important that CU BME students are provided professional development opportunities.�� �� �� �� �� ��Jordan Roos