Academic focus: Graduate study and research in Bioengineering at Clemson University

✍ Scribed by Park, Joon B. ;Cooke, Francis W.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1981
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 353 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9304
• DOI: 10.1002/jbm.820150113

✦ Synopsis

recognizing the need for a more flexible, interactive approach to many of the pressing problems of our society, established the Division (later Department) of lnterdisciplinary Studies (DIS) i n 1968. The role of the DIS is to ". . . conduct academic programs ,Ind fundamental and applied research in relevant interdisciplinary fields." One of the principal reasons for establishing the Division was to provide a medium for the development of a program in bioengineering at a time when bioengineering was only beginning to evolve as a separate professional entity.

Presently, the program has the direct support and involvement of 21 faculty members, including, 6 with primary appointments in DJS, 7 adjunct medical faculty, approximately 25 graduate students, and occupies over 10,000 square feet of research facilities. It is devoted to the application of engineering science and technology to medical and health related problems spanning the range from medical instrumentation to investigations o f fundamental physiological processes. The principal thrusts of this program are biomaterials and biomechanics. These include the development and evaluation of prosthetic materials, the physical and mechanical behavior of tissues treated a s engineering materials, the physiological response of the host to foreign materials, and development of new techniques of implant fixation. Closely coupled with these efforts is a strong emphasis on the development and evaluation of artificial organs and implantable devices, experimental surgery, the selection of animal models, a n d bioinstrumentation. More recent additions to our activities are in the areas of systems physiology, modelling, and the use of computers in health care.