Department Chair
Welcome to the Fischell Department of Bioengineering!
Thank you for visiting the Fischell Department of Bioengineering web site. It is with great pleasure that I formally welcome you to the newest department on Maryland's campus and the newest Department of Bioengineering in the nation. We aspire to be one of the very best—providing an outstanding educational experience for graduate and undergraduate students while having a significant and direct impact on human lives. This is a formidable goal, but one that benefits from our incredible start owing to Dr. Robert Fischell and his family and to our particular situation: building a new department within the Clark School, one of the fastest rising schools of engineering in the nation.
I would like to update you on a few significant accomplishments. In early May, we marked the first year (a couple months early!) of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering by hosting the 1st Annual Fischell Festival. At this event, over 300 individuals from the greater Baltimore/Washington community heard Drs. Shu Chien, Bob Fischell, Larry Kessler, and Scott Roth talk about their activities and interests. Shu (President of the Biomedical Engineering Society) talked about his vision for the future of the discipline, Bob (Inventor of the Year, and catalyst for the Department) talked about several of the life-enabling and saving devices he and his sons are currently targeting for clinical use, Larry (Director of the Office of Science and Engineering Laboratory of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health [FDA]) shared very interesting experiences related to the regulation of biomedical devices, and Scott narrated a live streamcast of a laproscopic (video-guided) Nissen fundoplication procedure carried out by Dr. Steve Kravic, M.D. at one of our partner institutions, the School of Medicine of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In short the day was historic—it was a first for us in many categories. For more information, see our Fischell Festival review or Shu's article in the current issue of the BMES Bulletin.
Second, this fall, we welcomed the first full cohort of undergraduates to our Bioengineering undergraduate program. These 78 students are, by every statistical measure, the best and brightest students in the entire University. They are also among the most diverse. We have a dynamite group of staff and faculty that are excited about the opportunity to help these students gain the fundamental understanding of bioengineering they will need to undertake leadership roles in their subsequent employment positions when they leave College Park four years from now.
As I noted earlier, we are building new laboratories and new relationships that will ultimately transform this institution. I invite you explore our web site to learn about all our activities and programs and return often so that we may keep you informed of our progress and exciting news.
All the Best,
William E. Bentley
Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor and Chair
2330 Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Email: bentley@umd.edu
Phone: (301) 405-4321
Fax: (301) 405-9953
Learn More:
Undergraduate Studies in Bioengineering »
The Graduate Program in Bioengineering »
