Letter from the Department

On behalf of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering, we are honored to join you in kicking off the 2020-2021 academic year!

This year, we are proud to welcome 22 new Ph.D. students to our department, including a few familiar faces – you'll find a link to their introductory bios below. We are also counting down to our annual (virtual) department retreat, our first seminar of the year, the 2020 Virtual BMES Conference, and countless other departmental happenings. 

Months ago, none of us would have anticipated that the start of the academic year would look quite like this. Over the past several months, BIOE faculty, students, staff, alumni, and advisory board members have dedicated countless hours and resources toward addressing the most pressing health, safety, and education challenges facing us today. Many of our own students organized medical supply drives, mask assembly initiatives, and online tutoring services for those most directly impacted by the pandemic. Our faculty pivoted on a moment's notice in search of solutions to PPE shortages, testing shortcomings, and exposure detection, and have created innovative hands-on learning opportunities to complement online classes.

Even more, our students and alumni have courageously voiced their thoughts, concerns, and hopes for the future of our BIOE community – leading to the establishment of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee chaired by Dr. Alisa Clyne, and countless new initiatives to amplify minority voices in STEM.

Like you, we know that we will face new, unprecedented challenges in the weeks and months ahead. We will long for many of the face-to-face interactions that make life at the University of Maryland unlike any other experience. More importantly, though, we will be reminded time and time again just how much our sense of community, collegiality, and love for learning transcends the classroom, the conference rooms, and the lab.

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to celebrating the many milestone achievements to come this year and beyond.

Best regards,