Graduate Group Faculty Membership

A. Guidelines

Candidates applying for membership in the Bioengineering Graduate Group must be a member of the Standing, Associated, or Emeritus Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, in accordance with the University bylaws. Candidates are evaluated on scholarly achievement and competence to supervise graduate research.  All candidates must demonstrate, commensurate with their experience, a strong commitment to and competence for PhD and/or Masters graduate training and graduate teaching. All faculty must have an independent research program and clearly demonstrated expertise and productivity in Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering and /or Biological Engineering as judged, for example, by multiple first or last authored publications in highly respected peer-reviewed journals within the field. Faculty applying for membership three or more years after their initial appointment must demonstrate the presence of an active, high-quality research program appropriate for the training of graduate students. This can be accomplished, for example, through a distinguished record of publications in the field of Biomedical Science, Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering, a history of outside funding, and participation in graduate teaching or graduate group activities.

B. Admission of New Faculty

The following procedures shall be followed for admission to the Bioengineering Graduate Group:

Faculty who wish to join the Graduate Group in Bioengineering must be nominated by a current Bioengineering Graduate Group Member.  Applicants must submit the following documentation to the Bioengineering Graduate Group Chair:

• A current curriculum vitae, including grant support and training record.
• A paragraph describing the faculty's current and envisioned bioengineering component of their research.
• A statement of the faculty member's willingness to participate with specific Graduate Group community activities such as mentoring students, serving on qualifier and thesis examination committees, attending thesis defenses, attending meetings of the Graduate Group, developing and teaching graduate level courses.

The Graduate Group Chair will confirm the applicant's University appointment, and will review the submitted materials to determine if the faculty member is likely to be a suitable mentor for graduate students in the program and be willing to contribute to Graduate Group activities.  Suitable candidates will then be submitted to current Graduate Group members for approval. When cases are discussed at a meeting, it is strongly recommended that the nominating Graduate Group member be present to endorse the case for consideration.

Following approval by the Graduate Group by two-thirds of the Graduate Group faculty present at a meeting and/or responding via email, the Graduate Group Chair will send a letter of confirmation of Graduate Group membership to new faculty members.

Once admitted to the Graduate Group, a faculty member may supervise a research rotation or dissertation for any student in the Graduate Group. Supervision of Ph.D. students is contingent on demonstrating the capability of supporting a student’s stipend and tuition/fees should he/she do a dissertation in that laboratory. In addition, membership requires participation in Graduate Group activities (see Renewing Membership, below).  The Graduate Group Chair forwards the names of accepted new faculty members in the Graduate Group to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at SEAS.

C. Renewing Membership in the Graduate Group

Each new appointment and reappointment to the Graduate Group is for a three-year term. In order to qualify for renewal of membership, an individual must meet the Bioengineering Graduate Group activity participation requirements outlined below and maintain a strong independent research program suitable for the training of graduate students.

Each Graduate Group member must participate annually in Graduate Group community, service, teaching, and/or graduate training activities. Documentation of service will be provided by annual surveys submitted by each faculty member to the Bioengineering Graduate Group and by written confirmation of faculty teaching contributions.  Failure to provide the necessary information in a timely manner could be construed as failure to meet the community, service, teaching, and/or graduate training requirements of the Graduate Group.  Inactive members will be given written warning, and may be removed from the Graduate Group on recommendation from the Executive Committee prior to the end of their current membership term.

• Graduate Group Community and Service Activities include attending Graduate Group Meetings, and serving on Bioengineering Graduate Group Committees. Graduate Group Committee Service includes participation in Bioengineering preliminary exam and dissertation committees. This activity category does not include supervision of a research rotation or dissertation/thesis student.

• Teaching Activities include directing Bioengineering courses and preparing/giving lectures in Bioengineering Graduate and Undergraduate courses.

• Graduate Training Activities include serving as a principal investigator of a training grant supporting Bioengineering graduate students, and supervising research rotations and Masters theses and PhD dissertations.

Department of Bioengineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Pennsylvania
210 S. 33rd Street
Room 240 Skirkanich Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone No.: (215) 898-8501
Fax No.: (215) 573-2071
beoffice@seas.upenn.edu

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