Penn Engineering
At the crossroads of biology, engineering, and innovation, Penn’s Department of Bioengineering (BE) empowers students to develop technologies that transform healthcare and improve lives. By combining cutting-edge research with a rigorous education, we advance fields such as synthetic biology, medical devices, tissue engineering, and precision medicine.
How can we design biomaterials to repair damaged tissues? What role does synthetic biology play in creating sustainable solutions for global challenges? At Penn Bioengineering, we tackle these questions and more, inspiring students to push the boundaries of possibility.
From developing life-saving medical devices to engineering solutions for global health crises, we address the complex problems at the intersection of biology and engineering. Our work advances treatments, diagnostics, and technologies that shape the future of medicine and beyond.
Our faculty, students, and alumni lead breakthroughs that redefine healthcare and biotechnology. From pioneering advancements in cancer therapy to creating sustainable biomanufacturing techniques, Penn Bioengineering’s impact resonates across industries and society.
Students at Penn Bioengineering gain access to world-class labs, interdisciplinary collaborations, and industry partnerships. With hands-on research and mentorship from visionary leaders, we prepare innovators to drive change and lead in the fields of healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship.
Brian Litt, MD, and guest lecturers with “real-world” experience in designing and developing implantable medical devices in research and industry, cover topics from the basics of neurosignals to deep-brain stimulation and antiepileptic devices. Students learn about software, brain-computer interface (BCI) hardware, the regulatory and approval process for devices, and start-up companies and entrepreneurship in BCI from of the field’s pioneers in implantable brain devices. By the end of the course students will be able to design and implement a scaled-down computer interface device in computer software simulations, and understand basic concepts involved in its implementation and approval.
This is a hands-on, project-based team design experience for graduate students, offered in partnership with the Center for Health, Devices, and Technology (Penn Health Tech). The course acts as an idea INCUBATOR for projects originating from unmet clinical needs, identified by clinical collaborators, industry sponsors, and Penn Health Tech partners. By the end of this course, students will understand all aspects of medical device design, innovation, and entrepreneurship, including the importance of a clear problem definition and stakeholder input, an introduction to engineering design principles, and how to navigate the complex pathway by which these products reach patients. The end point of the semester is a final pitch (outlining the need, the solution, and the business opportunity) and a functional prototype with initial proof of concept data.
Introduction to the integration of biomedical engineering in clinical medicine through lectures and a preceptorship with clinical faculty. This course is for BE majors ONLY, with preference given to BSE students.
BE 3090 is a one course-unit laboratory course with a focus on combining experimental and mathematical approaches to understand biological systems and solve bioengineering problems. The course content integrates concepts from mathematics, physics, signal analysis, control engineering , mass transport, and heat transfer with applications in physiology and pharmacology. Areas of emphasis are model development and validation, statistical analysis, experimental design, error analysis and uncertainty, and scientific writing.
Our faculty members are dedicated to building up the next generation of engineers. In addition to being incredible mentors, they’re leading experts and researchers in their fields.
Area of expertise: Engineering education with an emphasis on active learning approaches and inclusive pedagogy
Students know me for: Getting a bit over-excited when they master a new skill.
I want to impact in: Helping my students know they belong in engineering and that ‘A’s’ aren’t everything
Area of expertise: Protein engineering for immunotherapy
Students know me for: Bringing my own colorful chalk to class.
I want to impact in: Personalized medicines through bold research and empowering mentorship
Area of expertise: Developing targeted imaging and therapeutic agents for the early detection and personalized treatment of cancer
Students know me for: My position as the Undergraduate Chair of the Bioengineering Department and the instructor for BE1000
I want to impact in: Identifying better solutions for cancer patients
