Investigator: Dennis R. Carter, PhD Project Categories: Arthritis / Osteoporosis / Spinal Cord Injury / Stroke - 2000 The objective of this award is to develop the research and teaching programs of the new Biomechanical Engineering (BME) Division of the Mechanical Engineering Department. Funds were provided for new faculty start up costs, research and teaching equipment, curriculum development, student support, and establishing interdepartmental bioengineering organization. The new Division began with three core faculty members, Dennis R. Carter, PhD; Felix E. Zajac, PhD; and Jean Heegaard, PhD. We proposed to add three tenure line faculty members with the help of Whitaker funding. One faculty position is a new, incremental position made available by the Provost that will be joint between the Schools of Engineering and Medicine. The other two positions are realized by a reallocation of existing open faculty positions from other divisions of the Mechanical Engineering Department. One faculty member was to be hired during each of the three years of the proposed granting period. Summer salary and start-up seed money for equipment for each of these faculty was requested. The academic programs of the BME Division will be strengthened at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels. We plan to develop a standard undergraduate curriculum leading to the degree of BS Engineering: Biomechanical Engineering. We also proposed to expand our involvement in the education of medical residents and staff in the School of Medicine. Current research activities for the BME Division faculty are primarily off campus, at the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Center. Due to earthquake reinforcement and previously committed building projects, contiguous space for Division activities on campus were not anticipated to be available until September 1998. At that time, renovations were to begin for establishing the campus home of the Division. Teaching and research equipment are for the Division were requested. The establishment and growth of the BME Division provides a direct benefit to the VA RRDC in terms of faculty and student support and by providing complementary equipment and facilities to serve as a resource for VA personnel and projects. Funding Source: Whitaker Special Opportunity Award |
