New biomedical engineering degrees approved for MSU
December 31, 2001
Mississippi State is adding two new degree programs in a field at the forefront of advancing quality of life.Starting in August, university students will have the opportunity to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering. The academic programs received State Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning approval earlier this month.
“These biomedical engineering graduate programs build on a tradition of nearly 30 years of MSU research and graduate training in the field,” said Jerome A. Gilbert, head of the department of agricultural and biological engineering. “As a result, the infrastructure and support are in place to launch them without the need for additional resources.”
Because it includes such areas as tissue engineering, drug delivery and the development of artificial joints, biomedical engineering “will be at the center of upcoming technological advances in medicine,” Gilbert said. The graduate program will complement and support MSU’s new Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, he added.
The department of agricultural and biological engineering will administer the program. Faculty from MSU’s aerospace engineering, electrical and computer engineering, industrial engineering, chemistry, animal and dairy sciences, and veterinary medicine, as well as the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, also will be involved.
Gilbert said faculty at MSU, the medical center, Jackson State University, and Mississippi University for Women have formed a partnership to identify prospective graduate students and foster joint research and educational collaborations.
He cited one additional benefit. “As the program develops, we anticipate biomedical industries will be attracted to Mississippi to take advantage of the university’s expertise and the availability of graduates,” he said.