| The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering | |
|---|---|
| Established | 2004 |
| Head | George R. Wodicka |
| Academic staff | 47 |
| Admin. staff | 27 |
| Undergraduates | 134 |
| Postgraduates | 59 |
| Location | West Lafayette, Indiana, USA |
| Affiliations | Purdue University |
| Website | http://www.engineering.purdue.edu/BME |
The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering is Purdue University's school of biomedical engineering. The school offers an undergraduate B.S. degree in biomedical engineering and M.S., Ph.D., and integrated M.D.-Ph.D. graduate degrees in biomedical engineering.
Contents |
Biomedical engineering at Purdue started in 1974 with the creation of the Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center. The Center was headed by Dr. Leslie A. Geddes and located in Purdue's A.A. Potter Engineering Center.[1] Currently, it is the only engineering discipline at Purdue that requires an entrance exam to be accepted into the program. In 1998, the Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center was elevated in status to the Department of Biomedical Engineering within the school of Engineering at Purdue. George R. Wodicka was the department's founding head. After a generous $10 million donation by Norman Weldon, an alumnus of Purdue, and his family, the department was formally expanded into a school of biomedical engineering. The donation provided for hiring additional faculty, research initiatives and other start-up costs.[2] In honor of Weldon's donation, the school is named The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering. In 2006, the Weldon School moved from Potter Center to the new Biomedical Engineering Building on Purdue's campus. Dr. Geddes remained on staff as a Professor Emeritus until his death in 2009. George R. Wodicka is now the head of The Weldon School. As of 2008, the biomedical engineering building was renamed to the Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering, after the former president of Purdue University.
In 2006, Purdue University opened the Biomedical Engineering Building. The state-of-the-art building cost $25 million and was financed in part by grants from the Whitaker Foundation and the State of Indiana. The building is strategically located near Lynn Hall of Veterinary Medicine, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Bindley Bioscience Center, and Lilly Hall of Life Sciences. The building houses the academic and head offices for the Biomedical Engineering School, learning spaces, research labs, faculty offices, conference rooms, and a computer lab.[3]