INSTITUTE HALL
On January 3rd, 2013 the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department moved into Institute Hall. Click here to see a time-lapse video of the construction of the building. The building is approximately 86,000 square feet and includes:
- Twelve 750 square foot dedicated faculty research labs
- A 2500 square foot chemical engineering unit operations teaching lab that will provide the students with the opportunity to get hands on experience in the main Chemical Engineering processes like distillation, absorption, adsorption, filtration, and reaction engineering. The distillation, absorption and adsorption columns, the ultrafiltration system, and the chemical reactors include automated control systems, which introduce the students to topics in chemical process control.
- Both wet and dry biomedical engineering teaching lab with an advanced instructional system that includes the hardware and software to perform different assessment of human physiology that include cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal and nervous systems.
- A computer based teaching and conference facility.
- An environmentally controlled laser research lab.
- A thin film research laboratory.
- Flexible classroom facilities
- Recitation facilities.
- Faculty and administrative offices.
- Graduate student offices.
Examples of Lab Activities and Research
The BME program has a strong emphasis on experiential learning. A good example of this are the laboratory exercises associated with the Functional Anatomy course, which introduces students to the essential elements of human anatomy and histology and focuses on the structures and components of the musculo-skeletal system as well as their basic functionality. Students are encouraged to correlate anatomical structure and function with non-human structures and devices that might be considered as replacements or improvements. Fundamental concepts in biomechanics are introduced and integrated with relevant topics covered in physics. The laboratory exercises in this course focus on the identification, manipulation and relevant measurements of a variety of specimens that range from prepared slides to gross anatomical structures. In one series of experiments, students actually use a sophisticated hardware and software acquisition and analysis system to correlate muscle activity and motion associated with normal movements of their own limbs.
Biomedical engineering student Alexander Dawson-Elli using Kinetisense (GreatLakes Neurotechnology) electromyography (EMG) instrumentation (C) and software to display (D) and measure muscle activity associated with simple arm motion (E).
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In addition, the program leverages a wide range of laboratory facilities and research expertise, both on campus and with other institutions, to actively participate in highly relevant biomedical research activities, some of a very clinical nature. These research efforts involve BME faculty, other engineering and science faculty at RIT and clinical professionals from local hospitals.
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Pictured above: (F) BME student Geni Gianotti with Dr. Karl Q. Schwarz, M.D., Director of the Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory at the University of Rochester Medical Center collaborating on a study involving fragility of ultrasound contrast agents used for improved cardiac function visualization. (G) This work was carried out in a biofluids laboratory in the Kate College of Engineering under the direction of Dr. Steven Day, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. (H) This research also involved Jay Wheaton, a Master's Degree student in Mechanical Engineering and Doran Mix, a fourth year medical student at the medical center and a graduate of the RIT Computer Engineering program.