Biomedical unit dedicated at UA

For a long time, engineers have made medical devices, said Ashok Saxena, head of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“But they really were not as involved in the biology aspect of it. So that is the special thing that we bring as biomedical engineers,” Saxena said, seated in his office in the newly renovated wing of UA’s John A. White Jr. Engineering Hall.

The department’s growth and potential were discussed Thursday during an official dedication celebrating the completion of a $4.35 million, 15-month renovation project that converted a wing of the engineering hall into the department’s new home. Faculty members moved into the space this spring even as some of the renovation work continued.

“I anticipate big things and big ideas out of this department and the faculty,” Chancellor G. David Gearhart said on a podium set up on the carpeted hallway.

The engineering discipline involves both crafting new tools and creating new understanding to ultimately benefit patients. Researchers have been studying ways to provide cancer treatments and analyze models of blood flow, as well as setting up processes to detect medical problems early, for example, Saxena said.

“That aspect of thinking is very much engineering oriented, and that needs to be brought up into the practice of health care,” he said in an interview.

Created only two years ago, the department has about 190 undergraduate students this fall, along with 17 graduate students. Not counting Saxena, the department has seven faculty members, with another assistant professor expected to join UA this spring. Saxena said in an interview the department plans to add a faculty member each year until it has about 15 faculty members.

UA has the only biomedical engineering department in the state.

Saxena, a former UA engineering dean, rejoined the university in May to lead the department, taking over from interim department head Terry Martin.

John English, dean of the engineering college, also spoke at the dedication, describing how biomedical engineering research has been “up front and center” in presentations about UA engineering research, such as a meeting held Wednesday with legislative staff members.

“This resonates. The message that we have and the research associated with biomedical engineering is up at the top. It’s very, very critical to the future of the nation,” English said.

Saxena at the ceremony described how faculty members Tim Muldoon, Jeff Wolchok and David Zaharoff have each earned federal grants from the National Institutes of Health, while Wolchok and Kartik Balachandran have jointly received National Science Foundation funding for research related to brain injuries.

Representing the student perspective at the dedication was Gage Greening, who earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering this spring and now is a first-year doctoral student.

“One of the best things about my experience here has been the support of the faculty,” Greening said.

The renovation design was done by Chicago-based HBRA Architects and also included work on two laboratories for use by students.

“Overall these new renovations have given the undergraduate and graduate students and I’m sure the faculty and administration a sense of identity as biomedical engineers in Arkansas, and they’ve given us all something to be extremely proud of,” Greening said.

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