Proposal to establish the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) Prepared by Dean Michael Cain (SMBS) and Dean Liesl Folks (SEAS) February 6, 2014

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1 Page 1 of 9 Appendix 1 Department of Biomedical School of Engineering and Applied School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Engineering Sciences Proposal to establish the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) Prepared by Dean Michael Cain (SMBS) and Dean Liesl Folks (SEAS) February 6, 2014 Recommendation: To found a department at UB that will comprise a strong interdisciplinary biomedical research and education effort that leverages UB s considerable existing assets in Engineering and Medicine to respond to the global technological and workforce need for improving the quality of life for all people. The Department will be a key component in the burgeoning biomedical research, education and economic development that is occurring in Western New York. The Department will be jointly managed and overseen by SEAS and SMBS.

2 Page 2 of 9 RATIONALE I. Strategic Motivations Biomedical engineering impacts society through its discovery of the causes, treatments and cures of disease; development of innovative tools, materials, pharmaceuticals and techniques to improve and lengthen lives; and improving technology in health care facilities to save cost and improve recovery and treatment. Biomedical engineering also strongly impacts industry and government by lowering the cost of medical and health expenditures, and by providing new products and markets for business growth. The Department of Biomedical Engineering is the logical entity to capture the ongoing activities at UB that span engineering and medicine. The University at Buffalo is well positioned to begin a highly successful department in Biomedical Engineering. Four factors for success have been defined and are described below. Success Factor #1: A culture of interdisciplinary research: Successful new departments require the interdisciplinary collaboration and cooperation of health science and engineering faculty. UB has a significant number of research and educational relationships between faculty in health sciences and engineering. Success Factor #2: Existing topics of focused biomedical engineering research: Successful new departments have well focused areas of emphasis and research. Based on UB s current strengths in BME, there are four natural focus areas: Molecular-Cellular, Cell and Tissue Engineering Computational Biomedical Engineering and Modeling Biomedical Sensors, Instrumentation, and Diagnostics Medical Imaging and analysis Success Factor #3: A growing and supportive industrial base: Successful new departments require a healthy industrial, entrepreneurial, clinical, and research environment. This environment provides jobs for graduates, collaborators for research, sponsors of research, purchasers of intellectual property and development partners to produce new products. The Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics, Roswell Park, the Hauptman Woodward Institute facility, the newly created Buffalo Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) represent an infrastructure investment of over $300MM. In addition, the continuing investment and growth of the Buffalo Niagara Medical campus creates even more opportunities for interaction and collaboration. To gather support and feedback on our BME proposal, presentations were given to a number of regional companies, and their support is overwhelmingly positive. Success Factor #4: A curriculum that is synergistic with research programs: Successful new departments develop undergraduate and graduate curricula that are attractive to potential students and provide outcomes that prepare students for the three major career tracks industry, research, and medicine. The UB BME BS, MS, and PhD programs plan to combine analytical modeling and simulation with outstanding

3 Page 3 of 9 experimental and clinical capabilities to create a highly talented engineering graduate. II. The Demand/Need UB is unusual in that it is a large, comprehensive university in the AAU without a Biomedical Engineering department. For reference, 49 of the 62 AAU schools have such departments, Stony Brook among them. Of the 13 that do not have departments, 9 of these have BME program administered by other departments. The demand for BME degrees is growing faster than any other engineering discipline. The number of BS degrees awarded in BME has gone from 1315 in 2002 to 4066 in 2011 (Data from a report in 2012 by ASEE). Since 2011, the trend continues. There are currently 42 ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited undergraduate programs in Biomedical and Biological Engineering (BME/BioE) in the United States. (Similar statistics for PhD and MS programs are not available since they are not accredited.) The growth of undergraduate degree programs in BME/BioE has been rapid in the past ten years, but the number of accredited BME/BioE programs is still small compared to other engineering disciplines. (278 accredited programs in Mechanical Engineering and 297 in Electrical) The data in Figure 1 how the number of accredited BME/BioE programs is growing rapidly, but still relatively small and only about 1/4 of the number of Chemical Engineering programs in the U.S. Interestingly there are slightly more Environmental Engineering programs than BME programs (54 vs. 42). Accreditation of a new program takes 4 to 6 years, thus considering only accredited programs can underestimate the growth of a field. For example the Whitaker Foundation s BME/BioE curriculum database lists 120 colleges and universities who have selfreported a BME/BioE undergraduate curriculum, of which 78 have not yet been accredited. Figure 1. Growth of accredited Chemical, Environmental, and Biomedical engineering programs.

4 Page 4 of 9 Figure 2.Undergraduate engineering enrollment by discipline ( , from ASEE). The data in Figure 2 show that enrollment of undergraduates in the disciplines of Biomedical Engineering and Bio-Engineering is growing steadily. In 2011, the total student enrollment in Biological programs (sum of Biomedical and Bioengineering) had reached about 27,000 students (dark red line and squares). Research expenditures in the BME/BioE fields, like undergraduate enrollments, are strong and growing. The data in Figure 3 shows that research expenditures per BME/BioE faculty have more than doubled in the past 10 years and are now approximately double that of other fields of engineering (BioE: $600K; BmdE: $500K; NucE: $450K, MatSci: $420; Aero:$380K; EnvE, ChE, EE: $250K; CmpSciE, ME: $200K, IE: $130K). Although receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been more difficult recently, and the success rate of proposals is declining, funding for BME/BioE research is still much higher than all other fields of engineering. The demand for students graduating with BME degrees is very high. Because the field is young, hiring and placement data on students who hold BME degrees is less available than other fields of engineering. However, in small single university studies, approximately 1/3 of BME B.S. graduates pursue graduate degrees, 1/3 go to medical school, and 1/3 go to work directly with their B.S. degree. The United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics states the following about Biomedical Engineers: Employment of biomedical engineers is projected to grow 27 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand will be strong because an aging population is likely to need more medical care and because of increased public awareness of biomedical engineering advances and their benefits.

5 Page 5 of 9 Additionally, the current annual median pay for biomedical engineers is $86,960. So clearly, there is a demand for biomedical engineers and the jobs available are high paying jobs. III. The Scope and Projected Impact for UB 2020 The founding of BME directly aligns with the four high-level goals of Realizing UB2020. It will significantly strengthen UB s impact as a global leader in research and innovation by attracting excellent new faculty and students. The learning experience will distinguish itself by the focus on applications and clinical/laboratory experiences that will strengthen understanding and enable students to think more critically while solving real-world problems. Students primary engagement with the University is at the Departmental level, so the department s focus on the quality of education and positive student experience will contribute directly to the students sense of pride in UB. The Department also will establish an industrial advisory board to provide guidance with continuous improvement in the educational program. This board will spearhead external engagement with industry partners and other constituencies to foster research and development activities as well as create applied experiences for our students. BME will impact four of the five of the Realizing UB2020 themes. Clearly, BME impacts the Health theme by the very definition of what BME is. And the Innovation theme is also directly connected to what BME faculty and students are engaged in the development of new solutions to improving health, and the processes for making these solutions work in the real world. Perhaps less obvious are the connections to two other themes: Environment and Justice. However, health and environmental sustainability are closely linked. As new technologies are developed, such as nanoparticles for disease diagnostics and therapy, we will need to understand their impacts on the environment similar to how we are investigating the impacts of many drugs that are being put into the ecosystem. Finally, existing disparities in healthcare availability and delivery are clearly present in the US and around the world. Through the advances in biomedical technology that can extend the reach of healthcare to bring it to people (as opposed to bringing people to healthcare), one can begin to address one issue of justice. IV. The Relationship to Existing UB Plans, Programs and Organizations SMBS and SEAS plan to partner closely to oversee the new department. Tight coordination between the current Deans have established processes and structures that efficiently leverage the similarities and that bridge the differences between the two schools, which is essential to the success of the new department and to ensure its long-term vitality. As stated, the motivation for the creation of the Department is that there is significant Biomedical-related education and research ongoing at the University at Buffalo. There is no intention to cannibalize existing activities, or to draw faculty or students away from those efforts. Instead, BME will complement these existing oncampus activities, while expanding the activity in this growing field. The same is true with the student population; anecdotally, students have been asking for a BME

6 Page 6 of 9 program at UB for many years, and it is clear that the growth in student enrollment in the department will not come at the expense of other departments. V. Implementation Strategy and Timeline The plan for the creation and growth of the Department is shown below. Year 0: Oishei Foundation Awards funding for BME Year 0: Department formed, Chair chosen Year 0: Proposal for new BS degree in Biomedical Engineering submitted to NYS Year 0 (Spring): Assistant to the Chair hired Year 1: Approval of the BS degree program Year 1 (Spring): First tenure-track faculty hired Year 1: (August): First Freshman class admitted into Biomedical Engineering Year 2: (May): First BME Advisory Board meeting Year 2 (July): Graduate Proposal submitted to NY State (MS and PhD) Year 3 (April): MS and PhD programs approved by NY State Year 3 (Spring): First graduates of the BS degree program Year 3 (Summer): Technician and Academic Specialist hired Year 3 (Fall): First graduate students admitted to Graduate Program Year 4 (Spring): Total BME student count passes 200 Note: Faculty hiring will occur annually during this period. VI. Enrollment Plan for BME We expect to see rapid initial growth in the undergraduate population, with subsequent growth in the graduate population as the department becomes more established. This is shown in Figure 3.

7 Page 7 of 9 Figure 3. Projected growth in student enrollment by year for five years. It is expected that the undergraduate enrollment will reach a peak of around students by year 8, with graduate enrollment reaching by year 8. VII. Scholarship Plan and Performance Expectations (if applicable) BME will offer a BS degree first, and then offer graduate degree programs (MS and PhD) two years after the launch of the undergraduate program, following state approval. The Department will seek ABET accreditation for the BS degree program after the first graduating class and on schedule with the SEAS accreditation cycle. VIII. Staffing Plan Funding was secured through a generous grant from the Oishei Foundation that is to be used to hire an initial cadre of faculty and staff. These funds will enable four faculty members and two staff members to be hired in the near term. Beyond this period, the plan is to reach 12 full-full time, ladder faculty by year 8. To date, the funds to make these hires, including the start-up packages, have been secured from the Oishei Foundation grant, a grant from the NYS High Needs program, and SMBS and SEAS commitments. Affiliated faculty will be appointed from related departments to serve as senior faculty for BME, on term appointments that will expire after three years. Subsequently, faculty from other departments will continue to be encouraged to participate in the department through adjunct appointments. Staff will be hired to support the Departmental activities. Initially, this will include an assistant to the chair, a technician, an academic specialist, as well as non-tenure track teaching and research faculty. Over time, the staff will increase as student and faculty numbers increase (see Figure 4).

8 Page 8 of 9 Figure 4. Growth in faculty, staff and TA lines. The growth in the number of Teaching assistants is necessary to support the teaching mission (ensuring a high quality, hands-on experience for students) as well as to support the Ph.D. program (TAs are provided to recruit new students and support them during their first year in the program). IX. Facilities Plan a. Space Need by Space Type b. Space Available c. Space Needed beyond what is available to the proposing units The facilities to support BME will be found within the SMBS and SEAS facilities footprints during the initial phase. Bonner Hall has been identified as being the home for BME in the near term, and will also house most of the research and teaching labs. As the SMBS completes its new building and departments in SMBS redistribute to occupy this space, there is additional space in the CoE that has been earmarked for future BME faculty research labs (this space is ideal in that it will require almost no rework to make it suitable for BME researchers). Continued growth in BME will likely mean additional space will become necessary. In the near term, the space available in Bonner Hall will be sufficient. However, since Bonner Hall was the home of Electrical Engineering, significant modifications are necessary to make it usable by BME faculty. These spaces for faculty, students and labs will be prepared as part of the Rehabilitation of Bell-Bonner and the Cooke- Hochstetter Renovations, funding applications for each of which are already in process with SUNY. Additionally, faculty start-ups will be used for some modifications, and funding from the NYS High Needs Program will be used to create student labs. APPROVAL PROCESS

9 Page 9 of 9 I. Provostal Preliminary Review is the proposal having a sufficient impact in achieving university goals and gives evidence of a viable funding and implementation plan to recommend further vetting. Completed October II. III. IV. Presentation to Deans and Vice Presidents enables deans and vice presidents to offer comment and advice to the Provost and President about the proposed initiative. In process, January Presentation to Faculty Senate (if required and advisable new departments, degree programs, curricula) External Review SUNY, SED, RF (if required and advisable) V. Presidential Review and Approval