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 A Brief History. . .
The idea for SBES grew out of the recognition by faculty at both institutions that their individual research interests in biomedical engineering and their goals for future educational endeavors would best be served if a collaboration of this kind could be created. Both schools had something the other needed: Virginia Tech had the College of Engineering but no medical school, and Wake Forest had the medical school, but no College of Engineering. Additionally, located on the VT campus is the Virginia - Maryland Regional School of Veterinary Medicine which was also seen as a potential significant contributor to the combined research/education effort in the biomedical field. Several key faculty members on both campuses joined forces in 2000 and out of their dedication and hard work came SBES, a collaborative enterprise joining all three entities for a common purpose. We are now in full operation offering the following degrees; an M.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, and two combination degrees through the medical schools involved; a D.V.M./Ph.D, and an M.D./Ph.D.
A Vision for SBES . . .
Our vision for the school's future is both broad and bold. We intend to produce engineers whose areas of expertise will accommodate the demanding challenges and complex problems facing the practice of human and animal medicine. They will apply engineering principles and methodologies to the study of physiologic and biologic systems in order to produce novel approaches to traditionally unsolvable medical problems, introduce new diagnostic and therapy methods, and develop exciting new research areas.
About Future Growth . . .
With respect to our program growth, we are planning to expand SBES with three new primary faculty members annually for the next five years. Two would locate at Virginia Tech and one would join Wake Forest. And with these additional resources we will be able to introduce new courses, increase our student population, and enter new research areas.
A Final Word . . .
We expect the SBES partnership between Wake Forest and Virginia Tech to result in visionary research which will ultimately advance discovery in human engineering and other critical technologies related to human health and the practice of medicine. SBES will strive to create an environment which attracts outstanding researchers from around the world and produces first-class biomedical engineering graduates. We invite you to join in our effort.
J. Wallace Grant, Ph.D.
Director
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