The Biomedical Engineering program fully participates in the Honors Program at UConn. For information about the University of Connecticut Honors Program, visit their website at http://www.honors.uconn.edu. All necessary Honors forms are available on the Honors Program website.
Honors Course Guidelines
Honors courses (or conversions) are intended to provide in-depth coverage of topics not typically covered in the non-Honors section of the class. As part of the Honors course, students are expected to tackle more sophisticated topics while satisfying more rigorous standards than for non-Honors courses. The content of the Honors portion of the class may include:
- Additional project(s).
- Additional exam questions or a different exam.
- Additional homework assignments.
The BME Program offers Honors sections for the following courses:
BME 3500. Biomedical Engineering Measurements. (4 Credits)
A lecture and laboratory course that covers the fundamentals and practical aspects of designing biomeasurement systems using sensors, electric circuits, filters, and amplifiers; the course also covers the processing and analyses of measured signals using a microcontroller and LabView data acquisition hardware and software.
The course offers students the opportunity to experience and see firsthand how engineering theoretical constructs and principles are applied in real life to solve engineering problems. The course culminates in a final project where students are challenged to apply what they have learnt to design and build a biomeasurement system to solve a biomedical need.
Enrollment Requirements: ECE 2001, open only to BME majors, others by instructor consent. Recommended preparation: BME 3120 and BME 3400 or ECE 3101.
BME 3600. Biomechanics. (4 Credits)
Application of solid mechanics theory to describe and analyze mechanical behaviors of biological tissues. Basic concepts in mechanics of materials, including the essential mathematics, kinematics of deformation and motion, stress, constitutive relations. Biomechanics principles; identifying, formulating and solving problems related to bone, cartilage, tendon, cardiac and vascular tissues. Introduction of experimental methods and computational modeling of biological tissues. A separate laboratory component will introduce students to experimental methods in more detail. Laboratory reports with revisions are required.
Enrollment Requirements: CE 2110; open only to Biomedical Engineering majors; others by instructor consent.
BME 3700. Biomaterials. (4 Credits)
A lecture and laboratory course that introduces a series of implant materials including metals, ceramics, glass ceramics, polymers, and composites. These materials are compared with the natural materials, with consideration given to issues of mechanical
properties, biocompatibility, degradation of materials by biological systems, and biological response to artificial materials. Particular attention is given to the materials for the total hip prosthesis, dental restoration, and implantable medical devices.
Enrollment Requirements: MSE 2101 and MATH 2410; open only to BME majors. Cannot be taken for credit after passing MSE 3700.
BME 4900. Biomedical Engineering Design I. (3 Credits)
Discussion of the design process; project statement, specifications project planning, scheduling and division of responsibility, ethics in engineering design, safety, environmental considerations, economic constraints, liability, manufacturing, and marketing. Projects are carried out using a team-based approach. Selection and analysis of a design project to be undertaken in BME 4910W is carried out. Written progress reports, discussion meetings with project advisors and sponsors, and oral presentations are required.
Enrollment Requirements: Open only to Biomedical Engineering majors; prerequisites vary by track as follows: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, BME 3500, 3600, 3700, and 3900; Biomechanics and Mechanobiology, BME 3600 and 3900; Computational and Systems Biology, BME 3900; Systems, Imaging and Instrumentation, BME 3500 and 3900; no track: BME 3500, 3600, and 3700.
BME 4910W. Biomedical Engineering Design II. (3 Credits)
Design of a device, circuit system, process, or algorithm. Team solution to an engineering design problem as formulated in BME 4900, from first concepts through evaluation and documentation. Written progress reports, a final report, and oral presentations are required.
Enrollment Requirements: BME 4900; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011; open only to Biomedical Engineering majors.
Note: BME graduate courses may be taken to fulfill honors courses.
Honors Thesis
- The BME Honors Thesis will be a minimum 25 page report.
- The formatting may be similar to a research article in that it contains, at minimum, the following:
- Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods, Design and/or Experimental Procedures
- Results
- Conclusion and Future Work
- References
- Anything else that your Honors Thesis Advisor requires
- There are two ways to complete your Honors Thesis:
- As an aspect of Senior Design. If you wish to complete your Honors Thesis during Senior Design (BME 4900 & 4910W), you will need to write a separate Honors Thesis above and beyond your Senior Design Final Report. Your Thesis may revolve around and should expand upon your portion of the Team project, but will be independent of the Senior Design Final Report. You must work with your Honors Thesis Advisor to determine how you will complete the Thesis.
- As a 3 or 4 credit Independent Study, BME 4999. If you want to pursue research with a BME faculty member, you may, with the Instructor’s consent, use this Independent Study to complete your Honors Thesis. If completed in this way, not only will you will be using the Independent Study to meet your Honors credit and Thesis requirements, but it may also fulfill a 3 credit BME elective.
Your Honors Thesis Advisor may set other requirements or guidelines.