Detailed Information
Programs of Study
The College of Engineering offers graduate study that leads to two master’s degrees: Master of Science (M.S.) in biomedical engineering and Master of Engineering (M.E.) in biomedical engineering. The biomedical engineering program was established in 2008. The program provides advanced study in bioinformatics and computational medicine, modeling and simulation of biomedical processes, biomedical imaging, biomedical instrumentation, and biomechanics and biomaterials. The biomedical engineering program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, in contrast to similar programs, is University-wide. Four colleges are the major participants: College of Engineering, College of Science, College of Agricultural Sciences, and School of Medicine, with the College of Engineering as the leading unit.
The M.S. degree in biomedical engineering requires 6 credit hours of 400-level physiology or biochemistry courses and 6 credit hours of 500-level statistics and probability courses. Elective courses include 12 credit hours of biomedical engineering (BME) and BME-related courses with one of the following areas of concentration: bioinformatics and computational medicine, modeling and simulation of biomedical processes, biomedical imaging, biomedical instrumentation, or biomechanics and biomaterials. Also required are Seminar (2 credit hours), Research Ethics (1 credit hour), and Thesis (6 credit hours). The Master of Engineering in biomedical engineering degree requires the same as the M.S. degree, except that a 3-hour capstone design (research paper) and a 3-hour elective course are taken instead of the 6-hour thesis.
Each student develops a program of study with a graduate adviser and the program coordinator and establishes a graduate committee of at least 3 members at the earliest possible date. The graduate adviser can be chosen from any of the four colleges (Engineering, Science, Agriculture Sciences, or School of Medicine).
Research Facilities
Because the biomedical engineering program is University-wide, all facilities in the four major colleges (Engineering, Science, Agriculture Sciences, and School of Medicine) are available to the students’ research work through the student-selected graduate advisers. These facilities include, but are not limited to, research centers, such as friction and material centers; image processing laboratories; instrumentation and robotics laboratories; ASIC’s Design Laboratory; and optics and photonics laboratories. Other facilities are listed under the Web pages of each college.
Financial Aid
Teaching or research assistantships and fellowships are available for qualified applicants. It is anticipated that more than half of the 2008 admitted students will receive financial support, including assistantships and fellowships with full-tuition reimbursements. More information is available from the financial aid office.
Cost of Study
In-state graduate tuition is $328 per credit hour in 2009–10. Out-of-state tuition is 2.5 times the in-state tuition rate ($820 per credit hour). Graduate students with at least a 25 percent appointment as a graduate assistant receive a tuition scholarship. Fees vary from $589.03 (1 credit hour) to $1557.50 (12 credit hours). Students with a graduate assistantship receive a 25 percent reduction in the primary care medical fee.
Living and Housing Costs
For married couples, students with families, and single graduate students, the University has 690 efficiency and one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments that rent for $499 to $720 per month in 2009–10. Residence halls for single graduate students are also available, as are accessible residence hall rooms and apartments for students with disabilities.
Student Group
Of the current 12 admitted students, 2 are women, 4 are members of minority groups, and 4 are international students.
Location
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) is 350 miles south of Chicago and 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. The scenic main campus occupies 981 acres and includes a wooded area preserved in a natural state, a lake with a beach and swimming area, canoe- and boat-rental facilities, a walking (or jogging) trail, and fishing piers. The campus provides an array of cultural activities, including frequent performances by opera, theater, symphony, and dance groups, given by both local and traveling performers.
The University and The College
Since its chartering in 1869, Southern Illinois University Carbondale has grown into a comprehensive university with a student body of approximately 24,000. Supported by the state of Illinois, the University offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs in liberal arts, sciences, engineering, medicine, and law. The objective of the University is to provide a comprehensive educational program that meets a student’s needs.
The College of Engineering excels in engineering and technology education and in research through the quality of its faculty and staff members, graduates, students, facilities, and programs. The College strives to provide world-class programs in engineering and technology education, research, and service so as to enhance the economic and social well-being of the citizens of Illinois, the nation, and the world.
Applying
In addition to meeting the Graduate School’s admission standards, students must have a bachelor’s degree in engineering or its equivalent and a minimum GPA of 2.7 on undergraduate work and 3.0 on all graduate work. The $40 application fee must be submitted with the completed application. The deadlines are March 1 for the fall and summer semesters and October 1 for the spring semester.
The Faculty and Their Research
- Faculty members who supervise graduate research in the program are drawn from four colleges: Engineering, Science, Agriculture Sciences, and School of Medicine. A short list of those faculty members is as follows:
- Nazeih M. Botros, Professor and Biomedical Engineering Program Coordinator; Ph.D., Oklahoma, 1985. Modeling, simulation, and synthesis of biological mechanisms, ultrasound tissue characterization, speech recognition, and artificial intelligence.
- Ying (Ada) Chen, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Duke, 2007. Biomedical imaging, image reconstruction, digital tomosynthesis, image quality analysis, signal and image processing, simulation and computing.
- Qiang Cheng, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002. Signal, image, and multimedia processing; learning theory; multimedia computing and communications.
- Peter Filip, Professor and Director; Center for Advanced Friction Studies; Ph.D., Ostrava (Czech Republic), 1989. Biomaterials, polymers.
- Lalit Gupta, Professor; Ph.D., SMU, 1986. Computer vision, pattern recognition, digital signal processing, neural networks.
- Manoj K. Mohanty, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Southern Illinois at Carbondale, 1997. Statistical design and analysis of experiments related to biomedical engineering, process optimization.
- Jun Qin, Ph.D., Duke, 2008. Medical ultrasound applications, shock-wave lithotripsy, ultrasound-enhanced gene activity, high-intensity-focused ultrasound for cancer therapy.
- Ning Weng, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst, 2005. System network processor, network security and sequence search.
- Mengxia (Michelle) Zhu, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., LSU, 2005. Remote visualization system, distributed high-performance computing, bioinformatics, distributed sensor networks, artificial intelligences.
Correspondence and Information
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Biomedical Engineering Program
College of Engineering
Mail Code 6603
1230 Lincoln Drive
Carbondale, Illinois 62901-6603
Telephone:
618-536-2396
Email:
biomedical@engr.siu.edu
