Biological engineering or bio-engineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable bioenergy, ecological engineering, agricultural engineering, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.
In general, biological engineers attempt to either mimic biological systems to create products or modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, sustain, or predict chemical and mechanical processes. Bioengineers can apply their expertise to other applications of engineering and biotechnology, including genetic modification of plants and microorganisms, bioprocess engineering, and biocatalysis.
Video Biological engineering
History
Biological engineering is a science-based discipline founded upon the biological sciences in the same way that chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering can be based upon chemistry, electricity and magnetism, and classical mechanics, respectively.
Biological engineering started growing more rapidly post-WWII. Before that period, this branch of engineering was a very new concept to people and was just being recognized as a branch of engineering. Electrical engineering is considered to pioneer this engineering sector due to its work with medical devices and machinery during this time.When engineers and life scientists started working together, they recognized the problem that the engineers didn't know enough about the actual biology behind their work. To resolve this problem, engineers who wanted to get into biological engineering devoted more of their time and studies to the details and processes that go into fields such as biology, psychology, and medicine.
The word bioengineering was coined by British scientist and broadcaster Heinz Wolff in 1954. The term bioengineering is also used to describe the use of vegetation in civil engineering construction. The term bioengineering may also be applied to environmental modifications such as surface soil protection, slope stabilization, watercourse and shoreline protection, windbreaks, vegetation barriers including noise barriers and visual screens, and the ecological enhancement of an area. Because other engineering disciplines also address living organisms, the term biological engineering can be applied more broadly to include agricultural engineering.
The first biological engineering program was created at Mississippi State University in 1967, making it the first biological engineering curriculum in the United States. More recent programs have been launched at MIT and Utah State University. Many old agricultural engineering departments in universities over the world have re-branded themselves as agricultural and biological engineering or agricultural and biosystems engineering, due to biological engineering as a whole being a rapidly developing field with fluid categorization.
Maps Biological engineering
Education
The average length of study is three to five years, and the completed degree is signified as a bachelor of engineering (B.S. in engineering). Fundamental courses include thermodynamics, fluid and mechanical dynamics, kinetics, electronics, and materials properties. According to Professor Doug Lauffenburger of MIT, biological engineering has a broad base which applies engineering principles to an enormous range of size and complexities of systems. These systems range from the molecular level (molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, protein chemistry, cytology, immunology, neurobiology and neuroscience) to cellular and tissue-based systems (including devices and sensors), to whole macroscopic organisms (plants, animals), and can even range up to entire ecosystems.
Sub-disciplines
Depending on the institution and particular definitional boundaries employed, some major branches of bioengineering may be categorized as (note these may overlap):
- Biomedical Engineering: application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes
- Tissue Engineering
- Genetic Engineering
- Metabolic Engineering
- Biochemical Engineering: fermentation engineering, application of engineering principles to microscopic biological systems that are used to create new products by synthesis, including the production of protein from suitable raw materials
- Biological Systems Engineering
- Bioprocess Engineering: develops technology to monitor the conditions of the where the process of making pharmaceuticals takes place, (Ex: bioprocess design, biocatalysis, bioseparation, bioinformatics, bioenergy)
- Environmental Health Engineering: application of engineering principles to the control of the environment for the health, comfort, and safety of human beings. It includes the field of life-support systems for the exploration of outer space and the ocean
- Human-Factors Engineering: application of engineering, physiology, and psychology to the optimization of the human-machine relationship
- Biotechnology
- Biomimetics: the imitation of models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. (Ex: velcro, designed after George de Mestral noticed how easily burs stuck to a dog's hair)
- Bionics: an integration of Biomedical, focused more on the robotics and assisted technologies. (Ex: prosthetics)
- Bioprinting
- Biorobotics
Organizations
- Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the U.S.-based accreditation board for engineering B.S. programs, makes a distinction between biomedical engineering and biological engineering, though there is much overlap (see above).
- American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is made up of 1,500 members. Their main goal is to educate the public about the value biological engineering has in our world, as well as invest in research and other programs to advance the field. They give out awards to those dedicated to innovation in the field, and awards of achievement in the field. (They do not have a direct contribution TO biological engineering, they more recognize those who do and encourage the public to continue that forward movement)
- Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE) is a non-profit organization, they run on donations alone. They aim to encourage the public to learn and to continue advancements in biological engineering. (Like AIMBE, they don't do research directly, they do however offer scholarships to students who show promise in the field).
References
External links
- Benchling
- Genome Compiler
- Bioengineering Society
- Biomedical Engineering Society
- Institute of Biological Engineering
- Benjoe Institute of Systems Biological Engineering
- American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering
- American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
- Society for Biological Engineering part of AIChE
- Journal of Biological Engineering, JBE
- Biological Engineering Transactions
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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