Waugh notes that several of the most highly regarded biomedical engineering programs in the country have developed in an environment similar to Rochester's, where a relatively small engineering school can work with a large, research-oriented medical school. Looking down the road, we expect biomedical engineering to play an important part in enhancing the University's reputation for high- quality training in the engineering sciences. Waugh says that educational programs in biomedical engineering have enjoyed a boom in the last decade because of a new idealism among students coming out of high school. Waugh adds that the Whitaker Foundation, which has awarded millions of dollars to such programs in biomedical engineering, has also been instrumental in the rapid development of the field. The biomedical engineering program will enroll its first six graduate students next year, and approximately six more graduate students are expected to enroll in each subsequent year.
Faculty also plan to eventually offer a major in biomedical engineering to undergraduates as well.