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Mission

Uniquely Positioned to Transcend Disciplinary Boundaries

Students in the STRETCH Lab

Our Mission

The Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech is a unique multidisciplinary interface between fundamental mechanics, biomedical science, and real-world applications to enhance the quality of life. Our world-class faculty and students innovate and discover across a continuum of systems, from natural to engineered to medical.

We educate and inspire the next generation of outstanding engineers and scientists through strong undergraduate and graduate education programs. Our teaching emphasizes engineering fundamentals as well as specific lines of research and entrepreneurship.

History

A founding program in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, engineering mechanics was one of the university’s first curriculum tracks and traces its beginnings back to 1908. Due to the discipline’s growing applications in the field of biomedical engineering, most notably in biomechanics, the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics formally merged with the Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2014 to form a new department: Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, often referred to as BEAM.

The combination of Virginia Tech’s highly innovative biomedical engineering curriculum, founded at the university in 1978, with the historical strengths and resources of engineering mechanics is what gives BEAM its unique focus and direction. 

Programs 

The department offers a B.S. undergraduate program in biomedical engineering (BME) and minors in this as well as in engineering science and mechanics (ESM).

Graduate degree tracks (both Ph.D. and master's degrees) are currently available in engineering mechanics, and a comprehensive range of graduate degrees in biomedical engineering are offered through our joint program with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Programs of study include Ph.D., master’s, and several graduate combination degrees. 

Accreditation

The B.S. program in biomedical engineering is undergoing accreditation, since it's new, beginning in the fall of 2019. The program in engineering science and mechanics is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.