On June 9th, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, and material science students presented their senior designs at the BioENGINE Device Design Symposium, the culmination of several months of hard work and collaboration with UCI Applied Innovation. The event recognized the hard work of the seniors by providing them the opportunity to display their work and win the Capstone Design Awards and BioENGINE fellowships.
The engineering undergraduates proposed and crafted their designs as part of the Capstone course. The course was year-long for the biomedical students and a two-quarter class for the material science students. The classes were conducted under the direction of Dr. Michelle Khine, Dr. Ron King, Dr. Christopher Hoo, and their graduate teaching assistants.
The Cove was a crucial part of the course experience for the students. Many utilized the Cove’s Maker Lab and conference rooms throughout the school year to complete projects. The students also received extensive mentorship from the Cove Experts in Residence.
The night started with opening remarks from Dr. Gregory Washington, Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, and Dr. Ron King, Chief Scientific and Investment Officer of nonprofit BioAccel. Dean Washington thanked all of those involved in the BioENGINE process, from students to judges, and emphasized that he “got to see all of the projects… they are outstanding.” Next, Dr. Sophia Lin introduced the twenty student teams, each of which pitched their projects to the audience. After the pitches, the twenty teams went to their respective tables where they exhibited their projects and demoed prototypes for judges and guests.
The audience returned back to their seats after the demonstrations for a panel on healthcare innovation & technology that was moderated by Dr. Jay Lee, Associate Medical Director of Practice Transformation at MemorialCare Medical Foundation and Director of Health Policy at the Long Beach Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program. The panelists included Dr. Bryce Johnson, Saddleback Hospital’s Chief of Surgery; Dr. Bobby Massoudian, Medical Director of the Miller Children’s Hospital Emergency Department of the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center; and Dr. Gregory Thomas, Medical Director of the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute. The panel gave advice to the biomedical students and highlighted some of biggest challenges in the medical space that need solving. As Dr. Thomas explained, “We’re excited about inventions. A lot don’t make it, but the ones that do make it can be home runs and change the lives of millions of people around the world.”
Afterward, BioAccel CEO MaryAnn Guerra presented the Capstone Design Awards and the three BioENGINE fellowships. The BioENGINE fellowship gave a $1,000 stipend to each team and the opportunity to continue working on their products in an incubator. Of the twenty teams, nine competed for the BioENGINE fellowships. The BioENGINE fellowships were awarded to Syntr Health Tech, K9 BioWalk, and Opticom. “We got a lot of experience especially in 3D printing, pitching, and teamwork,” says Monique Wonderly of K9 BioWalk. “It was great being able to apply the skills [we] learned in the classroom to industry.”