2021 Northeast Biomedical Engineering Conference

The Northeast Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC) has historically been a student-centered conference and the 2021 version will continue that tradition by providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to present their work. The conference will also hold state-of-the art faculty seminars in theme areas selected to reflect emerging or growing areas in BME.

Notably, a significant portion of the conference is dedicated to education in BME, especially given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on instructional models. These activities will expose students and faculty to leading edge research in BME, foster interest in pursuing careers in BME research and innovation and provide networking opportunities with peers and leaders in their fields.

The conference serves the dual purpose of (1) providing a venue for undergraduate and early-stage graduate students to present their work at what will be for many their first professional-level conference, and (2) exposing these students to truly cutting-edge advances in research areas of relevance to the region and nationally. This iteration of the conference will be entirely virtual and will feature an undergraduate design competition; three Keynote addresses from distinguished faculty members with diverse research, educational and cultural backgrounds; four faculty seminar sessions in the theme areas: Neural Engineering, Regenerative Engineering, Biomaterials and Biocompatibility, and Medical Product; and a special session on education – Changing the Landscape of Education – with participation from Northeast colleagues.

Outstanding submitted abstracts will be selected for podium presentations in parallel sessions grouped by topic. The remaining abstracts will be given poster presentations. Social hours with networking activities and virtual booths both for academia and industry are planned to encourage attendee engagement.

The regional nature of the conference brings together faculty from neighboring schools to discover potential for new collaborations. It also exposes undergraduate students to opportunities for graduate study at nearby institutions. The networking sessions will include discussions of career opportunities in BME, with a focus on entrepreneurship in a variety of settings.

The goal of the networking events is to also encourage interaction between students and the invited faculty speakers. Targeted recruitment strategies will reach a diverse audience, including those traditionally underrepresented, to broaden participation in biomedical engineering. Abstracts of presentations at the conference will be disseminated to professionals and the general public via the NEBEC.org website for 3-years following the conference.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.