1. A First Experience with External Senior Design Mentors Joseph Tranquillo, Donna Ebenstein, James Baish, William King, Daniel Cavanagh Bucknell Biomedical Engineering Program

2. Bucknell BME curriculum characterized by: Small class sizes (<18) Hands-on labs associated with most classes Eight Project/Design based courses Two design and manufacturing courses Progression of open-ended experiences Many opportunities to design and build Although open-ended, the context is limited e.g. Signals and Systems Project Students choose topics Have not yet needed to decided which skills to use. Year 1-3: Build a Skill Set

3. Course: (Course Coordinator) Semester 1: Develop problem ID and design solution Semester 2: Make prototype Projects: (Faculty Mentor) Problem originates from external BME expert Students drive solution to problem Stay out of the way! Learning: (Students) Apply skill set to a real world problem Create a functional prototype Drive the process Year 4: Use the Skill Set

4. Mentor is an MD, RN or PhD (not an engineer) Student: “What bugs you about your job?” Help student teams Identify problem Develop alternative solutions Perform feasibility tests Choose optimal solution Test prototype Read written work and attend oral presentations Presence at periodic meetings with student teams Assistance in acquiring materials Role of the External Mentor NOT a Client!!!

5. Positive Characteristics Students spend considerable time on Problem ID Frequent written and oral presentations Formal and informal in many formats and settings Importance of audience Professional behavior Interdisciplinary teams (ABET) Core: Student Team, advisor, mentor Periphery: Regular meetings with BME faculty Creating a novel medical prototype First-hand clinical exposure Patents Life-long learning Students (ABET again) Faculty (motivation) Press

6. Challenges Buy-in from external mentors Dedicate time and energy through the year Sacrifice productivity for education of students Conflicts between competing objectives Institutional legal positions Project move at different rates Variation in expert/advisors and rigid due dates Students received little numerical feedback Prototypes look simple Envy of products generated by other departments Challenges provide many non-technical teachable moments

7. Our First Prototypes Cryoablation Zebrafish washing device Multi-input Infusion Device Pediatric Mixing Unit Force Indicator for Trocar

8. Our Next Iteration Held expo at Geisginer Medical Center to generate interest All projects mentored by Geisginer staff More clear written expectations of all roles More regular numerical feedback to students Three Week Rapid Design Contest