Biological Systems Engineering - Background and Organization

Background and Organization

Many college and university biological engineering departments have a history of being grounded in agricultural engineering and have only in the last decade or so changed their names to reflect the movement towards more diverse biological based engineering programs. This major is sometimes called Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Biological and Environmental Engineering, etc., in different universities.

Since biological engineering covers a wide spectrum, many departments now offer specialization options. Depending on the department and the specialization options offered within each program, curricula may overlap with other related fields. There are a number of different titles for BSE-related departments at various universities. The professional societies commonly associated with many Biological Engineering programs include the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the Institute of Biological Engineering (IBE), which generally encompasses BSE.

A biological systems engineer has a background in what both environmental engineers and biologists do, thus bridging the gap between engineering and the (non-medical) biological sciences. For this reason, biological systems engineers are becoming integral parts of many environmental engineering firms, federal agencies, and biotechnology industries.

Read more about this topic:  Biological Systems Engineering

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