Biomedical Engineering — A First Semester’s Deep Dive
Like most other high-school graduates nervously awaiting college move-in day, Google became my best friend. As someone who heavily schedules and organizes my day — yes, that even includes times to eat — I couldn’t fathom going to freshmen orientation without a pre-made first-semester schedule to follow before registering for classes. Hectically trying to figure out what courses I should take became utterly confusing since I was determining what I’d already placed out of with AP credits, what I needed to complete the biomedical engineering (BME) curriculum, and trying to see what Michigan students recommended taking with which professors.
Scouring the Michigan Engineering website, I saw ENGR100 and ENGR101 as required courses for freshmen. I looked through both and saw that ENGR100 had a ton of sections, with each focused on a different field of engineering and dedicated to one final team project. ENGR101 is focused on learning Matlab and C++, but I’m not that into coding and chose to put it off. I found all the biomedical engineering sections and one really spoke to me, section 500, also known as “Biotechnology, Human Values, and The Engineer.” Reading the description of the section, a great deal of what I was personally interested in basically amalgamated itself into ENGR100–500; the whole class was dedicated to discussing bioethics and engineering philosophies, learning about biotechnology, and creating an idea for a diagnostic test with a team of students and an assigned physician using the knowledge learned in class.
Though this was the only section that really piqued my interest, I was incredibly hesitant as to whether or not I should take it. Firstly, it was recommended — but not required — to take AP Biology before enrolling in this class, and the last time I took a formal biology class was my freshman year in high school. Furthermore, through some online digging, I read a fair amount of reviews from older students talking about how that class was definitely far harder than the other sections.
Passion overpowered pragmatism in this case and I hoped for there to be seats available for me to take this course — though it was unlikely since I had a late freshman orientation. I arrived at orientation, mock schedule and all in my bag, and by the time I rolled around to actually signing up for classes the only course that remained the same was ENGR100–500 (something I’ve gotten used to here at Michigan).
Within the first few lectures and discussions, the introduction of what each student would have to complete by the end of the term was presented. Each team was formed by the instructors, and throughout the course, multiple technical reports, presentations, and labs would be completed and submitted to ensure each team was keeping up to pace with other teams. As someone who barely knew how to navigate my own dorm building at this point, the sheer idea of creating a diagnostic test — let alone with a group of people I’d just met — was nerve-racking, to say the least. In our first few team meetings, large developments regarding which direction we wanted to go were made. Faith Chang, one of my lovely partners, created a logo for what we decided to call “Aster Biotechnology,” and suddenly Gantt charts, team contracts, team logs, and writing our first formal report came underway.
Though all of us were in the same section, it was interesting how different our fields of interest and overall goals were. As someone who came to Michigan knowing I wanted to pursue BME, I never thought the majority of Aster Biotechnology would be comprised of non-BME students; in fact, out of our five-person team, only Faith and I were pretty convinced that we’d major in biomedical engineering. This was both advantageous and disadvantageous because each of us had a rather different skill set to bring to the table, but once the class became very biology focused — something you’d expect from a biotechnology-based course — it began getting tougher for our peers who weren’t as committed to BME.
Even for those of us who came into the class intending to major in biomedical engineering, the pace and scientific literacy the class required became hard to deal with. Learning about techniques such as SMRT sequencing, Illumina dye sequencing, CRISPR, and so forth became a struggle without spending numerous hours outside of class and with office hours. Alongside this, Aster Biotechnology spent a minimum of three hours a week meeting in our free time to solidify our test. One of my groupmates, Ben Simmons, was rather open from the start that he wasn’t all that passionate about BME, but took the section because it fit his schedule.
After recently asking him how ENGR100–500 affected his personal thoughts and interest in BME here at Michigan, Ben said, “[our section] was a very well-tuned class to those who expressed interest in the field. In the shoes of someone who initially was not interested, I would say it definitely confirmed my choice in not choosing BME.”
Though this may sound negative, this is exactly what a class like ENGR100 should do. Though the experience was the exact opposite for me, having the opportunity to dip your feet in an actual engineering field allows for oneself to discover one's passion and abilities.
There were many times throughout the class where I truly felt like I was not enough of an engineer to continue with BME. It mostly began around midterm season — and by season, I mean basically the rest of the semester after the first month. Having classes like Physics 140 (a subject I’m honestly not that strong in) and Math 116 concurrently with a course as time intensive as ENGR100 became hectic. Especially as a first-semester freshman, I barely knew how to really study and prepare for the classes I signed up for. I didn’t want to let my teammates down, but I also didn’t want to sacrifice how I did in my three other classes for one course.
Especially around early/middle December, all the assignments and exams really got to me mentally. Reflecting back on it, I truly did have more time to study that I wasted on various other outlets — such as social media, which I’ve deleted for the most part — but at the moment I felt overwhelmed with the amount of effort each class expected me to put in. In ENGR100, a final project presentation and final project report were due; this may not sound like much, but my team and I had made immense changes to our diagnostic test around one-and-a-half weeks before both these important tasks were due.
We began meeting with each other every free second we were all available and individually worked on our large slideshow and report whenever we could do it. I remember logging into Google Slides at obscure times between 3AM-5AM and seeing two to three people looking at the final slideshow with me. We all worked diligently to memorize each and every line and concept we had to present and within one-and-a-half weeks I was more knowledgable about matrix metalloproteinases, microfluidics, and cost/benefit analyses than I ever had been.
Now having taken this course, I’m extremely glad younger-me decided not to take an easier section just for the sake of securing a grade with less effort. Even when I was struggling with managing my classes, the time I spent on our final diagnostic test never felt like time wasted, but rather, time spent on something I was passionate to create.
As my teammate Faith so eloquently put, “this was the first team project I’ve ever had in my education that really felt meaningful and significant. I know that as I pursue a career in medicine, collaboration is going to be essential, and ENGR100–500 revealed so many ways that science and teamwork come together.”
At the end of the term, Aster Biotechnology crafted and presented a theoretical diagnostic test for rheumatoid arthritis in front of five highly skilled Michigan faculty members. Not only have I gone through a once-in-a-lifetime experience here at Michigan, but I’ve also made connections with people (such as Faith, who will be my roommate next year) that will last years to come.
