{"id":74567,"date":"2018-02-22T14:47:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T20:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=74567"},"modified":"2018-03-02T13:45:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T19:45:33","slug":"dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Dwight Waddell Directs Successful, New Biomedical Engineering Degree Program"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Electrical engineering associate professor Dwight Waddell continues teaching courses while leading UM\u2019s new biomedical engineering degree program. Submitted photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Years ago, a biomedical engineering degree program in the University of Mississippi School of Engineering was only a dream. But with 51 students accepted into the inaugural class last fall, the dream is now a wonderful reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word is apparently out,\u201d said Dwight Waddell, BME program director and associate professor of electrical engineering. \u201cOur current BME class has representatives from states across the country. Thirty-seven are new freshmen, and we had a fair number of transfers from other departments on campus after we got started last August.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea and initial work for the new program were initiated by Ramanarayanan “Vish” Viswanathan, chair and professor of electrical engineering, with support from Alex Cheng, engineering dean. Waddell, who was a UM associate professor of health, exercise and recreation management, joined the engineering faculty in 2013 to facilitate program development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was responsible for newly created courses, including Physiology for Biomedical Engineers, Biosignal Analysis, Introduction to Biomedical Engineering and a lab-based course to teach bio-measurement techniques,\u201d said Waddell, who worked with Paul Scovazzo, associate professor of chemical engineering, to launch the emphasis. \u201cPrior to this, I taught courses in biomechanics, electromyography and neuromotor control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waddell said the inaugural class is exceptional.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn truth, it is a hard curriculum, but the inaugural class was notable in their academic preparation before university,\u201d he said. \u201cThe average ACT score and high school GPA of the applicants were quite high, which was very exciting for everyone involved. The students are very proactive. They are hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last semester, the charter for UM’s Biomedical Engineering Society student chapter was established.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really two students who did the lion’s share of work getting national approval,\u201d Waddell said. \u201cA big shoutout to BME students Justin Reynolds and Juliana Davis for making it happen and recruiting over 20 inaugural student members. It is an exciting time around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

If preliminary fall 2018 enrollment figures are any indication of what\u2019s to be expected, the BME program is just getting started.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of admitted applicants for the upcoming fall term is impressive,\u201d Waddell said. \u201cAs of Feb 12, we have already admitted 142 biomedical engineering first-year students. This is a substantial increase in admitted students over the same time last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Waddell said not all of these students will decide to attend the university, he is confident that the number of incoming students will match and exceed expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur number of retained students (admitted versus actual attendees) last year was above 50 percent,\u201d he said. \u201cOn our original submission to IHL for approval, we estimated 30 freshmen for the second year, and I am confident we will meet and exceed that number.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chairs in both the electrical and chemical engineering departments said Waddell\u2019s leadership has exceeded their expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cDwight is extremely busy this academic year,\u201d Viswanathan said. \u201cIn addition to advising all (biomedical engineering) students, he\u2019s juggling teaching two courses each semester, advising students\u2019 research, conducting a search for two tenure-track faculty positions and serving on several university committees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDwight has done an outstanding job of moving the BME program forward,\u201d said John O\u2019Haver, chair and professor of chemical engineering. \u201cHis passion for the program, for the students, and his ability to work well with the departments that are involved in the program have caused it to progress rapidly and well.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former postdoctoral researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Waddell has a master’s and a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana State University.<\/p>\n

The Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved the biomedical engineering program in 2016. Biomedical engineering prepares students for rapidly growing opportunities in three primary job markets: biomolecular engineering, biomedical systems engineering and bioinformatics.<\/p>\n

For more information about UM\u2019s biomedical engineering program, visit https:\/\/engineering.olemiss.edu\/biomedical\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago, a biomedical engineering degree program in the University of Mississippi School of Engineering was only a dream. But with 51 students accepted into the inaugural class last fall, the dream is now a wonderful reality. \u201cThe word is apparently out,\u201d said Dwight Waddell, BME program director and associate professor of electrical engineering. \u201cOurRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1334,1285,765,178,1297],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDwight Waddell Directs Successful, New Biomedical Engineering Degree Program - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dwight Waddell Directs Successful, New Biomedical Engineering Degree Program - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Years ago, a biomedical engineering degree program in the University of Mississippi School of Engineering was only a dream. But with 51 students accepted into the inaugural class last fall, the dream is now a wonderful reality. \u201cThe word is apparently out,\u201d said Dwight Waddell, BME program director and associate professor of electrical engineering. \u201cOurRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-22T20:47:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-02T19:45:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ENGIMG-3-168x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ENGIMG-3-168x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/\",\"name\":\"Dwight Waddell Directs Successful, New Biomedical Engineering Degree Program - Ole Miss News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-02-22T20:47:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-02T19:45:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6f4ed6d2875ea26cc820d0eb0568d652\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dwight-waddell-directs-successful-new-biomedical-engineering-degree-program\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6f4ed6d2875ea26cc820d0eb0568d652\",\"name\":\"esmith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47640a561d7e19d1e29d52a4797cff04?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"esmith\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74567"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74567"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75360,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74567\/revisions\/75360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}