McCormick to Offer New MS in Global and Ecological Health Engineering
McCormick students will soon have another graduate degree option: an MS in Global and Ecological Health Engineering.
The new program, which recently received three years of funding from the National Science Foundation, will allow students to focus on the innovative design of medical devices for underserved populations throughout the world, including poor communities in the United States.
"McCormick is continually searching for innovative opportunities for our students," says Julio M. Ottino, dean of the McCormick School. "This program has resulted from our strong partnerships with universities and healthcare facilities in Africa, Central America, and around the world. Students in this program will have considerable experience and a unique set of tools and experiences that will allow them to address today's global challenges."
Students in the program will take 12 courses in engineering, science and mathematics, with an additional four courses dedicated to design, innovation, and the deployment of medical devices in resource-poor environments. Students will also work on research projects onsite in interdisciplinary teams and will leave the program with an MS in either biomedical or environmental engineering.
McCormick students and faculty have already had success in engineering global health solutions around the world. The Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies (CIGHT) is a collaboration between McCormick, the Kellogg School of Management, and the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. Students and professors involved in the center have worked on projects such as affordable X-ray imaging technologies, innovative infant apnea monitors, and low-cost HIV tests for infants.
"Health is and will remain one of the nation's largest economic sectors. The problems of global and environmental health are among the greatest challenges facing this generation of engineers," says Matt Glucksberg, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and one of the leaders of the program. "This new program will train students to addresses these challenges through innovation and design."
Graduates of this program will be qualified to work in medical device industry, and related jobs in government, and would be exceptionally qualified to join non-profits and global NGO's that serve resource-poor sectors of the domestic or international economies.
The program is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.