Seminar Series
“Innovating Biomedical Engineering Education: Development and Evaluation of a New Medical Devices Design Course”
Sarah Rooney, PhD
Associate Professor of BME
University of Delaware
Abstract: Biomedical engineering undergraduates often encounter discipline-specific and design-focused coursework late in their academic journey, limiting early development of professional identity and industry-relevant skills. To attempt to address this gap, funding from an NIH R25 grant supported the development of a sophomore-level course, BMEG260: Introduction to Medical Device Design, which immerses students in authentic industry practices through team-based projects, CAD modeling, regulatory analysis, and stakeholder evaluation. A central innovation of the course is the integration of Voice of the Customer (VoC) videos—interviews with medical device users—that support needs-finding, design input generation, empathy development, and engagement. This seminar will present insights and challenges from a multi-year evaluation of the course and share how to access the VoC videos for use in other courses.
Bio: (she/her) As a teaching-focused faculty member and Associate Chair of Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Studies at the University of Delaware, Dr. Sarah I. Rooney’s efforts center around developing and teaching courses in the undergraduate BME curriculum and facilitating continuous improvement of the program. She teaches biomechanics, medical devices and design courses spanning sophomore to senior years, clinical immersion, and a technical elective bridging engineering and exercise physiology. As PI of an NIH R25 grant, Dr. Rooney has developed a sophomore medical devices course that integrates industry and clinical connections. She has been recognized for her teaching with the national American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Biomedical Engineering Teaching Award (2018) and with the University of Delaware College of Engineering Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching (2022).
For a zoom link please contact Kate Harrison at kharrison@wpi.edu