Engineering for the Life Sciences - Teaching
Engineering for the Life Sciences is a major initiative in the Department providing a forum for research and training at the interface of engineering, biology and medicine. Two key focuses are:
- Understanding living things through application of engineering sciences including engineering principles of molecular biology, bioinformatics, mechanics of biological tissues, systems physiology, and neuroscience.
- Developing devices, algorithms and processes that advance biology and medicine including biomaterials, biomedical imaging, application of microelectromechanical systems for biological sensing (BioMEMS) and biomimetics.
This field is rapidly expanding with the number of jobs in biological engineering predicted to grow strongly over the next decade. The Department's initiative addresses this need both with world-leading research and excellent undergraduate teaching.
Third year
Students intending to qualify in this Engineering Area in the third year must include at least 6 of the modules listed below and must take at least three modules from 3G1, 3G2, 3G3, 3G4 and 3G5.
| Number and title of module | ||
 |
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| 3G1 | Introduction to molecular bioengineering | |
| 3G2 | Mathematical physiology | |
| 3G3 | Introduction to neuroscience | |
| 3G4 | Medical imaging and 3D computer graphics | |
| 3G5 | Biomaterials | |
| 3C7 | Mechanics of solids | |
| 3D7 | Finite element methods | |
| 3F1 | Signals and systems | |
| 3F3 | Signal and pattern processing | |
There is a growing need for a more integrated approach to the understanding of biological systems, providing many opportunities for the application of engineering to clinical and life sciences. Engineering for the Life Sciences is a rapidly growing field encompassing the use of engineering tools to solve problems in medicine and biology as well as new quantitative approaches to biological systems based on engineering principles.
The modules particularly focus on the application of Mechanics and Information Processing to the Life Sciences. The module selection allows those who wish to specialise in Mechanics and the Life Sciences to take modules such as 3G1, 3G2, 3G4, 3G5, 3C7 & 3D7 and those who wish to specialise in Information Processing and the Life Sciences to take modules such as 3G1, 3G2, 3G3, 3G4, 3F1 & 3F3. For those who would like a broad training in both Mechanics and Information Processing a combination of the above modules can be selected.
Area activity: Bioengineering: bread making.
Fourth year modules
Students intending to qualify in this Engineering Area must include at least four of the modules listed below of which at least two must be G modules:
| Number and title of module | ||
|
||
| 4G1 | Systems biology | |
| 4G2 | Biosensors | |
| 4G4 | Biomimetics | |
| 4G5 | Biomolecular modelling | |
| 4G6 | Cellular and molecular biomechanics | |
| 4C4 | Design methods | |
| 4C5 | Design case studies | |
| 4C9 | Continuum mechanics | |
| 4F8 | Image processing and image coding | |
| 4F12 | Computer vision and robotics | |
| 4F13 | Machine learning | |
| 4I8 | Medical physics | |