"Biomedical engineers are just about the best group of graduate students on campus," says Steven Goldstein, who heads the UM's Orthopaedics Laboratory. Called a "pillar" of the bioengineering program, the laboratory has a long history of training biomedical engineers at the University and is one of the largest training sites.

Currently 18 graduate students from the biomedical engineering program are associated with the laboratory. Their program of study is set up "to tap the strengths of independent-minded, confident students," Goldstein says.

Students are exposed to many technical methods. By the end of their second year, they've generally worked on four or five projects. They have learned to test a question, prioritize, make decisions, and organize. "We hope they enjoy themselves, get a lot done, and choose a topic for research," says Goldstein.

For the bioengineering program, students write their dissertation proposals in the format of a National Institutes of Health grant proposal so they get experience at that important task. By the time the students have earned their degrees, they have worked on five to eight projects, and have research expertise beyond the thesis itself.

Engineering students work with surgeons as well as basic scientists. They attend seminars with the medical students at the UM hospitals. "This helps them develop a clinical acuity," says Goldstein.

A mix of experiences for the students is provided through collaborations with other researchers at the University and with industry and the National Institutes of Health. "We live in an academic world, but students need to be prepared to go into many avenues. Through our corporate affiliates program they learn about industry and expectations in such jobs. There are also a lot of entrepreneurial efforts in the lab. This gives them a chance to see what these different kinds of careers are like," he says.

"I think biomedical engineering entices creative students. It is a demanding field with few standard approaches. Students must have enormous self-confidence and still understand their own limits.

"Biomedical engineering is a very special discipline. You have to be able to fit expertise from many areas into an integrated package. You must live in and have credibility in multiple camps," Goldstein says.