Twentieth Anniversary Celebration

Dear Bioengineering Community,

As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of our department of bioengineering, we reflect with pride on the journey we have undertaken since welcoming our first class of students in 2004. We have achieved remarkable progress, with our productivity, scholarly impact, and rankings reaching an all-time high.

Our commitment to excellence remains steadfast. We are excited to introduce new programs, expand our faculty and infrastructure, and welcome our largest incoming class to date! This milestone year will be marked by a series of events and celebrations, culminating in the Frontiers of Bioengineering Symposium in April 2025. We invite you to join us in celebrating these achievements.

Your support and involvement have been crucial to our success, and together, we look forward to the next 20 years.

Thank you for being a valued part of our community.

Warm regards,

Mark Anastasio
Department Head
Donald Biggar Willett Professor in Engineering

Bioengineering through the years

Officially welcoming our first class in 2004, bioengineering at Illinois traces its origins to the groundbreaking research conducted six decades earlier by faculty like ultrasound pioneers William Fry and Floyd Dunn in the Electrical Engineering Research Lab (EERL), which stood on what is now the Bardeen Quad. Another prominent faculty member was affiliate professor Paul Lauterbur, who received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Medicine for developments in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which revolutionized the medical profession and continues to be a significant area of study in the department of bioengineering.

Bioengineering was originally (1973) an undergraduate degree program housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) before becoming an official department in the college of engineering in 2003. The range of disciplines involved in the department of bioengineering has increased greatly over time, with research continuing to evolve in the area of bioimaging at multi-scale and further expanding in molecular, cellular and tissue engineering, bio-micro and nanotechnology, computational bioengineering, synthetic bioengineering and health care systems engineering.

Learn more about our history

20th anniversary essays

To commemorate this important milestone we are collecting stories and reflections from our faculty, students, and alumni about the impact and significance of the department of bioengineering.

Featured Essays

April

20th Anniversary Frontiers of Bioengineering Research Symposium

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Everitt Laboratory and IHotel & Conference Center

20th Anniversary Seminar Series

In honor of our twentieth year, the department has assembled a group of preeminent researchers in the field of bioengineering to share their groundbreaking insights.

See the full schedule here

Support the Department of Bioengineering

Your involvement and support makes our work possible. Through our department, you can help shape the future of bioengineering.

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