Biological engineering

Modeling of the Spread of Disease Using Cellular Automata and Nearest Neighbor Interactions

Biological Engineering, biotechnological engineering or bioengineering (including biological systems engineering) is the application of engineering principles to address challenges in the fields of biology and medicine. The overlap with Biomedical Engineering can be unclear, as many universities now use the terms "bioengineering" and "biomedical engineering" interchangeably. But whenever a distinction is made, "biological" engineering (like biotechnology) tends to emphasize the use of biological substances - applying engineering principles to molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, protein chemistry, cytology, immunology, neurobiology and neuroscience. Neither bio-engineering nor biomedical engineering is wholly contained within the other, as there are non-biological products for medical needs and biological products for non-medical needs.

The word bioengineering was coined by British scientist and broadcaster Heinz Wolff in 1954. The term bioengineering is also used to describe the use of vegetation in civil engineering construction. The term bioengineering may also be applied to environmental modifications such as surface soil protection, slope stabilisation, watercourse and shoreline protection, windbreaks, vegetation barriers including noise barriers and visual screens, and the ecological enhancement of an area.

The first biological engineering program was created at Mississippi State University in 1967, making it the first Biological Engineering curriculum in the United States.

Biological Engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, and other important medical needs that improve the living standards of societies.

Biological Engineers or bioengineers are engineers who use the principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible products. In general, biological engineers attempt to either mimic biological systems in order to create products or modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, or sustain chemical and mechanical processes. Bioengineers can apply their expertise to other applications of engineering and biotechnology, including genetic modification of plants and microorganisms, bioprocess engineering, and biocatalysis.

Because other engineering disciplines also address living organisms (e.g., prosthetics in mechanical engineering), the term biological engineering can be applied more broadly to include agricultural engineering and biotechnology. In fact, many old agricultural engineering departments in universities over the world have rebranded themselves as agricultural and biological engineering or agricultural and biosystems engineering. Biological engineering is also called bioengineering by some colleges and Biomedical engineering is called Bioengineering by others, and is a rapidly developing field with fluid categorization. The Main Fields of Bioengineering may be categorised as:

• Bioprocess Engineering: Bioprocess Design, Biocatalysis, Bioseparation, Bioinformatics
• Genetic Engineering: Synthetic Biology, Cell Engineering, Tissue Culture Engineering, Horizontal gene transfer.
• Biomedical Engineering: Biomedical technology, Biomedical Diagnosis, Biomedical Therapy, Biomechanics, Biomaterials.

External links

• Institute of Biological Engineering
• American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering
• American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
• Society for Biological Engineering part of AIChE
• Interdisciplinary Bioengineering Graduate Program (IBGP), Georgia Institute of Technology
• Yildiz Technical University Bioengineering Department
• Division of Biological Engineering MuBeta Laboratory part of Monash University
• Department of Biological Engineering part of University of Minho
• Institute of Biomedical Engineering, UNB
• UC San Diego, Department of Bioengineering, UCSD BE part of University of California, San Diego
• Department of Bioresource Engineering part of McGill University
• Department of Biological Engineering part of Massachusetts Institute of Technology