Bioengineering as a career alternative for physics graduates

Bioengineering offers a career opportunity often overlooked by physics students. Many graduate programs in bioengineering will accept students with a baccalaureate degree in Physics. Our experience with such students is limited but quite good. At the Ph.D. level bioengineers generally are involved in research in medicine or physiology, and are concerned with development of instrumentation, prosthetic devices and sensory aids; applicaiton of mathematical‐physical principles to the analysis of physiological systems; and determination of physical properties of biological materials. Examples include pressure‐flow relations in the cardiovascular system, gas exchange in the pulmonary system, electric and magnetic fields of the heart and brain, biomechanics, effects of non‐ionizing radiation and ultrasound. An area of considerable interest is that of imaging, which utilizes ultrasound, x‐rays, non‐ionizing radiation, electric currents, light, heat, etc. to provide information concerning the spatial organization of the interior of the body.