By Miharu Sugie, News Staff

A new department of bioengineering joined Northeastern’s College of Engineering last week, increasing the university’s potential to expand in the Boston biotechnology industry.

Students have been able to pursue a doctorate in bioengineering before, but with the Department of Bioengineering established, students can now pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in bioengineering. It has not been decided yet when the first students will be accepted into the new program.

“Northeastern already does a great deal of research and training in Bioengineering,” said Lee Makowski, the new program’s interim chair. “That work is spread across the College of Engineering, College of Science, College of Computer and Information Science and Bouve. We felt that a new department would provide a focus for these efforts and also make it easier for the university to publicize its strength in bioengineering.”

Engineering students can expect a myriad of research opportunities, ranging from environmental microbiology to bioelectricity, within one branch of engineering.

“Engineering tolerances and specifications, materials properties, design considerations, all have to be different when the systems you are designing will interact or interface with a biological system,” Makowski said. “At Northeastern, bioengineering will be a rigorous engineering discipline with a focus on the challenges of engineering in a biological context.”

Ethan Penner, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said that he is considering switching to bioengineering. Penner became interested in bioengineering because of the many possibilities it offers: from bioelectric circuits to new artificial limbs.

“Creating a department for bioengineering will provide a voice for this field from a variety of engineering faculty that will then allow for a greater push for funds and lab space to new projects in this field,” Penner said.

Makowski said he thinks the Department of Bioengineering will bring an exciting future for Northeastern, attracting faculty with new and exciting research programs and excellent students.

“[The new department] will allow students who truly want to go into that field to really go for it and get the specified education in topics most closely related to what they will need to know,” Penner said.

Makowski, who began teaching at Northeastern about three years ago, said that after his role as interim chair he will participate in developing the program with other departments’ faculty and welcoming the future inaugurated chair of the department. Until the chair of the department is inaugurated, the interim chair will further develop the new program’s vision and recruit other faculty, according to Makowski.

“I’m not sure, yet, what I will be teaching, but I’ve never taught a course I didn’t enjoy, so I look forward to it,” he said.