Enhancing the STEM Curriculum Through a Multidisciplinary Approach that Integrates Biology and Engineering.

Due to the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular and orthopedic disorders in today's modern society, there is a necessity to engineer biomaterials that improve the quality of life for people with painful and debilitating diseases. This will require educational institutions to provide specialized instruction in these areas. Yet, there have been relatively few published reports on biomaterials and tissue engineering-related lab activities, and existing activities lack a foundation in materials science. A primary deliverable of this project is to address this need and thus strengthen science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education by developing interactive experiments that introduce tissue engineering through a biomaterials design perspective, emphasizing mechanics, cell behavior, and drug delivery. Cutting-edge methods in these fields have been adapted so they can be applied starting at the freshman level through upper level electives in chemical, mechanical, or biomedical engineering and cellular/molecular biology. The anticipated results of the project will be i) the implementation of curricular materials that fulfill a need in STEM education, ii) increased student interest in pursuing undergraduate and graduate study in STEM disciplines, iii) higher student retention in science and engineering majors, iv) and the development of a well-rounded workforce of engineers prepared to find multidisciplinary engineering solutions to the growing health care needs of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]