Bioengineers offer students job advice

About 50 Bioengineering majors earned a better understanding last night of an issue that troubles students in all fields: what jobs are available for them after they receive their degrees. At a mini-career night in the Towne Building's Alumni Hall, three University alumni who now work in the bioengineering field spoke in a panel discussion about how what they learned in college affects their daily lives. The Society of Bioengineering organized the event. Stuart Portnoy, a bioengineer and doctor for the last four years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Washington, passed around some of the medical devices he tests as he explained the long road he took to the FDA. Portnoy, who described himself as "half engineer, half doctor," said he sees ideas from his bioengineering curriculum "come into play in the real world" as he reviews products -- such as electronic pacemakers and heart catheters -- that companies want to test on patients. Catherine Ford of Failure Analysis Associates Inc. said her consulting work falls in between industry and academics, an amorphous area where most bioengineers tend to find work. Ford said she deals with "anyone who gets sued when someone gets hurt" -- mostly in car accidents -- often appearing as an expert witness in court. She works on biomechanical analysis and human injury analysis at the Philadelphia branch of the Menlo Park, Calif., company, which has investigated high-profile disasters ranging from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to the Oklahoma City bombing. Ford said nearly all areas of her engineering background are crucial to her work. "It's amazing how far 'F equals m-a' can get you," she said, referring to the basic physics equation that equates force with mass times acceleration. Jonathan Gaev of Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based ECRI, "the Consumer Report of medical equipment," said he uses engineering as well as clinical knowledge in his work in international marketing and consulting. But he noted that "communication skills are vital." In the question-and-answer session that followed, Ford explained what she sees as the difference between a bioengineering degree and a standard engineering degree. "Especially recently, the line between biology and engineering has blurred significantly," she said. After the formal part of the session ended, students mingled with the professionals over sandwiches and heard more personal advice about the field. Society of Bioengineering President Saiful Khandker, an Engineering senior, said the program aimed to show students that "there are jobs out there" and to establish a network of alumni that students can turn to for resources. Although Engineering sophomore Lytal Kaufman said she does not know what she wants to do with her degree -- noting that she was "only a sophomore" -- she still appreciated the forum for giving her "a taste of what's out there."