University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Office of Bioengineering | University of Illinois Archives

The Bioengineering office was created in 1973 when the Urbana-Champaign Senate approved a recommendation from the College of Engineering for the establishment of a bioengineering option. Because students in any of the engineering curricula were eligible to participate in this option, this office was placed under the control of the Dean of the College.¹ As of 1987 the bioengineering option was recognized as a special program in the College of Engineering. In 2003, the program was established as a department in the College of Engineering.² It is an interdisciplinary field that brings together engineering, biology, and medicine to study ways to improve the quality of human life.³ See also Record Group 11. An option in bioengineering is also offered by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. It is administered by the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and studies new techniques and devices to deal with specific medical problems.⁴

1. Board of Trustees Transactions, 57th Report, March 21, 1973, p. 234.

2. Board of Trustees Agenda Items, July 9, 2003.

3. 1987-89 Undergraduate Programs, University of Illinois, p. 180.

4. Ibid., p. 264.