The Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex, the new home for Biomedical Engineering!

Only at Ohio State will two accomplished departments—biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering—co-locate together in a facility offering unlimited opportunity for discovery. A facility with a mandate for collaboration in its design DNA, that will unite students, faculty and industry partners to solve problems across disciplines. A facility that will set a new bar for innovation in higher education and research.

Phase one construction of the Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex, scheduled to open in 2020, will transform the aging engineering buildings on West 19th Avenue into a cutting-edge five-floor facility commensurate with the excellence of the departments it will welcome. Visually stunning, and with every attention paid to functionality, the complex will showcase the exceptional teaching and research happening in the heart of Ohio State’s main campus, while inspiring life-saving, unprecedented advances in the rapidly growing field of biomaterials.

“The Department of Biomedical Engineering collaborates closely with the College of Medicine, which helps us translate our technology to patients in a clinical environment. The Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex will open up a world of opportunity, increasing access to our engineering collaborators—especially with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The disease-based research neighborhoods will bring together engineers across disciplines to develop technologies that will be used in the Wexner Medical Center and beyond to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.

For undergraduates, the location on central campus will be transformative. With the Fisher College of Business across the street, there will be more opportunities for entrepreneurial collaboration. And with education on display in the atrium, the general public can see what biomedical engineering is all about.

The building is so well designed, with attractive spaces that people will naturally want to use. That will lead to more coffee cup conversations and collaborations.”

Samir Ghadiali - Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Before the first architectural plans were drawn, before dignitaries gathered to break ground, the Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex was conceived with its users in mind.

Undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members and support staff were consulted for their feedback: How can modern classrooms empower students through experiential learning? How can building design lead to desired research outcomes—with potential for commercialization of intellectual property and translation to clinical applications supported at every turn?

The result?

A paradigm-shifting facility that promotes 21st century teaching and learning, unmatched in its capacity for innovation and collaboration.

IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

Imagine the possibilities when our immensely talented faculty and students have access to a world-class facility—the discoveries they will make, the problems they will solve.

The Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex will inspire advances in research that translate to advances in medicine, education and commercialization of technologies that will impact generations to come.

MAXIMIZING RESEARCH IMPACT

The College of Engineering’s research expenditures are already among the highest at the university, ranking third in the nation among all university engineering programs. The complex will help to continue this upward trajectory, presenting more opportunities for researchers to partner with interdisciplinary co-investigators, leading to more federal research awards and industry research investments, which increasingly reward collaboration across disciplines to solve complicated problems. Undergraduate participation in research will also increase through the scaffolded learning model that moves students up from introductory courses on the first and second floors of the building to research experiences on the upper floors. As research dollars rise, the college will experience more success with strategic faculty recruiting.

SHOWCASING TEACHING AND LEARNING

Students at the complex will experience one of the best learning atmospheres in the nation. This will be evident to all who visit, as walls of windows in classrooms will put experiential teaching and learning on display. The complex will enable both departments to significantly increase their student body, and engage in proactive student recruiting as the best, brightest students worldwide are drawn to pursue opportunities at Ohio State.

CREATING PURPOSEFUL SYNERGIES AND COLLABORATIONS

With collaboration in its very DNA, the complex will strengthen partnerships within the university and with industry and government. Partners may use the facility for off-site meetings, to demonstrate new technologies to students and faculty, and to learn about intellectual property and commercialization opportunities at Ohio State. Companies will have opportunities to get to know and recruit our talented students who will have learned to take risks and make mistakes in our laboratories.

ENORMOUS POTENTIAL FOR BREAKTHROUGHS IN BIOMATERIALS

When the departments of biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering come together, amazing advances are possible— particularly in biomaterials. The facility will position Ohio State for true leadership in this area, as engineers partner with colleagues in the College of Medicine and across other disciplines to develop biomaterials that improve and save lives.

With the global market for biomaterials projected to reach $115 billion by the end of 2020, Ohio State has enormous potential to advance technologies including engineered tissue, implantable drug delivery devices, stem cell scaffolds, joint replacements and biodegradable stents.