Definition of Bioengineering

 

Bioengineering is a discipline that applies engineering principles to biological systems for the purpose of developing new technologies of services to improve the living standards of societies. It exploits the new developments in molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, cell metabolism and engineering principles and applies them in order to understand  living systems and to bring solutions  various problems associated with these systems.

 

            Biotechnology is a popular term for the generic technology of the 21st century.  Although it has been utilised for centuries in traditional production processes, modern biotechnology is only 50 years old and in the last decades it has been witnessing tremendous developments.  Bioengineering is the science upon which all Biotechnological applications are based.

 

Bioengineering employs the knowledge and expertise in a number of pure and applied sciences such as; mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysis, biomechanics, separation, and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science which constitute the fundamentals of engineering and couples it with knowledge in  biological sciences  such as  genetics, molecular biology, protein chemistry, cytology, neurobiology, immunology and pharmacology, aiming to solve the different problems of the various sectors of the modern  societies.           

                        With the development of new approaches and modern techniques, traditional biotechnology industries are also acquiring new horizons enabling them to improve the quality of their products and increase the productivity of their systems.

 

The Main Fields of Bioengineering

 

  • Bioprocess Engineering; Bioprocess Design, Biocatalysis, Bioseparation.
  • Genetic Engineering; Cell Engineering, Tissue Culture Engineering.
  • Biomedical Engineering; Biomedical Diagnosis, Biomedical Therapy, Biomechanics, Biomaterials.
  • Molecular Engineering; Protein Engineering, Design of Active Compounds
  • Biotechnology; Industrial Biotechnology, Plant and Animal Biotechnology, Environmental Biotechnology.

 

History of Bioengineering at Ege University

 

            Research and education of Biotechnology at Ege University dates back to 1979.   The establishment of the Department of Biochemistry and Biochemical Engineering was the first attempt in this regard. Biotechnology Center for Research and Applications of was founded in 1989, and accepted first students to its multidisciplinary Biotechnology Graduate Program in 1991.

 

Ege University, Department of Bioengineering was established in 2000 as the first and only Bioengineering Department in Turkey. Since its establishment, the Department of Bioengineering has expanded speedily, to 18 full-time staff, 128 undergraduate students, 31 M.Sc. and 15  Ph.D students. 

 

            The Department of bioengineering aims to graduate students, equipped with a good fundamental knowledge on Bioengineering and related disciplines, aware of the most recent applications, skilled in multidisciplinary communication.

 

Job Opportunities

            Graduates of the Department of  Bioengineering can find employment in food, agriculture, environment and pharmaceutical industries. They are well educated to work in the design, production, marketing of bioproducts. There are also job opportunities for them in hospitals, research and educational institutions and government regulatory agencies. Related to the projected Progress in biotechnology industries will lead to new areas of employment for personnel with such qualifications.