engineering and running

I believe Max King was a chemical engineering major at Cornell.

I'm a mechanical engineer double majoring in math, and while I haven't found many classes difficult in either discipline, my hardest math class was way harder than anything else I've taken. To not fail algebra/analysis you really need to be a super genius or spend a lot of time studying.

I teach at a major engineering university in the Middle East - King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and my take on this is that you have around 10% of very smart students, then a large body of average ones, followed by a minority who should not be there and you wonder how they got in.

For engineering, natural aptitude and an interest are half the battle. Here in Saudi Arabia, most of my students admit that they want to be engineers for the prestige and the money. Also once they 'qualify' and work for a company like ARAMCO, they hardly do any engineering work. They leave that to the Indians and Pakistanis who show much more aptitude and discipline.

It is of concern that many engineers here pass their courses with minimal standards. The work ethic here is really lacking. This is not a reading or study culture.

Ghost in Saudi,

www.kfupm.edu.sa

, apply today

Try architecture.

Architecture's not necessarily the hardest, although I would agree it is the most time consuming.

47 wrote:

Architecture's not necessarily the hardest, although I would agree it is the most time consuming.

it's also not engineering

Not a runner but a near UFC heavyweight champion, Shane Carwin, works (or at least was) full time as an engineer while also training for UFC

from roids

Mike Smayda was a mechanical engineer at Cornell.

Bo waggoner at duke finished fifth in ACCs and is a world finalist for the ACM international collegiate programming competition

dznuts wrote:

I would say biomedical

As a soon-to-be biomded grad, I'd have to agree...but I've never tried to earn a degree in any other kind of engineering... ;)

uh_no wrote:

Bo waggoner at duke finished fifth in ACCs and is a world finalist for the ACM international collegiate programming competition

oh, I didn't realize computer science was engineering.

heath

What kind of classes do you have to take for BME?Sorry, I"m just in high school and that is what I'm seriously considering in majoring in. I'm very good in math and science classes so I thought it would be perfect. I don't know, I was just hoping you, or someone else, could enlighten me

shortshorts wrote:

dznuts wrote:

I would say biomedical

As a BME I would disagree. I feel like a biology major who understands math and physics. I love taking all the biolgoy classes with the L&S kids and listening to them complain about the stuff we learn. My roommate is a CS guy and he spends a lot more time on projects and work than I do.

As many others have said, if you have to spend an exorbitant amount of time on your studies to understand/remember what you are being taught maybe you should consider another major. Running and engineering a fine match.

Correct me if I'm wrong... wrote:

I believe Max King was a chemical engineering major at Cornell.

He was also academic all-conference in 2000 for XC (essentially schools pick the smartest athletic contributors for this recognition).

I'm guessing every school has a slightly different curriculum but I have had to take a very broad range of classes, many of them combining different aspects of math, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, physiology and physics. We also do some work with circuits/electronics but I don't especially like that area so I try to steer clear. It has been a very interesting major for me as I am fascinated by how the human body really "works" and how the body can be changed/altered/tweaked (ie, engineered). I also enjoy the design process of engineering and tinkering. That said, I am actually pursuing medical school but feel that my engineering training will give me a much different perspective when compared to the typical biology applicants. The one complaint I, and other undergrads in BME, have is that the BME major doesn't feel like a very niche major; we feel like a "jacks of all trades, master of none" major when compared to other engineering disciplines (EE, ChemE, EMA, etc.).

At my university we have to pick a BME emphasis in one area within BME and take a specific number of classes to fulfill a depth requirement during undergrad. I chose biomaterials/tissue engineering but other tracts include medical instrumentation, medical imaging, biomechanics, and health care systems and medical informatics. All of these tracts have strong ties to other engineering disciplines but include a heavy biology/human aspect which is what interests me. Classes I took this fall (senior year) were tissue engineering, stem cell bioengineering, biochemical engineering, engineering design with polymers, biology in engineering seminar, independent lab research and a capstone design class. There is so much variability that you can mix into the major if you chose to. I would definitely recommend BME for anyone interested in biology and engineering.

This will probably be a lot of info to look (and a bit overwhelming if you don't have anyone to walk you through it) but here is our undergraduate course packet. Skip the flowcharts and look at the text on pgs 1-4 & 14-17 for how my school defines BME and what courses we offer. Hope this helps a bit.

http://www.engr.wisc.edu/bme/pdfs/BMEUndergraduateBrochure.pdf

One more thing. Wherever you end up going to school find out who the advisor is for the BME department and set up a meeting sometime during your first year. Explain that you are interested in BME but want to hear more about what it has to offer. Its their job to help advise you so make sure to take advantage of it.

At Wisconsin, there is the EE with computers program and there is a CS Department, which are separate, I think.

FU wrote:

Anybody who tells you that they didn't have to study either went to a school that has low standards or is just completely full of it.

Yep. I got an EE degree at Georgia Tech in the 1990s and am now working on an EE masters at Maryland. Mucho studying both times. Maybe there will be some engineering classes that you will just "get" and not have to study for, but they are going to be few and far between.