Biomedical Engineering: Biothermodynamics

Inter-disciplinary; guides the student through the thermodynamics of living organisms, comprised of the study of energy transformation in the life sciences. Designed for students from the STEM disciplines. Covers Gibbs free energy, statistical thermodynamics, binding equilibria, and reaction kinetics. Prerequisites: Successful completion of Materials and Mechanics Lab such as ME 2111, Thermo-Fluid Labs such as ME 2321, or Biomedical design such as BME 3600 is assumed; Graduate student or Instructor permission. Cross-listed with: ME 5440.

Cross-listed with ME 5440; Total combined enrollment: 30; Graduate student or instructor permission Open to degree and PACE students

This is an inter-disciplinary course designed to guide the student through the thermodynamics of living organisms, which is comprised of the study of energy transformation in the life sciences. This course is designed for students from the STEM disciplines (biology, biochemistry, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, and physics). A basic understanding of thermodynamics is recommended. Gibbs free energy, statistical thermodynamics, binding equilibria, and reaction kinetics will be covered over the course of the semester. This course heavily focuses on free energy and entropy in natural based materials.

By the end of this course, students should be able to: • Recognize the principals and translate the concepts of natural materials and thermodynamics to self-assembled systems and materials reactions. • Consider the environmental effects of using components that nature uses, as sustainable resources, and how we can manufacture materials and machines which mimic the function of man-made materials comprises of non-renewable resources. • Employ the structure-property-function relationship of a biological tissue related to thermodynamics to write a document on the current knowledge and future of research in that area.

Final grades will be issued according to the distribution shown below. Final grades may be curved to identify grade distributions; however, the curve is meant to elevate the course grade and not make the grade more restrictive. Final Grade Contribution: • Two exams @ 30% each……………………………………………….………60% • Assignment: Pitch for bioinspired machine………………….………..15% • Individual research summary and presentation ……………………25% • Exam: Two midterms of 50 minutes each will be given during the scheduled meeting time. All exams will be closed-book and must be completed independently. The approximate date of each exam is given below in the course schedule. The material covered by the exam will be announced before the date of the exam. • Student Research Presentation: On the day of the presentation, abstracts will be handed in, written in own words (500 words) to summarize points of the research project. Students will teach the class for 5 minutes on a subject in biomaterials at the end of the semester. A computer and LCD projector will be provided; you may also use your own computers. The presentation should be in PowerPoint format and the slides should be uploaded to Brightspace no later than one day before the class presentations begin.