University of Kentucky’s Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) is a professional student organization committed to nurturing student education and involvement in the biomedical engineering field. It is a student chapter of the national Biomedical Engineering Society (http://www.bmes.org/). In 1990, students in the UK Biomedical Engineering program formed a local chapter of the BMES under the direction of faculty advisor Dr. Betty Sisken. In the time since its inception, the UK BMES student chapter has been awarded the national society’s Meritorious Achievement Award four times.
The UK BMES is a member organization of the College of Engineering’s Engineering Student Council (ESC) and takes part in the college’s annual Engineers Day (E-Day) Open House.
The chapter organizes several events aimed at getting students involved in the biomedical engineering field. These have included trips to medical device companies, hosting professional guest speakers, collaborative educational meetings, and more. Through the years, the UK BMES has taken part in community outreach and service by participating in activities including demonstrations at schools, judging science fairs, tutoring, and building with Habitat for Humanity.
For updates, chapter news, and educational content related to biomedical engineering, follow the UK BMES on Twitter and Instagram. To contact the UK-BMES, please email bmes.uky@gmail.com.
Trisha SullivanPresident
Madison KorfhageVice President
Samaneh Rabienia HaratbarTreasurer
Makenna PelfreySecretary
Last year, one of the most popular events organized by BMES was the escape room experience, which attracted many students from the biomedical engineering department. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to socialize with their fellow students outside of the classroom setting.
Donna Russel an Engineer at Toyota came and spoke to BMES students about her experiences within industry and how she got to where she is now in her career. She also discussed networking with BMES students and walked everyone through a networking activity. Thank you Donna for coming to speak with our students!
BMES ran a table at the 100th E-Day titled Robotics in Biomedical Engineering. Kids were shown different types of robots and taught how those robots have applications in biomedical engineering and healthcare. The picture shows Andres Phillips and BMES President Trisha Sullivan getting ready for the event.
Current Vice President, Madison Korfhage, attended the BMES 2022 Conference in San Antonio, Texas, along with other fellow members, Jing Yan, Md Zahid Hasan, Mehrana Mohtasebi, Xuhui Liu, and Zhongchao Yi. These members presented their research at the conference, and they hope to inspire other members of our chapter to pursue the same opportunities. In addition to this experience of giving oral and poster presentations, the members of our chapter were given the opportunity to speak with fellow biomedical engineers and connect with other researchers and their laboratories. The members were also able to explore current research through other oral presentations as well as poster presentations.
BMES hosted a pumpkin carving night for all BMES members. We provided everyone with 1-2 pumpkins, as well as the tools to carve. Snacks and apple cider were also provided. It was a fun way to be social and show off carving skills. We plan to make this a yearly tradition!
The BMES outreach program was started in 2022, by BMES President Trisha Sullivan. The goal of this outreach program was to increase knowledge and interest in biomedical engineering by introducing it to high school students. During the program’s first year, BMES was able to visit 3 schools and talk to over 125 high school students about biomedical engineering as well as the biomedical engineering program at the University of Kentucky. BMES continues to work to expand this program to more schools and include other BME student organizations in future outreach activities.
During the 2022-2023 academic year BMES visited three high schools in Fayette and Scott County. Those high schools were Lafayette High School, Phoenix Horizon, and Elkhorn Crossing School. Many BMES members volunteered to help make these events possible and got to interact with over 125 high school students over the course of the program’s first year.
BMES members David Alexander, Alaa Jaloudi, Makenna Pelfrey, Madison Korfhage, Jessica Zibart, and Trisha Sullivan visited Phoenix Horizon Academy. BMES President, Trisha Sullivan, is guiding students through an Arduino board activity.
BMES members George Loughrin, Makenna Pelfrey, Trisha Sullivan, Audrey Cruser, and Madison Korfhage visited Lafayette High School.
BMES visited Elkhorn Crossing School and held two separate sessions to be able to reach as many students as possible. A total of 11 BMES students volunteered for this event.
Engineer’s day (E-day) at the University of Kentucky is one the UK BMES’s favorite events of the year. Students come from all over to see the exhibits put on by students and faculty in the College of Engineering. UK BMES assists in organizing and conducting the biomedical engineering exhibits as well as a BMES exhibit. Officers working the UK BMES exhibit were able to share their enthusiasm for the biomedical engineering field as well as answer questions relating to it. UK BMES members working other BME exhibits shared their research interests with attendees and led hands-on activities.
UK BME Department Chair, Dr. Guigen Zhang (right), with UK BMES members in front of the Human Musculoskeletal Biomechanics E-day exhibit.
Javad Mollakazemi (left) and Dibyajyoti Biswal (right) educated E-day attendees on the electrical activity of the heart and how it can be monitored.
The UK BMES was excited to receive our first invitation to Leestown Middle School’s Science Night. Members hosted an exhibit and discussed the biomedical engineering field with LMS students.
The UK BMES chapter organized an exhibit for the 2018 District Science Fair. Members had a great time discussing the biomedical engineering field with the bright young scientists taking part in the science fair and their families.
Matt Ballard (left) and Chase Haddix (right) answer questions from science fair attendees.
Undergraduate UK BMES members, Brittney Williams (left) and Madison Peppenhorst (right), behind the UK BMES science fair exhibit.
UK BMES organized and led a professional development event that included breakfast, mentorship, and discussion of bioengineering concepts applied to solving problems within the horse industry. The group of both undergraduate and graduate BMES members and UK BME faculty were joined by world-renowned master horseman JP Giacomini. Students prepared short presentations on potential technologies that would solve problems found in the horse industry.
Members listen on while undergraduate BMES member Tasneem Naheyan presents the background research her team prepared for the day.
UK BMES members traveled to Phoenix, AZ for the 2017 BMES Annual Meeting. Members (Sarah Thomas, Iman Shojaei, Mingjun Zhao, Dillon Huffman, Javad Mollakazemi, Cazmon Suri, Siavesh Mazdeyasna, and Amir Najarzadeh) presented research at the event and discussed the UK BME program with attendees at the UK BME Department’s booth. Many UK BMES members also took on volunteer positions to help the annual meeting run smoothly.
UK BMES member Sahar Alaei (center) practices her mind control skills during the BMES Dessert Bash at the Arizona Science Center.
