Students Express Excitement About New Biology Concentrations

Like many undergraduate premeds at Harvard, both Matthew D. Henriques ’13 and Brian L. Butler ’12 are intrigued by research in cutting-edge biological fields.

And in their own way, both Henriques and Butler are themselves “guinea pigs,” having each chosen one of Harvard’s two newest science concentrations.

Butler is studying Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology, a concentration officially implemented in the fall of 2009 which focuses heavily on the potential for stem cell research.

Henriques, meanwhile, is studying Biomedical Engineering, Harvard’s first subject-specific engineering concentration, which was announced last spring and introduced this past fall.

Though these two concentrations ostensibly share many qualities—both engage with timely and well-publicized scientific issues, and both have strong appeal for  premeds—they have produced extremely different results in their debuts.

HDRB has attracted 95 concentrators from the sophomore and junior classes, making it one of Harvard’s more popular biology majors.

Biomedical Engineering, by contrast, is a more intimate group this year. Despite initial faculty opinions that BME would be a “popular option,” the concentration attracted only thirteen sophomores, making it the smallest concentration offered by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

According to some within SEAS, Biomedical Engineering may have drawn fewer students simply because it is similar to an existing track within the engineering sciences degree. HDRB, by contrast, offers a more distinct option for students to study a field previously unavailable to them.

As these two concentrations grow from infancy, administrators within both programs say that they hope to smooth out logistical issues—such as departmental advising—while offering students the opportunity to study cutting-edge fields within engineering and science.

ON THE CUTTING EDGE

Faculty involved in both HDRB and Biomedical Engineering say that they believe their concentrations offer unique opportunities to students.

HDRB provides a chance for students to actively engage with the widely publicized and controversial issue of stem cells.

Butler says he enjoys the hands-on approach of the concentration.

“I like actually witnessing a lab as opposed to reading a textbook,” he says.

Students also say they are drawn to a certain novelty that can only come from an issue that is as recent a scientific development as stem cells.

“It’s exciting to be in a field that is really up-and-coming,” says Ava C. Carter ’13. “Instead of throwing information at us, there is a lot of creative thinking.”

Carter says she has also likes the sense that much of her course work covers scientific issues that are not yet very well understood.

“It’s nice [that] there is no definite answer,” she says.

Theresa G. Feng ’13 says she was interested in the field because stem cell research has “the potential [to] help a lot of people.”

Feng adds that it is “cool to have teachers reference papers that came out yesterday.”

Despite the discrepancy in concentrator numbers, Henriques says that Biomedical Engineering is also a field which is generating excitement among both students and teachers.

Henriques said that taking Life Sci. 1a: Introduction to Life Sciences as a freshman rekindled his interest in the biological sciences, though he had previously planned on studying mechanical engineering.

The nearly simultaneous introduction of the BME concentration offered Henriques a unique opportunity to study a field which melds both of his interests.

For Tunc C. Kiymaz ‘13, another BME concentrator, the new concentration allowed him to pursue all of his academic passions at the same time.

“My two favorite subjects were math and science. They’re combined in Biomedical Engineering,” he said.

GETTING OFF THE GROUND

While Biomedical Engineering may have attracted fewer students than anticipated—and is certainly much smaller than HDRB—professors involved within the concentration say they are not worried about size.

Addressing the similarity to the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering track of the Engineering Sciences concentration, SEAS Area Dean for Biomedical Engineering Robert D. Howe notes that BME offers students “a more focused education” in a unique field.

He adds that administrators “certainly don’t view [the concentration’s size] as a problem.”

Many students in the concentration say they actually see the small size as a beneficial aspect of their experience, rather than a burden.

“I like that it’s small—there’s camaraderie,” says Henriques. “And it’s a lot easier to get help when you need it.”

But even though HDRB is larger than Biomedical Engineering, students still say they do not feel that the concentration has become so large as to become less personalized.

“[The professors] will meet with us anytime about anything,” Carter says. “They’re really willing to spend time with us.”

One issue raised by several newly-declared BME concentrators is a sense of confusion with regard to departmental advising.

“There’s lots of ‘okay, I’ll get back to you on that,’” Kiymaz says, adding that he believes the uncertainty “is just part of the new program process.”

Ainsley E. Faux ’13 echoed Kiymaz’s sentiments, especially regarding the advising process.

He says that it is unclear to him when BME concentrators will be assigned individual advisors.

“They were not really sure how things would go,” Faux says of administrators within the concentration.

SEAS Assistant Dean for Academic Programs Marie D. Dahleh writes in an e-mail that SEAS is planning on hiring “a dedicated adviser for [the Biomedical Engineering] concentration who will participate in the life science advising as well” in order to help address some of these confusions.

LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE

Both Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and Biomedical Engineering have had relatively smooth introductions, according to students and faculty—and both concentrations remain open to student feedback.

“They are very receptive [to] things that we say,” says Carter of the HDRB faculty.

Kiymaz says he is “really excited” to take more technical classes in Biomedical Engineering, while Butler says he looks forward to “doing research you hear about in the news.”

These types of research opportunities might be part of the reason why HDRB has accumulated such a substantial student base so rapidly. But administrators involved with Biomedical Engineering are also looking to add such opportunities.

“We want to integrate more hands-on lab experience,” Howe says.

But despite the potential “tune-ups” the concentration will undergo, Howe says he feels that, overall, everything is going well.

“So far, so good,” he says.