Bioengineering

Abstract

An introduction to biology for engineers: basic biochemistry, cell metabolism (principles of energy and mass transfer in cellular systems), cell biology (structure and composition of cells, transport processes across cell membranes, growth and reproduction of cells), cellular and molecular biophysics, quantitative tools used in bio- and biomedical engineering.

Objective

Students that already possess an engineering background will be exposed to a broad introduction of fundamental concepts in the fields of biology and chemistry. Focus will be given to aspects relevant to research and development projects in the fields of biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, or biomedical devices. The course will highlight technically exploitable elements in biology and chemistry, to provide the basic understanding and a necessary vocabulary for interdisciplinary communication with biologists / biotechnologists. The specific learning objectives for the course are: - identify core cellular components, building blocks, and their organizing principles - quantitatively describe key cellular processes - apply knowledge of cellular processes to propose bioengineering solutions - analyze existing bioengineering technologies for industrial and biomedical applications and explain why they are used

Content

Basic biochemistry, cell metabolism (principles of energy and mass transfer in the cell, biocatalysis and enzymes, cellular respiration, protein synthesis, regulation), cellular biology (structure and composition of cells, transport processes across cell membranes, growth and reproduction of cells), introduction to biotechnology tools and applications of molecular and cellular engineering. The course content will be presented in video recordings, in person and flipped classroom lectures, as well as group work on a selected bioengineering technology. The group work will be a main component of the course, which will involve a team to propose and assess a bioengineering solution on a topic of choice.

Resources