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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | J u l y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 21 Colleges respond to growing demand for biomedical engineers with expanded offerings High-Tech Health By Joel Samberg A ccording to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis- tics, the biomedical engineering profession is expected to grow 6 percent over the next few years, with the industry adding about 1,400 new jobs annually. As of April, there were dozens of jobs ad- vertised for biomedical engineers in the New Haven area, at employers like the Yale New Haven Health system, IsoPlexis, Yale University and Quan- tum-Si, to name a few. Greater New Haven is also ranked as one of the top-paying U.S. metro regions for biomedical engineers, according to the U.S. Bu- reau of Labor Statistics. In response to growing job demand, many local universities are expanding their coursework to pre- pare students to work in the field, oen referred to as a vital intersection of life sciences, health care and engineering. Fairfield University, for example, now offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in biomedical engineering. It recently announced it was adding a 30-credit master's degree in biomedical engineering starting in the fall of 2022. "We added a graduate master's program recently because there is a demand for biomedical engineers with advanced degrees," said Uma Balaji, chair of Fairfield University's electrical and biomedical engi- neering department. "Our students are well-prepared with both theory and hands-on practical experience." Applications are being accepted now so master's candidates can start their studies this fall. Even before the expansion, Fairfield saw many of its graduates landing jobs at prominent biomedical engineering companies, many of them local. Fairfield University students are able to take experiential and proj- ect-based courses and will be encouraged to conduct applied research in the school's new Or- thopedic Biomechanics Research Laboratory. Its laboratory equip- ment includes high-tech gear like a scanning electron microscope and elec- trospinning machine that involves the application of nanoparticles used for tissue engineering in biological and microbial research. "ere is an enormous amount of interest in finding ways to bring healthcare costs down," Balaji said, noting that factor is a motivator for many biomedical engineering faculty researchers and students. Regional partnerships Yale's School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS) also recently announced a major expansion that will include the addition of 30 faculty members across the school's departments, said Angelica Gonza- lez, associate professor of biomedical engineering. e investment will include the addition of bio- Quick facts about U.S. biomedical engineers 2020 median pay $92,620 per year $44.53 per hour Typical entry- level education Bachelor's degree Work experience in a related occupation None Number of jobs, 2020 19,300 Job outlook, 2020-30 6% growth Source: Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Ki Chon Top-paying metropolitan areas for bioengineers and biomedical engineers Metropolitan area Annual mean wage Flagstaff, AZ $151,560 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ $122,950 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI $120,340 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA $119,130 New Haven, CT $119,020 Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH $116,420 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV $112,930 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY $112,480 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA $112,430 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA $111,880 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Continued on page 22 Connecticut companies like molecular diagnostic firm Singleron Biotechnologies in Woodbridge are in need of biomedical engineers. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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