ENGINEERING AND ME: WHY I WANT TO BE A BIOMEDICAL …

Mahboobin 10:00 L14

Disclaimer--This paper partially fulfills a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. This paper is a student, not a professional, paper. This paper is based on publicly available information and may not provide complete analyses of all relevant data. If this paper is used for any purpose other than these authors' partial fulfillment of a writing requirement for first year (freshman) engineering students at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, the user does so at his or her own risk.

ENGINEERING AND ME: WHY I WANT TO BE A BIOMEDICAL ENGINEER

Arash Mahboobin (arm19@pitt.edu) and Beth Bateman Newborg (bateman@pitt.edu)

INTRODUCTION: BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING IS THE FIELD FOR ME

The infamous question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" tends to be an intimidating question for most people, but for me it always came easily. From a young age, I had a desire to be in the medical field and becoming a biomedical engineer through the Swanson School of Engineering places me one step closer towards achieving this goal. This career utilizes the concepts of math, biology, and physics to make a positive impact on people's lives every day. Engineers can take an idea from someone's imagination and transform it to become a reality. Engineers have so many projects and options they can explore because there is always a need for improvement in the world. These are the reasons which have reaffirmed my belief that becoming a biomedical engineer is the right choice for me. I am able to utilize my strengths and pursue my passions while improving the lives of others.

WHO AM I

Growing up, the importance of service was stressed constantly. It began as something I was forced to do, and originally, I looked at my service as tedious and unimportant work because I would never see the impact of the time I invested. Although with time and maturity, it became something that I was passionate about because I realized the difference I could be making. The turning point that remodeled by opinion of service occurred in the spring of my freshman year when I volunteered to help disabled youths play baseball. Almost every Sunday afternoon at the community baseball park, my duty was to guide young adolescents to the bases and aid them in hitting the ball into the field. Being able to witness disabled kids light up over achieving the simplest of tasks was an experience that I will hold in my heart for the rest of my life. I was constantly inspired by the strong families with the strength to endure any hardships with love and optimism. Every child's smile or laugh was contagious, and each interaction brought me an unexplainable joy. Service gave me a sense of appreciation for the people and materials I have available

to me and the cultivation that I was often sheltered from in my daily life at a private school. Service is something that is extremely important to me, so looking for a meaningful career that provides my life with a sense of purpose, that I often received while volunteering, is crucial for me.

There are numerous careers of service that I could have chosen from, but I needed a career that was compatible with my interests and strengths. Math and science have always been subjects that I have exceled in since grade school. I have always found a specific interest in anatomy, and I realized how passionate I was about it when I got to dissect a cat in high school. Every time I stepped into the lab, I was eager to learn more about the anatomy of the cat and make a tangible connection from the information I learned in my textbook to a real life organism. There was new and compelling knowledge that I could acquire every day which kept me engaged in the class.

I enjoy the simplistic facts and solutions of math and science. I despise problems where there are multiple answers, and it is based on the interpretation of the scenario. I vividly recall one English class in high school where we spent forty-five minutes debating whether Hamlet was insane or not. I remember being so frustrated because a case could be made for both sides, and anyone could be right as long as there were concrete examples to prove their opinion. I find gray areas to be peevish because I realized that it often turns into heated debates where both sides of the argument can be seen as correct. Math and science are different. You are simply right or wrong and there is rarely room for debate. I would categorize myself as a logical thinker, so solutions often having an indisputable answer involving numbers or coming to conclusions based on facts and data is the most comprehensive reasoning for me.

Solving problems by trying new angles and confronting the problem with a fresh and new perspective has drawn me to the engineering field. Curiosity of knowing how a machine works or how an organ functions is what keeps me motivated to continue my education at the Swanson School of Engineering. When I set my mind to solving a problem, I am determined to complete the task or at least obtain a deeper understanding of the problem. With curiosity

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comes determination. This quality is necessary to achieve anything in life and I try to display this characteristic in every aspect of my life, especially educationally. Life has thrown so many obstacles in my way, and from experience, I have realized that determination is the only trait that will push through all of the turmoil that lies ahead. One prominent memory that I always reflect on is when I had internal bleeding in my left eye from an accident that occurred in a soccer game. I was bedridden for three weeks, and the doctors told me that it was in my best interest to never play soccer again due to the severity of the case. I contemplated over the advice of the doctor for a while and decided that this accident was not going to be the reason why I should end my career as an athlete. When I was finally cleared by the doctor three months later, I stepped backed onto the field with the mentality of a warrior and with no fear of failure or injury. My senior year I finished soccer on my own terms to undertake new opportunities that were presented to me. These opportunities have given me a chance to grow and become more well-rounded and highly adaptable. Having options has always been beneficial for me because it has kept me constantly interested in a new challenge at hand.

WHAT REALLY GOES ON IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING: HOW IS

WHAT REALLY GOES ON IN BIOOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

RELEVANT TO ME?

The University of Auckland defines the general career of a biomedical engineer as taking engineering skills and apply it to biological and medical problems of our world. They integrate the concepts of anatomy to construct innovative technology to improve the health and well-being of others [1]. As listed in the Occupational Outlook Handbook, important qualities needed to be a biomedical engineer are analytical skills, math skills, creativity, and problem-solving skills, which are all skills that I can consider my strengths [2]. A career that highlights your best qualities is extremely important when deciding what major to pursue. Biomedical engineering is a newly developing field which means being able to delve into the unknown to cultivate cuttingedge technology. This appeals to my interest because I am able to utilize my creativity and problem-solving skills to think outside the box and find new, possible advancements.

The options that are available within the field of biomedical engineering are endless. As stated within the Catholic University of America website, there is bioinstrumentation, biomechanics, biomaterials, systems physiology, clinical engineering, and rehabilitation

engineering [3]. This variety of specialization accessible to me allows me to be able to change courses conveniently and focus on a new challenge while remaining within the field of bioengineering. Through transitioning to new projects, I will become more knowledgeable and hopefully make a larger impact in the medical field. A specific area of biomedical engineering, that is currently calling my name, is tissue regeneration. It focuses directly with the anatomy of the human body including their tissue and organs, which is the subject that has always stimulated my curiosity. As described by Developmental Biology Interactive, the goal of tissue regeneration is to restore and improve damaged tissues and organs by using cells in a laboratory with the overall goal to provide cures rather than treatments to diseases, genetic mutations, and injuries [4]. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering explains that this is done by harvesting cells from the patient or developing stem cells and introducing them to a scaffold, which is an artificial structure on which the cells can grow [5]. This field of engineering is just beginning to flourish and the potential of what this technology can do is limitless. The possibility of being able to create a heart or lung from a tissue sample of a patient to save their life rather than having to wait on the donor list would be an astonishing achievement to attain.

Observing the impact your making in other people's lives and knowing that a difference is being made is one of the main reasons why the biomedical engineering field is the right choice for me. A big motto that I received from S. Lee Carson at the Career Conference was to evaluate your life to get an understanding of who you truly are and then take the qualities that you can contribute to the world to do something that you love [6]. Ben Ewing, who was the bioengineering guest speaker, was describing bioengineering as a major that assists people on a daily basis in the medical field where there is a lot of opportunity to grow and thrive [7]. These messages reaffirmed my belief that biomedical engineering is the career choice for me. Being able to say that a person is alive because of what I do is all the motivation I need to get me through each day and stay devoted to my work. Biomedical engineering and I are complimentary because it provides me with the necessary things I find important in a career, while I provide the field with my strengths and determination to make a difference.

CONCLUSION: YES, I AM WHERE I SHOULD BE

This research has reaffirmed my hypothesis that becoming a biomedical engineer is the right career choice for me. It provides me with the potential I need to fulfill my goal to make a noticeable impact in the lives

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of others by utilizing my talents of problem-solving, creativity, and determination. The bioengineering field opens the doors to numerous opportunities that can be explored. Through this field, I am able to work closely with the concepts of anatomy, specifically used in the area of tissue regeneration. Within the next ten years I hope to be graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering and working in a research lab to develop a functional heart for a patient in need or striving to graduate from a prestigious medical school.

you for assisting me when I was in need of help and criticizing my paper when it needed to be revised.

SOURCES

[1] "Why study Biomedical Engineering?" The University of Auckland Engineering. 2016. Accessed 10.2.2016 [2] "How to Become a Biomedical Engineer." Occupational Outlook Handbook. 12.17.2015. Accessed 10.2.2016 [3] "What are the Specialization Areas?" The Catholic University of America. 7.8.2011. Accessed 10.2.2016 [4] "Tissue Regeneration in Humans." Developmental Biology Interactive. 2013. Accessed 10.2.2016. [5] "Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine." National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering [6] S. Carson. Keynote Talk. University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering First-Year Career Conference. 9.24.2016 [7] B. Ewing. Bioengineering Talk. University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering First-Year Career Conference. 9.24.2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express a special thank you to my parents, Michael and Andrea Cotter, who encouraged me to aim for the stars. With your constant support, I have no fear in working to achieve my goals because I will always have the both of you to fall back on when I am in need of a push. Thank you for forcing me to do my best so one day I can possibly reach my full potential.

A special thank you to my roommate Lyndsay Cox for keeping me focused while writing this paper. Thank

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