The Master of Engineering – A New(er) Model
For Industrial-Academic Collaboration
Dr. Jonathan Black, PhD FBSE, Hunter Professor Emeritus of
Bioengineering, Clemson University and Adj. Professor of Biomedical
Engineering, Cornell University
ABSTRACT
Support for collaborations between university faculty and their
students and industrial enterprises has taken many forms,
including grants, contracts, gifts in aid, etc. Although there are myriad
examples of mutually beneficial relationships, the differences in
supervision and reporting structures, scheduling patterns and time
constants pose constant challenges to such relationships. The recent
emergence of the design-centered professional degree of Master of Engineering (MEng) and the
increasing utilization of external faculty with industrial experience has overcome many of these
obstacles. This presentation will summarize aspects of the MEng in Biomedical Engineering Program at
Cornell University and highlight opportunities for collaboration with both startups and operating firms in
the medical products industry.
BIOGRAPHY
Prof. Black is a graduate of Cornell (BS ’61 – Physics), Pennsylvania State (ME ’68 – Engineering Science)
and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD ’72 – Metallurgy). After 10 years in the aerospace industry, he
joined the Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently was
appointed as the first holder of the Hunter Chair of Bioengineering at Clemson University. He is a
founding member and Past-President of the Society for Biomaterials, a member of the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and has published numerous papers, monographs and books
addressing aspects of biomaterials science and engineering and its application to orthopaedic research
and clinical practice. In 1993 he organized IMN Biomaterials, an independent consultancy to the
medical device industry, and in 2011 was appointed to the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell
where he supervises student design teams in the MEng program.