REQUEST FOR ACTION BY THE ENGINEERING CURRICULUM COMMITTEE
Academic Year 2007-2008
___________________________________________________________________________________________
This form should be sent to the Chair of the Engineering Curriculum Committee (Alva Couch, Halligan 246, email:
Alva.Couch@tufts.edu), at least two weeks before a regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee. To expedite the
review process, please provide both a signed paper copy of the form and an electronic version of the document,
preferably via electronic mail to Alva.Couch@tufts.edu.
If credit is desired in either Natural Science or Mathematical Science distribution area in Liberal Arts, one must obtain
separate approval from the Academic Review Board(ARB). Please forward the course description to the chair of the
ARB, currently Stephen Bailey (Anthropology).
A copy should also be sent to the Collection Management Librarian of Tisch Library
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Name:
Irene Georgakoudi
Department: Biomedical Engineering
Extension:
7-4353
Date:
2/29/08
Please circle or underline appropriate line(s)
(1)
Offer a new course or program that will be considered by the faculty.
(2)
Change the number of a course.
(3)
Change the title of a course.
(4)
Change the wording of a course or program description.
(5)
Other. _______________________________________________
This request has been approved by the faculty of:
Biomedical Engineering Department
_________________________________________
Signature of Department Chair
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On this page or on attached pages, please describe changes, rationale, and resources required to
implement the proposed changes.
1.
New course or other requested changes. Please give department designation, course
number, course title, and new Bulletin description. Note that the description should be
about four printed lines and written in Bulletin language. For other requested changes,
please give old designation, course number, course title, and old course description;
follow this with a description of the requested changes. Attach additional pages if
needed.
1. We are requesting the establishment of two biomedical optics program tracks that
accommodate the needs of our undergraduate and graduate students who are
interested in being exposed to this area (Track A), and the needs of our graduate
students whose research focuses in the area of biomedical optics (Track B). The two
tracks and the changes required for each course are summarized in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1-Track A: Undergraduate and Graduate Students interested in Biomedical Optics
Suggested courses
BME 101 (Introduction to
Biophotonics) –1 credit
BME 156 (Medical Optics
Laboratory) —1 credit
Requested changes
Modification in title
Modification in Bulletin description
Modification in Bulletin description
Inclusion of BME101 as a prerequisite
Table 2-Track B: Graduate students with a research focus in Biomedical Optics
Suggested courses
Requested changes
BME 115/PHY31 (Optics and
Cross-listing of PHY31 as BME115
Wave Motion) – 1 credit
Modification in Bulletin description to include
additional requirements for graduate level
designation
BME 116 (Applied Quantum
No changes
Electronics) – 1 credit
BME 256 (Biomedical Optics) – 2 New course
credits
BME 257 (Advanced Applied
New course
Biophotonics) – 1 credit
The proposed Bulletin description of these courses are outlined below with the requested
changes underlined:
Track A-Undergraduate/graduate students with an interest in biomedical optics
BME 101 (Introduction to Biophotonics)---1 credit (I. Georgakoudi /M. Hunter)
This course includes introductory lectures on basic concepts in electromagnetism and
light matter interactions and covers topics such as optical properties, absorption, nearinfrared, light scattering and fluorescence spectroscopy, microscopy, optical coherence
tomography and photodynamic therapy. The basics of the techniques as well as specific
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biomedical applications will be discussed. Class performance will be assessed based on
weekly homeworks, a midterm and final exams and (for graduate students) a final paper
with a presentation.
BME 156 (Medical Optics Laboratory)--- 1 credit (M. Hunter (Director), M. CroninGolomb, S. Fantini, I. Georgakoudi, T. Hasan)
This course will include short lectures and involved laboratory sessions on four to five
topics covering areas of interest in biomedical optics. Initial labs focus on understanding
of light-matter interactions and basic optical components, while subsequent labs involve
hands-on experimentation with near-infra red, fluorescence and light scattering
spectroscopy as well as microscopy and optical tweezers. Course performance is
evaluated based on the corresponding lab reports. Prerequisites: BME 101 or Instructor
Permission.
Track B: Graduate students with a focus in Biomedical Optics
BME 115/PHY 31--- Optics and Wave Motion. (Cebe)—1 credit
Propagation of electromagnetic waves; geometrical optics; polarization; optical properties
of metals, insulators, and semiconductors; Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction;
interference; Fourier optics. Lectures and laboratories. Graduate credit requires
completion of a final paper with a biomedical optics focus and a short presentation.
Prerequisite: Physics 2 or 2N or 12 or 12N. Corequisite: Mathematics 13.
BME 116 --- Applied Quantum Electronics (M. Cronin-Golomb)—1 credit
Quantum mechanics and electromagnetic wave equation theory applied to nonlinear
optical processes such as second harmonic generation, optical phase conjugation,
supercontinuum generation, spatial and temporal solitons, and nonlinear microscopy
including two-photon excited fluorescence and second harmonic generation microscopy.
Quantum mechanics via both differential equation and operator mechanics approaches.
BME 256----Biomedical Optics (I. Georgakoudi (Director), M. Cronin-Golomb, S.
Fantini, M. Hunter, F. Omenetto) --- 2 credits
Optical techniques under development and/or use in biomedicine. Near infra-red
spectroscopy and diffuse optical tomography, light scattering, Raman and fluorescence
spectroscopy and imaging, linear and non-linear microscopy, biosensors, optical tweezers,
optical coherence tomography and photodynamic therapy. Fundamental light matter
interactions exploited by each technique as well as the relevant instrumentation and
examples of biomedical applications. Prerequisites: BME 115 and BME 116 or
permission of instructor
BME 257---Advanced Applied Biophotonics (F. Omenetto)--- 1 credit
3
Advanced topics in photonics exploited by biomedical optics. Physical details of ultrafast
laser sources, including dispersion compensation, phase distortion, coherent control.
Nanophotonics, including quantum dots, dielectric nanoshells, light localization and
photonic crystals. Novel optical sources, including fiber lasers, supercontinuum sources,
quantum cascade lasers. Optical sensors, including waveguide sensors, fiber based
sensors, and plasmonic detectors. Applied physical details central to advanced
experimental applications. Prerequisites: BME 115, BME 116, BME 256
2.
Please describe the rationale and impact of the proposed changes and/or for offering the
new course or courses. Indicate ways in which proposed changes affect existing or
proposed programs of study both within and outside your department. When appropriate,
indicate relationships between changes and practices at peer institutions, as well as
relevance to School of Engineering strategic plans.
As the undergraduate and graduate programs in BME have become more established, it
has become clear that we needed to enhance the training of our students with a focus in
the area of Biomedical Optics. The proposed Track B ensures that the students get a solid
background in the fundamentals of light-matter interactions from a classical and quantum
mechanical perspective. The new 2 credit graduate level course in Biomedical Optics
gives the students the opportunity to gain theoretical and practical experience with the
main optical approaches exploited in biomedicine. The laboratories and literature review
sessions for this course will be highly correlated with the lectures presented so that the
students can get fully immersed in the topics that we cover. At the same time, we believe
it is important to continue to offer courses in the area of Biomedical Optics for students
who have an interest in this area, but it is not central to their training. This is achieved by
the courses offered in Track A. The establishment of these tracks will be highly useful for
interdisciplinary training grant applications that we plan to submit in the near future in the
areas of Tissue Engineering and Biophotonics.
3.
Please describe the resources required to implement the proposed changes, including
plans for how these resources will be obtained. Include expected enrollments, class sizes,
expected numbers of sections, and frequency of offering for each class. Describe
modifications required in your department’s curriculum or instructor’s regular course
offerings to make the proposed changes possible. Identify whether required funding for
resources is pending and/or dependent upon external grants. Where possible, compare
resource requirements to existing requirements before the proposed changes.
The department faculty have agreed to cover the additional teaching duties involved,
particularly with BME 256 and BME 257. The laboratory component of BME 256 will
build upon the existing laboratories conducted for BME 156 and the resources are
available within the department to conduct the proposed experiments. We expect
approximately five BME students enrolling in each of the courses offered in Track B,
while 15-20 students enrolling in the course offered in Track A. A training grant proposal
as well as proposals to further develop and equip our teaching laboratories are in the
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planning phases.
4.
If additional resources are required, please attach a statement from the Dean of
Engineering (or a designee) concerning the resources and how they will be provided.
________________________________________________________________________
Please fill out the attached Library Impact Study form if: (a) you are requesting that a
new course be included in the curriculum or (b) you anticipate the need for substantial
new library resources as a result of changes in the description of your course.
________________________________________________________________________
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TUFTS UNIVERSITY ARTS AND SCIENCES LIBRARY
LIBRARY IMPACT STATEMENTFOR UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
Please furnish the information requested below and return this form to: Collection Management
Librarian, Arts and Sciences Library, Tisch. (The Arts and Sciences Librarian is an ex officio
member of the Committee on Curricula.)
1.
Department or Program: Department of Biomedical Engineering
2.
Title of courses: Biomedical Optics curriculum Track A (Introduction to Biophotonics,
Medical Optics Laboratory) ; Biomedical Optics curriculum Track B (Optics and Motion
of Waves, Applied Quantum Electronics, Biomedical Optics, Advanced Applied
Biophotonics)
3.
Suggested department course numbers: Track A: BME101, BME156; Track B:
BME115, BME116, BME256, BME257
4.
Course will first be offered: BME
5.
Instructor(s): BME department faculty members
6.
Campus telephone number: BME department office 7-2580
7.
Anticipated enrollment: 15 students per course (BME 101, BME 156)
101 will be offered in Fall 2008. However in subsequent
academic years it will be offered in the spring semester.
BME 156 will be offered in the Fall of 2009 and every Fall semester after that.
BME 116 will be offered every Fall semester
BME 117 will be offered every Spring semester
BME 256 will be offered every Fall semester, starting with the Fall of 2009
BME 257 will be offered every Spring semester, starting with the Spring of 2010
5-8 students per course (BME 115, BME 116, BME256, BME 257)
8.
Open to
undergraduates: YES
graduates: YES
9.
This course is primarily dependent on:
Text: YES (with the exception of BME 156)
Library resources: NO
10.
Brief description of topics to be covered: Introductory concepts in Biophotonics (BME
101), Hands-on laboratories on biomedical optics techniques (BME 156), Classical
description of light-matter interactions (BME 115), Quantum mechanical
description of light-matter interactions (BME 116) Biophotonics principles and
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applications (BME 256), Advanced topics in Biophotonics (BME 257)
11.
Description of any additional library resources needed to support this course: NONE
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