Attendees: A. Barrow, S. Bhatia, S. Chien, H. Chrzanowski, R. Cosan, B.Craig, D.Cuplin, J. Dobak, I. Famili, D. Gough, K. Herrman, E. Hickman, G. Huber, R. Lieber, I. Lorenzen-Schmidt, J. Nagle, M. Oliver, J. Penhune, L. Phillips, M.Sekins, C. Sewell, A. Ratcliffe, G. Schmid-Schönbein, N. Soares, S. Subramaniam

Approval of Minutes from 06/10/99 meeting: Approved as submitted.

Introduction of new members:
Dr. Chien welcomed John Dobak of Innercool Therapies and Roy Cosan of R.W. Johnson Pharmaceuticals, and thanked them for joining the Industrial Advisory Board. Dr. Chien also introduced three new faculty members, Sangeeta Bhatia, Gary Huber and Shankar Subramaniam to the Board.

Update of Powell-Focht Bioengineering Building:
Dr. Chien gave a brief description of the progress of the new building and showed conceptual slides of different angles of the building and the Warren Court where the building will be located. The new building will house the different core facilities and teaching laboratories, as well as the Y.C. Fung Auditorium. The Auditorium will be a substantial addition to the Department, which will allow the symposia and seminars currently held outside of the Department walls to be held onsite. The initial $150,000 funding of the Auditorium was a voluntary gift given by Dr. Ernest Huang of Pharmingen, Inc. We are very thankful for Dr. Huang's generosity, especially when the gift is given without being asked. Private funds will match this amount, and the Auditorium's funding will be completed with University funds.

Report on the August 12, 1999 events:
In the afternoon of August 12, 1999, Dr. Chien initiated the first meeting of representatives of UC Biomedical Engineering. This meeting was held because of the tremendous surge in bioengineering-related activities at UC campuses. This meeting had the participation of faculty from seven UC campuses: UC Berkeley and UCSF: Thomas F. Budinger and Stanley A. Berger, UC Davis: Maury Hull, Katherine Ferrara, and Scott Simon, UC Irvine: Steve George, UCLA: J. Douglas Mackenzie, and Chih-Ming Ho, UC Riverside: Ashok Mulchandani and John Shyy, UC San Diego: Shu Chien, David Gough, and Andrew McCulloch. This meeting served the purpose of beginning a dialogue for cooperation among bioengineering programs in the various UC campuses. UCD will host the first UC System-wide Biomedical Engineering Symposium in April 2000. The representatives will hold the next U.C. meeting in early February 2000 in Berkeley to be hosted by UCB/UCSF.
In the evening of August 12, 1999, the University hosted a celebration event in the Faculty Club. The event was to dedicate the Institute as the Whitaker Institute of Biomedical Engineering, introduce the Powell-Focht Bioengineering Building and celebrate the 80th Birthday of Professor Y.C. Fung. It was a very successful event with about 160 attendees. Dr. Chien thanked those Industrial Advisory Board members that were able to attend.

Presentation on Bioinformatics:
Dr. Gary Huber, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, and Dr. Shankar Subramaniam, Professor of Bioengineering, gave excellent presentations on their work on Molecular Biomechanics and Bioinformatics, respectively. Drs. Huber and Subramaniam recently joined the Department in July of 1999. Their work in Bioinformatics and Bioengineering is an excellent addition to the Department.

Industrial Training Program:
Dr. Schmid-Schönbein presented the proposed plan for the Industrial Training Program for Bioengineering graduate students. Before describing the new program Dr. Schmid-Schonbein gave a brief description of the new Master of Engineering curriculum, which was initiated this fall: · A flexible curriculum for professional preparation.
· 24 units of core bioengineering courses.
· 12 units of graduate engineering electives and a design project.
· 12 units of General or Business electives.
· No thesis or comprehensive exam.
· Possible to complete the degree requirements in 9 months.
· Not designed for advancement to Ph.D.
The Industrial Training Program proposal includes the following:
· The Bioengineering Industrial Training Program is optional for Master of Science and Master of Engineering students, and can take the place of up to 8 units of technical elective credit.
· Students submit Resume/CV to Program Office and commits to working a minimum of 3 months at the company.
· Companies interested in the Program will commit to offering bioengineering-related projects for a minimum of three months. The Industrial Supervisor assigned by the company discusses with the Program Administrator and Faculty Advisor the project description and employer's plans for the student.
· Each student admitted to the Program is assigned a Faculty Advisor who works with the Industrial Supervisor assigned by the company, the student and the Program Administrator in planning the training program. If required by Company, the Faculty Advisor may sign a non-disclosure agreement.
· Program Administrator identifies students for positions and sends student Resume/CV's to company for review. Company recruits candidates for project, using their own selection procedures. The company determines the stipend level within the set flat rate range based on current stipend levels for University Research Assistants. · Following the completion of the student's training, the Industrial Supervisor sends an appraisal of the student's performance to the Faculty Advisor. · After its approval by the Industrial Supervisor, the student submits a final written report to the Faculty Advisor and Graduate Studies Committee of the Department for final approval.
The presentation was followed by discussions on various aspects of the new program. Dr. Penhune suggested framing the new program like the Electrical Engineering co-op program at M.I.T, where only selective companies are chosen for the program. Dr. Penhune noted that the program at M.I.T. is very competitive to get into for both students and industry. Dr. Chien added that one of the attractive components of the program for industry is the access they will have to the core facilities and faculty involvement. Dr. Gough emphasized the importance of such a program on the enrichment of the student's classroom education. Concerns about the timeframe that the student would be allowed to spend at the company were discussed. It was decided that each student and company would be unique and that each situation would be decided between the student, Program Office and company. For instance, one company may require a student to work full time, while another would allow the student to work 20 hours/week while attending classes part time. There was considerable discussion on the pay schedule for the Program. There were concerns that a set rate made by the Program would be too rigid, while an open rate by the Program allowing the company to set pay rates may cause inequity. An open rate could lead to a situation were an Industrial Training Student was making more than an university Research Assistant or more than their original university stipend. Considering the noted concerns, it was decided that the Program would recommend a flat rate range with adjustments or fringe benefits considered in special cases, such as abroad locations of companies and cost of living concerns. Dr. Ratcliffe suggested beginning the search for students to begin during the first quarter of their Master's work. Therefore dialogue between the student, faculty advisor, program administrator and company can begin early to ensure quick and effective transfer of the student into the company upon start of the training. This early start will allow for the initial project and training planning to be decided upon prior to the student beginning their work at the company.

The next Industrial Advisory Board Meeting will be February 22, 2000 from 7:30a.m. - 9:00a.m.

Respectfully submitted: Elizabeth Hickman