BME UNDERGRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES

University of Iowa: College of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering: Professional Seminar

General | Academic/Research | Industry | Obtained by BMEs@Iowa

GENERAL INTERNSHIPS


ACADEMIC/RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS

LISTING OF PROGRAMS GRADUATE PROGRAMS SPECIFIC PROGRAMS

INDUSTRY INTERNSHIPS

GENERAL LIST

INTERNSHIPS OBTAINED BY BMES@IOWA

  • Student-specific information:
    NAME: Brent Cumberford
    EMAIL: brent-cumberford@uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: CIVCO Medical Instruments
    TIME SPENT AT INTERNSHIP: Since May 2003. I’ve worked two full time summers as well as part time during the school year.
    DESCRIPTION: My responsibilities at CIVCO include providing support to engineering team on every aspect from the initial concept, to prototype, to the production of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic accessories. This past summer I was fortunate enough to be assigned as the Lead Engineering on an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) bracket development project. Recently I have picked up four smaller design projects. I spend a lot of time using AutoCAD and Pro/ENGINEER.
    CONTACT INFORMATION AND WEBSITE: Jennifer Blauvelt; (Jennifer.blauvelt@civco.com). www.civco.com
    COMMENTS: CIVCO has provided me an opportunity to work on every aspect, from initial concept to the manufacturing of minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic accessories. I have gained experience in product design, quality control, injection molding, tool making (molds), as well as working with a team. I cannot say enough about the engineering team as well as my overall experience at CIVCO Medical Instruments.

    NAME: David Easker
    EMAIL: david-easker@uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Research Lab, Internal medicine, UHIC
    TIME SPENT AT INTERNSHIP: Summer 2004
    DESCRIPTION: Arrive in the morning around 9:00 A.M. Spend the day working on my research project. I’d do research information, perform experiments, and discuss project with others. I’d write small programs to display results, and write up my results. I’d meet a lot of people and see a lot of interesting medical things, ex. Bronchoscopies.
    CONTACT INFORMATION AND WEBSITE: Dr. McLennan, or Internal Medicine
    COMMENTS: Great experience for research, excellent working hours and environment.

    NAME: Elizabeth (Libbi) Kuehl
    EMAIL: ekuehl@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: American Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc. in Davenport, IA
    TIME SPENT AT INTERNSHIP: Summer ‘04
    DESCRIPTION: I worked under a tech employee who taught me how to fabricate orthotics such as shoe inserts and ankle braces. The days weren’t really structured. I basically worked on unfinished projects from the previous day and started new ones. Jobs included: mixing and pouring plaster to make casts, modification of the plaster casts, helping pull plastic over modified casts, using grinding machines to grind down plastic on the braces and inserts, and using vacuum trays to make inserts. I learned their paperwork and organization systems. I also got to see some patients with the residents and practitioners to observe their patient contact skills and learn techniques on to fit the orthotics to the patients. Otherwise, I helped wherever was needed.
    CONTACT INFORMATION AND WEBSITE:
    There are many AP&O offices around Iowa/Illinois.
    Company website: http://www.oandp.com/facilities/ia/ampro/default.htm
    For the Davenport, Burlington, and Moline offices contact John Kamp at 563-324-7707. In Iowa City, the contact person is Don Schurr.
    COMMENTS: This is a great experience for anyone wanting to pursue orthotics/prosthetics career and/or wanting to complete the certificate program at Northwestern U. or another accredited university.

    NAME: Andrea Hayes
    EMAIL: ahaye@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Zimmer, Inc.
    TIME SPENT AT INTERNSHIP: Summer (~3 months)
    DESCRIPTION: Not really any typical days: did tolerance analysis, mating conditions, test protocols, design assurance and project history file content, reviewed prints, went to meetings, and helped with lab/cadaver testing
    CONTACT INFORMATION AND WEBSITE: patrick.mccune@zimmer.com (HR guy)
    COMMENTS: Zimmer has a 5 semester co-op program that sophomores in their fall semester or freshmen in their spring semester should consider applying or looking into.

    NAME: Nicole De Vries
    EMAIL: ndevries@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: University of California, Los Angeles
    TIME SPENT AT INTERNSHIP: 8 weeks during the summer
    DESCRIPTION: Worked in Dr. Susan Harkema’s lab at the Human Locomotion Research Center. Research focused on the neural reorganization of the human spinal cord after clinically complete spinal cord injury. Assisted with data analysis using customized LabView software and Microsoft
    Excel. Presented a poster for faculty, staff, and participating students. Participated in research presentations, meetings, and forums
    CONTACT INFORMATION AND WEBSITE: http://www.care.ucla.edu/inside/summer.html
    COMMENTS: Great opportunity to meet professors and professionals in the engineering and research field. It offers free GRE classes and seminars to prepare for graduate school. Trips to beaches, hiking, and many other activities.

    NAME: Michelle Sukup
    EMAIL: msukup
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Cook, Inc (summer 2004) Iowa State University Chemical Engineering Labs (summer 2003)
    TIME SPENT AT INTERNSHIP: Both were summer
    DESCRIPTION: Cook: work 7:30-4:30, mess around with dissections, eat breakfast, write test reports, perform tests, make test apparatus, go to lunch, work on device designs, go skiing with my coworkers, go to the emergency room for stitches (twice)
    ISU: work at 9-5, make samples, wash dishes, clean the lab, test samples, use a colorimeter, use a spectrometer, make solutions, came in evenings and weekends as needed for sampling
    CONTACT INFORMATION AND WEBSITE: www.cookgroup.com, look for David St.John www.iastate.edu, search for PWSE (program for women in science and engineering)
    COMMENTS: I'm going back to Cook, I loved it!

  • Student-specific information from last year (email addresses may not be valid anymore):
    NAME: Kyle Ferguson
    EMAIL: kyle-ferguson@uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Hygia Health Services
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: Summer 2003
    DESCRIPTION: Head of R&D Department
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: www.hygia.net
    COMMENTS: This was a great internship. It is definitly an internship where you have deadlines and use your engineering skills. Along with this, the bosses are really nice and cool. The work atmosphere is spectacular. It is a small company and located in Alabama. So I hope you're willing to travel to the good ol' south. As for me, I'm going to be living there so needless to say I loved it.

    NAME: Somaieh Kashef
    EMAIL: skashef@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: REU program started May 19, 2003 and ended July 25, 2003 at UAB (10 week program)
    DESCRIPTION: "PROJECTS WERE AVAILABLE IN DIFFERENT AREAS IN MATERIALS RESEARCH. This REU program was open only to United States Citizens and permanent residents of the United States. The students selected were provided a stipend for ten weeks period, additional $612 for stay at UAB campus dormitory during summer plus travel expenses for participants."
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: http://www.phy.uab.edu/research/reu.htm OR Dr. Yogesh K. Vohra, Director of the REU Program (ykvohra@uab.edu)
    COMMENTS: I did a research with department of physics and department of BME at UAB. The research that I chose to work on was about "wear testing of Nano-crystalline diamond coated temporomandibular joint (TMJ)". My advisors were pretty nice and I really enjoyed doing this research at UAB. opportunities for research at UAB are really good. During this REU program, there was a meeting every week. There was some social activities such as BBQ at a state park at Birmingham. Also, I had to make a poster for a poster session, do a power point presentation, and also write a paper about the research I did. Also, each REU student may attend a conference to present their research and the REU program would pay for almost all the expenses for going to the conference such as the round trip ticket. Overall, it was a great experience. for more information about this program such as the application deadline for summer 2004 check the website.

    NAME: Amanda Stahle
    EMAIL: astahle@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Civco Medical Instruments
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: Summer 2003
    DESCRIPTION: Assist quality department with process improvement. This included performing time-studies, template re-organization, and testing prodcuts.
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: Positions posted on e-recruiting, and the company website is www.civco.com
    COMMENTS: Located in nearby Kalona, IA.

    NAME: Jennifer Dempsey
    EMAIL: jdempsey@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: National Institutes of Health - Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: June 9 to August 15
    DESCRIPTION: There are a variety of summer intern projects available in all areas of biomedical engineering.
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: http://www.nih.gov/od/ors/dbeps/besip/index.htm

    NAME: Chiraag Dharia
    EMAIL: cdharia@engr.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Harvard/MIT Division of Health Science and Technology (HST) - Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Biomedical Optics Summer Institute
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: June 11 to August 15
    DESCRIPTION: Their website says: "Open to undergraduate and graduate students, the Institute will focus on introducing participants to Biomedical Optics, the use of light in biology and medicine, by a combination of classroom work and laboratory research. Participants will advance their professional development through developing a peer and mentoring network and formal sessions on communication and biomedical ethics." I worked in a lab that develops optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a diagnostic imaging modality.
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: http://mit.edu/biooptics
    COMMENTS: If you have any questions about this, feel free to email me.

    NAME: Diane Thi Tran
    EMAIL: diane-tran@uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: University of California, Los Angeles, NeuroEngineering Summer Research Program
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: Summer 2003 (8 weeks)
    DESCRIPTION: I conducted research on a neuroprotective drug therapy for stroke.
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: http://www.bri.ucla.edu/bri_education/net_summerresearch.asp (may be a little outdated)
    COMMENTS: Part of a larger summer research program that includes science, math, engineering, and humanities. It was a lot of fun. LA is awesome! Contact me for more info.

    NAME: Natalie Danaher
    EMAIL: ndanaher@engineering.uiowa.edu
    NAME OF COMPANY OR INSTITUTION: Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation
    TIME SPENT AT THE INTERNSHIP: 4/24/03-8/1/03
    DESCRIPTION: I was a biomechanics intern during the summer of 2003 in Vail, Colorado. The Foundation is a non-profit organization that does research for the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Clinic, which a well-known orthopedic clinic that mainly provides treatment for shoulder and knee injuries. The Foundation invites interns to work for both paid and volunteer positions each summer and also funds an orthopedic fellowship program for doctors each year. I worked on a project that involved animating shoulder movements using data collected in a past research project. The purpose of the animation was for doctors, surgeons and physical therapists to get a better, more accurate understanding of how the bones in the shoulder move during a wide range of motions. Another BME Intern worked on a project using motion capture during walking. I was exposed a great deal to how research is done from start to finish, and the importance of each step along the way.
    CONTACT INFORMATION OR PROGRAM WEBSITE: If interested, visit the Foundation website at www.shsmf.org and take a look around. (the website may be down for a while for a makeover!)
    COMMENTS: I had an amazing experience and would reccommend this internship to anybody who may be interested in applying biomedical engineering more directly to medicine (i.e NOT medical devices). I had the opportunity to meet and work with doctors, physical trainers and engineers throughout my internship. I also viewed several surgeries and got a good look at the role engineers can play in the medical environment.

  • If you would like to provide information on your internship, contact Brent Cumberford at brent-cumberford@uiowa.edu.