Is nanotechnology a sub-discipline of Biomedical engineering?
May 27, 2010 by NanotechDirectory.com
I’m seriously considering choosing biomedical engineering as a career, as I find it interesting. Nanotechnology also interests me, like machines small enough to go in your body. Would I be studying this if I studied biomedical engineering, or is it more of a mechanical engineering discipline, or one discipline all by itself? This wouldn’t make me consider changing careers, but it would be nice to hear that there is another interesting thing in this career.
Nanotechnology has uses in biomedical engineering, but it also has many uses that have no biomedical implications. If you are interested in the biomedical applications of nanotechnology, I suggest that you go to graduate school in biomedical engineering at a university where nanotechnology is part of the program. Personally, I think that this field has great prospects for people who are willing to spend their time getting a PhD in it.
At this point, nanotechnology is really a materials science. It is a relatively new realm of materials engineering and it involves several basic sciences including chemistry and physics. Many fields, including biomedical engineering are evaluating nanotech materials and potential future uses of the technology but it is certainly not limited to that field so it is not really a sub-discipline. The idea of making machines small enough to be useful inside the body is likely to be many years away. There are many issues to be resolved and nanoscience is really in its infancy. The first uses of nanotechnology in biomedicine are likely to be in the drug delivery area, surface engineering and diagnostics. You can study biomedical engineering and work with nanotechnology. You will probably need to pursue and advanced degree to get into such areas. It that interests you, go for it.