At the May 28 meeting, the Cornell University Board of Trustees approved the proposal of the College of Engineering to create a Department of Biomedical Engineering.

A cross-college "Biomedical Engineering Program" (BMEP) was established in 2001. It is expected that the department structure will accelerate Cornell's national leadership, while simultaneously enhancing existing departments that integrate the life sciences with engineering disciplines.

Michael L. Shuler, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and James and Marsha McCormick Director of the BME Program, will serve as the founding chair of the new department.