Student/Professional Organizations and Awards

Short descriptions of the four groups supported by the Department are included below. Please see the web pages of the home societies for more information on the scope of each group. In addition, please contact the contacts listed below or Professor Lance Kam for more information. Students may join multiple organizations, and are encouraged to participate in those that fit their interests and goals.

Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)

BMES is the premier, broad-ranging professional organization promoting both research and education in biomedical engineering and bioengineering. Our undergraduates organize an active local student chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society, which hold several social- and career-oriented events throughout the year and participates with the faculty in curriculum development and improvement. Columbia's BMES chapter also interacts with the other local BMES chapters in the New York City area, such as the BMES chapter of the City College of New York's (CCNY) Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Contacts: BMES Chapter Co-Presidents - Elias Tzoc-Pacheco & Mohammed Yusufali; Faculty Advisor - Lance Kam.

Graduate Organization of Biomedical Engineers (GoBME)

GoBME (Graduate Organization of Biomedical Engineers) is an organization of graduate students in the Biomedical Engineering Department. Its goals are to enhance the social and academic lives of students, and to advocate for graduate student needs in the department. GoBME hosts a variety of social events throughout the year, including happy hours, holiday potlucks, and beach trips. In addition, it organizes departmental teams for Columbia intramural athletics. The organization also serves as a link between graduate students and the faculty, communicating student concerns and ideas. GoBME welcomes all BME graduate students and welcomes any programming suggestions!

Contacts: 
President - Thomas Bina
Vice President - Morgan Lamberti
Treasurer - Neeraj Sakhrani
Communications - Suwan Ding
Mentorship - Gabriella Bond
Master's Representative - Pooja Yadav
Social Chairs - Howard Nicholson & Jenny Gao
Intramural Chairs- Hannah Schleifer & Camilo Martinez
Philanthropy/Academic Chairs - Caitlin Therien & Panagiotis Oikonomou
Faculty Advisor - Henry Hess

General Questions: contact GoBME Columbia

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE-EMBS)

IEEE-EMBS is the world's largest international society of Biomedical Engineers. Founded under IEEE, EMBS has, in recent years, expanded into an organization of researchers from bioinformatics, biotechnology, clinical engineering, information technology, instrumentation and measurement, micro and nanotechnology, radiology, and robotics. The student chapter of EMBS at Columbia promotes career education and alumni networking, entrepreneurship and business plan competitions, and field trips to industry and research centers. We are honored to have Prof. Andrew Laine as our Chapter Advisor. We welcome both graduate and undergraduate students. Follow us on Instagram to get regular updates on our club activities!

Erfan Zabeh, President

Jacob Nye, Vice President

Sandra Maesta, Administrative Vice President

Claire Han, Vice President of Grad Activities

Ananya Raghavan, Vice President of Undergrad Activities

Neeraj Sakhrani, Vice President of Undergrad activities

Tapasi Brahma, Social Media Coordinator

Vish Rao, Web developer 

Aviral Misra, Treasurer

Katherine Liu, Diversity Chair  

Adel Alnatour, Secretary

Shubh Mehta, Secretary-elect

Anurag Sharma, Treasurer-elect

Fotis Tsitsos, Diversity Chair-elect

Society for Biomaterials (SFB)

Society for Biomaterials (SFB) promotes all phases of materials research and development by encouragement of cooperative educational programs, clinical applications, and professional standards in the biomaterials field. The purpose of the National Student Section of the SFB is to encourage the development, dissemination, integration, and utilization of knowledge in biomaterials among students, and encourage multi-disciplinary interactions among all SFB members. Open to graduate students, the student chapter of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB-CU) aims to promote interests in biomaterial research and education, while also highlighting the activities of an increasing number of biomaterials-related researchers on the Columbia University campus. Activities include biomaterials-related seminars with both research and career interest, professional networking, and community outreach activities.
Contacts: Hannah Childs, Student Representative; Helen H. Lu, Faculty Advisor.

Awards

The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers two undergraduate awards for graduating seniors:

• The Richard Skalak Memorial Prize in Biomedical Engineering
• The Claire S. and Robert E. Reiss Prize in Biomedical Engineering

Additionally, we offer an award to a graduating doctoral student:

• Yuen-huo Hung & Chao-chin Huang Award in Biomedical Engineering

And as of 2020, we also offer an award to a graduating master's student:

• Outstanding Achievement Award in Biomedical Engineering Master's Studies 

The Richard Skalak Memorial Prize in Biomedical Engineering was founded in recognition of the pioneering contributions of late Professor Richard Skalak to the development of the Biomedical Engineering program at Columbia University. Dr. Skalak was an inspirational teacher and scholar who taught students and colleagues to appreciate the value of broad interactions between engineering and medicine, particularly in the fields of cardiovascular mechanics, tissue engineering, and orthopedics.

The Richard Skalak Memorial Prize is awarded annually to a senior Biomedical Engineering student who exemplifies the qualities of outstanding engineering scholarship and breadth of scientific curiosity, which form the basis for life-long learning and discovery.

Recipients of the Richard Skalak Memorial Prize:

The Claire S. and Robert E. Reiss Prize in Biomedical Engineering is given to the graduating seniors in Biomedical Engineering judged by the faculty of the program most likely to contribute substantially to the field. Dr. Reiss received his Ph.D. from the Engineering School of Columbia University, and was the founder of InterVentional Technologies Inc.

Recipients of the Claire S. and Robert E. Reiss Prize:

The Yuen-huo Hung & Chao-chin Huang Award in Biomedical Engineering has been endowed to honor the grandfathers of Professor Clark T. Hung in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His paternal grandfather Yuen-huo Hung was a surgeon in Taipei who was renowned for his practice of medicine and for his compassion toward patients.  Professor Hung's maternal grandfather Chao-chin Huang was a famous politician in Taiwan who dedicated his life to the citizens of his country, serving as mayor of Taipei, Speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly and Consul General to the United States.

This award is given to a graduating doctoral student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering who embodies the collective attributes of these distinguished individuals. This student will have demonstrated great potential for making significant contributions to the fields of biomedical engineering and public health, and for serving as an ambassador of biomedical engineering.

Recipients of the Yuen-huo Hung & Chao-chin Huang Award:

• 2024 Rosa Vincent and Divya Bhansali
• 2023 Stephen Lee and Naveed Tavakol
• 2022 Timothy Jacobsen and Meghan Pinezich
• 2021 Salman Ehtesham Qasim
• 2020 Maria Eleni Karakatsani and Robert Stefani
• 2019 Milos Spasic, Eben Estell, and YehHsing (Sima) Lao
• 2018 Holly Wobma
• 2017 Shih-Ying Wu
• 2016 Amy Lam
• 2015 Amandine Godier-Furnemont
• 2014 Andrea R. Tan
• 2013 Jean Provost
• 2012 Yao-Sheng Tung and Molly Lara Flexman
• 2011 Yuk Kee Cheung
• 2010 Kristen Moffat
• 2009 Evren Azeloglu
• 2008 Kenneth Wayman Ng

New in 2020, the Outstanding Achievement Award in Biomedical Engineering Master's Studies is given to a Master of Science (MS) student in biomedical engineering who best exhibits academic excellence, visionary leadership, and outstanding promise for the future of innovation and engineering in medicine.

Recipients of the Outstanding Achievement Award in Biomedical Engineering Master's Studies:

Other SEAS Awards:

George Vincent Wendell Memorial Award

• 2023 Elías Tzoc-Pacheco

Campbell Award

• 2021 Archana Murali

Friedman Award:

• 2022 Kaveri Thakoor
• 2019 Yeh-Hsing (Sima) Lao
• 2016 Amy Lam

Graduate Student Life Leadership Award (Ph.D.):

• 2021 Shreya Narasimhan
• 2020 Christopher Mosher

Graduate Student Life Leadership Award (M.S.):

• 2020 Ashritha Eadara

Jaffe Prize:

• 2019 Stephanie Rager

King’s Crown Leadership & Excellence Awards

Civic Responsibility

• 2021 Anisha Tyagi

Columbia Spirit

• 2023 Elvin Canseco

Community Building

• 2023 Athena Pagon
• 2021 Özgenur Çelik

Principled Action

• 2023 Daniel Garcia

Health and Wellness

• 2023 Lori Luo
• 2022 Özgenur Çelik

Scholar Athlete Award:

• 2019 Rachel Alexander