Nadia Nuru                                                                                                                                                                                                                     10/11/19

 

 From China to America : Interview with a Biomedical Engineer 

 

“ Anyone who finds interest in  STEM, biology and engineering is then seeking into biomedical engineering”. On Friday, I met up with a biomedical engineering located at the City College of New York, Steinman Hall for an interview. The purpose of the interview was to gain some information about how to become a biomedical engineering. 

 

Sihong Wang is an assistant professor in the biomedical engineering affiliation. Ms.wang spoke about how she was interested in biology, medicine and engineering back when she was younger.Professor Wang said,“Family was also what inspired me to attain a career as an engineering.” She was influenced by both of her parents with this career that she pursued. Ms. Wang’s parents were both electrical engineering professors. She also mentioned that her uncle was a doctor.

 

“I spent many years in school,” said Professor Wang. Ms.Wang achieved two masters and a 5 year PhD . A PhD is the highest degree that she attained. Professor Wang’s undergraduate was in China. She attended Shanghai Jiao Tong University located in Shanghai,1990. “It wasn’t hard” stated professor Wang. She explained how the courses and requirements she took wasn’t that difficult and she understood them very well. After a few years she came to the United States and earned a M.S in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Memphis, 1997. She later earned her Ph. D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, 2003.She also went further into continuing her education at Postdoc, Center of Engineering for Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children.

 

“I was a software engineer for my first job,” said Professor Wang. After graduating college, Professor Wang said it wasn’t difficult finding a job. She worked as a software engineer . She worked on using technology to design biomedical equipment and also making codes for medicine. Professor Wang said “after her PhD she was a postdoc.Professor Wang currently works as a professor at the City College of New York. She teaches many courses for both graduate and undergraduate students. Some of the courses that she teaches are BMW 504,502,310,450, Molecular Engineering etc. She also works with many students who are engineering majors.

 

Writing is a very important factor in the engineering field. “Us biomedical engineers write constantly,” said Professor Wang. Writing is part of engineering. The type of writing that professor Wang does in her position are reports, experimental research, publications, project proposal, progress report, modifications and resubmission. One example of a publications that Professor Wang did was : Chenghai Li, Kristifor Sunderic, Steven B. Nicoll, Sihong Wang, “Downregulation of HSP70 Impairs Osteogenic and Chondrogenic Differentiation in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells”, Scientific Reports, January 18, 2018.

 

Biomedical engineers have many ways to communicate with one another. Some ways of communication are phone calls, emails, meetings, and conferences. Professor Wang said I work with my co-worker’s by phone sometimes. They make phone calls I Offer to address things that needs more clarification on. Meeting and conferences are more essential to engineering. They can work in groups and discuss new ideas to help them function their duties well.

Professor Wang gave me several advice after the interview. She told me to work hard and put my heart into what I want to do. She said I have to know Math and science very well because they are the main requirements to work in that career field. She also told me that to take my time and not to rush into finishing.

 

In conclusion, I’ve learned a lot about a biomedical engineer career. I had the opportunity to meet in person to hear Professor Wang’s story of how she attained her goal. To become a biomedical engineering, one needs a good education. Without attending school, seeking a career as a biomedical engineering will not be possible.