Peer-Reviewed Papers Page 125 Page 125 Innovative Biomedical Design Competitions and Scenarios Exploring Underserved Populations Benjamin S. Kelley, Baylor University David B. Dittenber, Steven R. Ayers, and Roger V. Gonzalez, LeTourneau University Jay R. Goldberg, Marquette University Robert Malkin, Duke University Abstract Collegiate undergraduate biomedical engineering continues to emerge and mature as a discipline that provides a sound grounding in engineering fundamentals with the promise of advancing health solutions around the world. As volunteerism and service learning within engineering programs has grown, so has the diversity of approaches for undergraduate biomedical engineering design projects associated with underserved populations. One project that works toward meeting the needs of developing countries is the LeTourneau Engineering Global Solutions (LEGS). National student design competitions such as the Biomedical Engineering Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Award (BMEidea), and the Engineering World Health (EWH) Projects That Matter Program provide students with a showcase for the results of service learning and social entrepreneurship projects. Another vehicle is in-class paper design projects, containing simpliied versions of real-world hands- on scenarios. Introduction With regard to engineering education, biomedical engineering offers attributes common to the other engineering disciplines while also offering unique opportunities speciic to its relationship with the healing professions. Engineering and engineers have long been agents in protecting the safety, health, and welfare of the public (ASME 2007). Biomedical engineering holds a unique position within the engineering spectrum in that it deals intimately with human health and wellness. In today’s business and global climate, ethics is increasingly a principle cannon of engineering practice (NSPE 2007). It has been a relatively recent phenomenon that increasing and planned opportunities for volunteerism and service learning, whether based on moral values, ethics, or faith convictions, are a component associated with engineering programs (Creane 2006). Technology is frequently a central need in designing and solving solutions. Often these valuable opportunities are in association with community service agencies, non-proit organizations, and religious groups (Kelley 2006). These types of organizations must generally rely on volunteers, especially when the need is to deliver a technical solution (Jamison 2002). Biomedical engineering education and design projects offer useful opportunities to improve the quality of life for individuals or groups where often the impact can be seen profoundly and immediately. Capstone, Service Learning, and Academic Perspectives Senior capstone design projects provide students with the opportunity to develop their design, analytical, project management, communication, and interpersonal skills while applying the knowledge acquired during their undergraduate careers. Capstone projects are often cast in a team environment where formal “classroom” instruction includes the topics of teamwork, economics, ethics, and societal context. Depending on the project’s scope, a robotic design for example, capstone projects may also cross engineering departmental boundaries to include computer science and even business students. Many employers consider skills and knowledge related to the social sciences (communication, teamwork, and ethics) to be more important than those related to engineering or the natural sciences to the successful performance of new engineers. Six of the eleven outcomes required of engineering programs by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) are