Outreach Update!

BESA has recently gone on three visits to Sacramento area high schools to promote biomedical engineering and to interest students in BME careers. BESA visited with the biotechnology class of Arthur A Benjamin Health Professions High School on Oct 23, the MESA (Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement) Club of Rio Linda High School on Nov 4, and the Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences class of River City High School on Nov 13. In all cases, students learned about medical imaging, cellular and molecular engineering, and biomechanics. The class from Arthur A Benjamin High School even came to visit UC Davis BME on Nov 9 to see what science research labs are like! BESA Outreach is going strong and many more visits are planned in the upcoming months!

Free Movie Screening in GBSF!

What: BESA cordially invites you to a FREE screening of the
documentary “Naturally Obsessed: the Making of a Scientist”.

When: Thursday, November 19, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm

Where: Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility (GBSF), room 1005

Why: This new film provides a uniquely honest perspective on what
drives people to do science and what is behind a scientist’s obsession
to solve problems.  The movie is of interest not only to graduate
students, but also undergrads, faculty, and staff, so please spread the
word!

See the website www.naturallyobsessed.com for more info.

Due to limited seating capacity you MUST RSVP to attend this event.
To do so, please email: besa@ucdavis.edu.
In addition, BESA would like to invite you to join us for food and
beverages before the movie!
We will meet up outside GBSF 1005 for some grub and socializing at 5:15pm, immediately following the BME seminar.

Again, due to limited food and seating, you MUST RSVP. Please email:
besa@ucdavis.edu and indicate if you will be attending DINNER, MOVIE, or BOTH.

Halloween Party Pictures!

Pictures from the BESA Halloween Party are now up.  Check out the “Photos” tab to catch a glimpse of all the crazy costumes!

BESA would especially like to thank Dr. Heinrich for taking all the photos and providing them to be displayed on the web.

Celebrate Halloween!

Meeting Minutes (10/14/09)

All BESA officers plus Dr. Leach and Christal Wintersmith were present, along with a few other BME students (thanks Phil, Gina, Laura, Jason).

Recaps were provided for both the most recent GSA meeting as well as the BMES conference in Pittsburgh.  The budget was discussed and a few officers volunteered to become involved with various faculty committees.  The welcome BBQ was also discussed, including good points as well as areas for improvement next year.

Future events such as the Track Specific Discussion and Halloween Party were topics of debate and planning.  Penny Wars! was brought up, primarily to make students aware of the huge faculty lead (bring in those pennies!).  Finally, some financial matters were batted around.

To read more about the specifics, please click below:

Penny Wars!

Penny Wars is happening NOW:

Time to bust open those piggy banks and get your spare change ready for a PENNY WAR! 2 jars will be kept in the main office by the front desk (or on the 3rd floor by the mailboxes) one for faculty/staff and one for students. The objective of this fundraiser is for your group to finish with the most points in your jar. For each penny added to the jar, your team will get one point. Add nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars to opposing teams jars to deduct points from their total (i.e. 5, 10, 25, and 100 points). At the end of October, whichever jar has the most points (pennies – the sum of all other change/bills) wins!!

What’s at stake? Bragging rights of course and an awesome trophy that your team will own until the next time we play.

Where will all this pocket change go? To events BESA plans for you! And to the adopt-a-family program we’ll be planning for the holidays.

How long do you have to play? October 1st-October 29th. Winners will be announced at the BESA Halloween party on October 30th. So dig out all those pennies you don’t know what to do with, have fun, and don’t let the other teams out change you!!

High School Outreach!

On Friday, Sept 25, UC Davis BESA visited St Francis High School in Sacramento for their bi-annual Health and Safety Fair. Members from the community representing many organizations, including UC Davis, Sutter Health, the California Highway Patrol, and the US Army, set up booths and displays with information and hands-on activities for students to learn more about health and safety. BESA attracted many students with displays of UC Davis BME and the College of Engineering, as well as demonstrations of BME topics including imaging, pulse oximeters, and biomechanics and functional knee models. Many students were shocked at how the knee ligaments and tendons actually slide, bend, and stretch during movement! Check out photos under the “Photos” tab.