Biomedical Engineers Win ‘People's Choice’ Award for Inspiring Video

The National Academy of Engineering named a group of University of California, San Diego bioengineering students as the “People’s Choice” award winner in a video contest celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the NAE. The Biomedical Engineering Society at UC San Diego received $5,000 in prize money for their award-winning video titled “The Future is Boundless.”

 

Four student members of BMES traveled to DC with bioengineering professor John Watson to participate in the NAE’s 50^th anniversary celebration including Teryn Johnson, Michelle Ragsac, Clarence Mah and Andrea Ngo. Ragsac actually hand drew every frame of the video using a stylus connected to her computer. The narration was done by a high school friend of Mah’s who happens to be a voice actor. 

“The focus of BMES here at UC San Diego is to improve the quality of life of bioengineering students by helping them grow both on a professional and personal level,” said Johnson, the society’s president. Some of BMES’ larger events include Bioengineering Day and Lab Expo.

Johnson said a portion of the winnings would probably be spent on devices such as dry electrodes and spirometers that can be used in hands-on demonstrations as part of the club’s outreach to get K-12 students interested in studying engineering. “We are extremely proud of our students and their efforts beyond the classroom to develop into well-rounded leaders for their future engineering careers,” said John Watson, professor of bioengineering and the faculty advisor for BMES at UC San Diego.

L-R Michelle Ragsac (animator), Clarence Mah, Teryn Johnson, Bioengineering Professor John Watson and Andrea Ngo pose with Albert Einstein at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

The Engineering for You contest invited participants to submit a 1-2 minute video showing engineering’s impact on society in the last 50 years and to project its contributions in the next 50 years. More than 600 videos were submitted in six categories: middle school and younger (K-8); high school (grades nine-12); tertiary education (2-year college through graduate school, full or part time); NAE Frontiers of Engineering and Frontiers of Engineering Education participants/alumni; NAE members and foreign members; and the general public. The People’s Choice Award was chosen by the public through voting on the NAE YouTube channel.

“The outcome of the NAE 50^th Anniversary Engineering for You Video Contest was more inspiring than any of us anticipated,” said NAE President C. D. Mote Jr., in a statement released by NAE. “The messages touched on the essence of engineering, how it serves people and society. They give present powerful visions of what the future holds.”