Duke Reunion Celebrates Past and Present Duke BME Community
Duke BME celebrated and connected alumni with current faculty and students during a special seminar series event and inaugural BME reception
The Duke Biomedical Engineering Community came together for two exciting events held during the annual Duke reunion: a special edition of the BME Seminar Series, and the inaugural Duke BME reception. Both events gave existing students, faculty and staff the ability to connect with alumni and celebrate the department’s continued success.
The BME Seminar Series: Conversations with Alumni, brought together five alums from Duke BME’s program: Ali Hartley, Bruce Klitzman, Jeffrey Barnes, David Korn and Stephanie Musinsky. The panel was moderated by Amanda Randles, a Duke alum and the Alfred Winborne and Victoria Stover Mordecai Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the university.
Each alumni answered questions about their career progression and offered advice for students, with topics ranging from the importance of interdisciplinary work to experiences working in industry and the entrepreneurial space.
“The seminar was a fascinating opportunity to learn about BME alums’ diverse career paths and how they use their BME background to excel in their current roles,” says Randles. “It was also a great reminder of the importance of collaborating across disciplines.”
These conversations continued at the inaugural BME Reception, which allowed current students to connect with alums, learn from their experiences and make valuable networking connections.
Joseph Izatt, the chair of Duke BME, welcomed over one hundred students, staff, faculty and alums to the event. The reception featured custom cookies that celebrated the research of junior faculty in the department and a BINGO game, organized by Duke BME’s BEPSA student organization, with squares like ‘find an alumnus who camped out’ or ‘Find a Pratt Fellow,’ which encouraged entertaining interactions between members across the Duke BME community. Signs also decorated the atrium, offering QR codes for alumni to join the department’s LinkedIn group to stay in touch.
“The Inaugural BME Reception was a huge success, and we hope to continue the tradition in years to come,” said Randles. “It was an excellent opportunity to unite the BME community and build connections across generations. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event. These celebratory events showed us that the future is bright for the Duke BME community!”
