Biological Systems Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Computer Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Materials Engineering

There are many challenges, and each can be approached from a number of traditional engineering fields. Yet today’s technologies are so complex that they must engage not only other kinds of engineers, but people from all walks of life.

For instance, a chemical engineer might use data sets generated by a computer engineer to formulate a new vaccine against cancer. A materials engineer might develop a polymer for timed release of the vaccine in a reactor designed in part by an electrical engineer.

And you’ll work with others, from microbiologists in the lab to physicians in clinical trials to business analysts to determine the economic viability of your work—the same broad range of collaborators who participate in any technological innovation.

Iowa State engineers are breaking through boundaries between the digital and biological worlds. Professor Julie Dickerson is an electrical engineer who explores the metabolic networks of plant cells with Meta!Blast, a video game she and her collaborators developed in Iowa State’s C6 virtual reality chamber.