BIOE400 Engineering Undergraduate Research

Fall 2009 Syllabus and Organization

Course Descriptions

Engineering Undergraduate Research: Independent investigation of a specific topic or problem in modern bioengineering research under the direction of a selected faculty member. Research project has a strong engineering component.

Course Instructor
Ka-Yiu San
Office: BRC 815
Email:  ksan@rice.edu

Students may email Dr. San with any questions or to request a meeting.  Please use the following format in the subject line: 
"BIOE 400 - subject - firstname lastname"

Course Website
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~bioe400/

Owl-Space: Announcements to the class will be made through Rice Owl-Space

Selection of Faculty Advisor and Research Project
Students should arrange to meet with the project advisor to find out more details about the project (scope of the project, number of hours to be spent in the lab per week and credit hours to be enrolled in, etc).

Note: Students are expected to spend at least three hours per week in the laboratory for each semester hour of credit.

Submit a signed Application by Wednesday, September 2, 2009*. You can place the signed application in Dr. San's mail box (located in 116 Keck Hall). In addition, e-mail a copy of your application to ksan@rice.edu.

Your Application will be reviewed and will be notified the approval or rejection of your proposed project by Friday, September 4, 2009.

* Late Applications will be accepted, but will be penalized (see Grading Policy below).

Important Dates are listed in the table below:

August 24 , 2009	First Day of Classes for Fall 2009
August 24 - September 2, 2009	Meet with prospective faculty advisors and select project
September 2 , 2009	Deadline for submission of completed application form
December 4, 2009	Poster presentation#
December 4, 2009	Deadline for submission of Final Report (A section describing the engineering content of the project must be included in the final report)

# Please contact Dr. San if you cannot participate in the poster presentation due to special circumstances

Reporting and Other Course Requirements

1. Students must submit an electronic copy of their Final Report on their Research Project.  Final Reports must be sent to ksan@rice.edu before 12:00 noon on December 4, 2009. A copy of the final report must also be submitted to the project advisor before 12:00 noon on December 4, 2009. No late report will be accepted.
2. Students must give a Poster Presentation on their Research Project. Please contact Dr. San if you cannot participate in the poster presentation due to special circumstances.
3. A student may not receive a salary for the same work that is being performed for BIOE 400 course credit.  Students must notify Dr. San if they are receiving salary for research so that she can verify the independence of the planned paid work and course project with the faculty advisor. 

Grading Policy
A. The nominal grade will be based on the following:

Project advisor's recommendation:   70%
Final report:      20%
Oral Poster presentation:             10%

B.  The final grade will be based on the following:

Penalty for late Application:

1. Between September 5-11: No penalty will be assessed if you turn in your application together with a letter from your advisor justifying your late application. Otherwise your final grade will be lowered by one level (for example, if your nominal grade is A, your reported final grade will be lowered to A^-).
2. After September 11, your final grade will be lowered by one level per week without exception.