Home Undergraduate Program Graduate Program Staff Student Info Departments
 
 

 

 

Welcome to the Bioengineering Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Bioengineering (BE) is a field of engineering in which the emphasis is on life and life-sustaining systems. Bioengineers study the design, production, and operation of engineered systems in which living organisms (plants, animals, aquatic species, cells, etc.) are a major component. Bioengineers deal with structures, machinery, energy, labor, land, water, wastes, and resource variables related to the efficient creation of products and processes to fill human needs. They approach problems in the context of the whole system to balance society's demand for products from biological resources (e.g., food, fiber, and higher-value products) with environmental integrity and economic success.


The mission of the Bioengineering Program is to provide students a unique opportunity to study the fundamentals of engineering and biology, and the application of engineering to biological systems. To fulfill this mission, the BE Program has adopted as its Educational Objectives, to:

  • Provide students with the fundamentals of engineering;
  • Train students to become engineers with the skills to design, manufacture, test, and/or operate systems in which living organisms or biological products are a significant component; and
  • Produce graduates that have the skills to function in modern society as is expected of a professional engineer with a baccalaureate degree.

The undergraduate degree offered by the program is a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering. Students benefit from small class sizes, student centered laboratory and design experiences, and one-on-one interactions with faculty. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

Contact Information:
Dr. Daniel Jenkins, Undergraduate Advisor
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Agricultural Science 218
1955 East-West Road
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-6069
Fax: (808) 956-3542
E-mail: danielje@hawaii.edu

Graduate Study

The research areas in Bioengineering open to MS students include management of wastes and wastewater; engineering for cell culture, fermentation, micropropagation, and bioconversion; engineering-intensive horticultural and aquatic biosystems; modeling and optimization of bioresource production and processing systems; engineering of systems for renewable energy production; development of processes for enhancing the value of natural products; spatial decision support systems for environmental protection and resource development; bioremediation; biological and thermochemical conversion; control, automation and mechanization of biological systems, and; biosensor development for agricultural and medical applications. Graduates of the program have entered careers in industry and public agencies or have undertaken further study in a PhD degree program. Intended candidates for the MS must have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited engineering program or the equivalent.

Contact Information
Dr. P. Y. Yang
Graduate Chair, Bioengineering
University of Hawaii at Manoa
3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 105
Honolulu, HI 96822
Tel: (808) 956-8459
Fax: (808) 956-9269
E-mail: pingyi@hawaii.edu


top of page