Linxia Gu is a biomechanical engineer, and a professor and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Science at the Florida Institute of Technology. Her research interests focus on biomechanics and biomaterials, including 3D bioprinting, and bio-ink; [1] Her major projects are head trauma, [2] the optimization of stenting procedure, [3] and the crashworthiness of vehicle design. [4]
Gu grew up in Henan. [5] She was an undergraduate at Xi'an Jiaotong University, and earned a master's degree at the Dalian University of Technology, both in China. She completed a Ph.D. at the University of Florida in 2004. [6]
She became an assistant professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2006. She moved to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2009, as an assistant professor in mechanical engineering. She became the university's first hire in its ADVANCE program. [5] After becoming an associate professor and full professor at the University of Nebraska, she moved to her present position at Florida Tech in 2019. [1]
Gu was named as an ASME Fellow in 2016. [7]
Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications. BME is also traditionally logical sciences to advance health care treatment, including diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Also included under the scope of a biomedical engineer is the management of current medical equipment in hospitals while adhering to relevant industry standards. This involves procurement, routine testing, preventive maintenance, and making equipment recommendations, a role also known as a Biomedical Equipment Technician (BMET) or as a clinical engineer.
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and maintain mechanical systems. It is one of the oldest and broadest of the engineering branches.
Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable energy, ecological engineering, agricultural engineering, process engineering and catalysis, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.
Biomechanical engineering, also considered a subfield of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, combines principles of physics, biology, and engineering. Topics of interest in this field include biomechanics, computational mechanics, continuum mechanics, bioinstrumentation, design of implants and prostheses, etc. This is a highly multidisciplinary field, and engineers with such a background may enter related niche careers, e.g., as an ergonomics consultant, rehabilitation engineer, biomechanics researcher, and biomedical device engineer.
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