“It was a great opportunity! It was a great way to network and learn from the BME community. I was able to talk to grad school recruiters, researchers, and connect with BMES chapters around the nation. There were a lot of talks on current research and poster presentations in almost any BME field you can imagine. There were also amazing panels on diversity and inclusion, which introduced me to so many communities within BMES that I didn't know had existed before! My favorite memory from the annual meeting was being able to talk to a grad school recruiter for almost half an hour!”
BMES at UCI Member
- ATTENDEE
“The 2020 BMES Virtual Annual Meeting was a pretty worthwhile experience for me. Although current circumstances prevent me from enjoying it in person amongst my colleagues in San Diego, I did gain a fair amount from attending. For starters, I was given the opportunity to hear from numerous longstanding professionals involved in the biomedical field that I probably wouldn't have heard from otherwise. Their talks were both inspiring and quite informative. The work that professional and student researchers presented did not disappoint either. It was nice to see the culmination of research projects showcased as so. The most memorable part of the conference was actually boothing with my team for a live Q&A session for the National BMES-Medtronic Student Design Competition. We spent hours communicating with field professionals interested in checking our project out, and it was ‘wow’ moment for me. Winning 2nd place didn't damper the competition either. Overall, even in a limited virtual format, the 2020 BMES Virtual Annual Meeting was a nice experience and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to go.”
UltraVision and BMES at UCI Board Member
- KAMALESH ANANTHAKRISHNAN
“Overall, attending the 2020 BMES Virtual Annual Meeting was an incredible experience. Aside from the fact that it would have been an enhanced experience in-person, I found the formatting of the event organized and informative with all individuals participating coming from a diverse range of backgrounds and fields, which added to the excitement. Throughout this conference, I gained a sense of what BME is outside of Irvine and the impact that our course of study has on the world and real-life issues, whether that be societal or scientific, and I think all the speakers really emphasized the importance of what we all are capable of doing. As a whole, it was an amazing opportunity to hear inspiring people share their story and also connect with individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life. It was definitely a special conference to be a part of and I hope to attend in-person one day!”
BMES at UCI Member
- ATTENDEE
“I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to attend the national BMES conference this year. Without BMES at UCI's refund of the cost, I would not have been able to attend. This conference gave me many resources for resume and LinkedIn preparation, applying to graduate school, and how to best plan club events while remote. Additionally, the BMES national conference had a platform called ‘BMES Matchmaking’ which allowed users to create a profile and connect to other attendees and presenters as well as schedule a zoom meeting. I was able to connect with representatives from my top graduate school choices and learn about their programs as well as gain some fee waivers through raffles. This was an experience that I will never forget, especially since I was able to do all of this from the comfort of my own home.”
BMES at UCI Board Member
- LILY MCGRALE