The Society for Biological Engineering (SBE) — a technical subsidiary of AIChE — will mark 20 years as a unifying entity within the ever-diversifying bioengineering space with activities slated for the 2024 AIChE Annual Meeting. In addition to technical sessions, SBE will host an awards ceremony and reception on October 29 featuring retrospective commentary from some of the SBE’s leaders.
AIChE established the Society for Biological Engineering in 2004 to build a bridge between chemical engineering and the biological sciences. Prior to SBE, the interests of AIChE members in the then-emerging field were served by the programming activities of AIChE’s Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division. However, that programming was limited to sessions conducted at the AIChE Annual Meeting.
In a written history of SBE, MIT’s Gregory Stephanopoulos — a founder of SBE — noted that, at the time, “many chemical engineers active in biotechnology and biomedical engineering sought a more-structured and dedicated collaboration space within AIChE.” The creation of SBE, he added, “would provide a home for chemical engineers in the bio arena and the vehicle for strengthening the presence of biological sciences in the curriculum and the research portfolio of chemical engineering.”
The SBE has responded to the diversifying interests of chemical engineers, bioengineers, and applied scientist by establishing new conferences. Today, the SBE’s subject-matter experts help AIChE to organize more than 15 annual or biennial specialty conferences to serve stakeholders’ evolving needs.
SBE’s members represent a spectrum of industries and disciplines, with specializations in bioprocessing, biomedicine, biomolecular applications, and more. For information, visit www.aiche.org/sbe.
Learn more about the 2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
This article originally appeared in the Institute News column in the September 2024 issue of CEP. Members have access online to complete issues, including a vast, searchable archive of back-issues found at www.aiche.org/cep.