Our Departments

Biomedical Engineering

Consistently ranked as one of the top biomedical engineering programs in the nation, the Biomedical Engineering Department at Duke University provides a superior interdisciplinary research and education environment that prepares graduates to be leaders in the integration of engineering and biology for the detection and treatment of human disease. A unique aspect of the program is the integration of research and education. Over two-thirds of the undergraduates are involved in independent study research projects. Current research activities of the department include biomechanics of cells and hard and soft tissues, cellular and biosurface engineering, electrical activity of the heart and brain, medical imaging systems, and medical informatics. Collaborations exist with many Medical Center departments, the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Center for In Vivo Microscopy.

Faculty and students have access to state-of-the-art resources that include the Tissue Properties and Orthopaedic Laboratory; the Optics and Biosensors Laboratory; the Ultrasonic Laboratories; the Center for In Vivo Microscopy; the Cardiac Stimulation and Simulation Laboratory and the Experimental Electrophysiology Laboratory, and the Cellular and Molecular Imaging Laboratory.

Research areas:

  • Biomechanics research in the department focuses upon mechanics at the cellular, tissue, and joint level under normal and pathological conditions. Research projects focus upon orthopaedics and musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems.
  • Biomedical imaging research involves the development and application of novel systems in ultrasound, biophotonics, MRI, x-ray, and nuclear medicine.
  • Biomolecular and tissue engineering focuses on elucidating and applying molecular and cellular information to develop novel therapeutics. Research areas include includes biomolecular engineering, drug and gene delivery, effect of physical force on cells and tissues, and musculoskeletal and cardiovascular tissue engineering.
  • Electrobiology and neural engineering research at Duke focuses upon the electrical activity of the heart and nervous system as well as applications for the treatment of cardiac and neurological disorders.

Civil & Environmental Engineering

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is pursuing diverse research and educational activities to improve the fundamental health and safety of society. These activities occur across three focus areas: Materials, Structures and Geo-systems; Hydrology and Fluid Dynamics; and Environmental Process Engineering.

Students develop skills in engineering analysis, design, technical communication, and teamwork. In addition to conducting innovative research, students in the department also have the ability to apply that academic preparation to assist in improving the constructed and natural environments in which we live.

Research areas:

  • Environmental Process Engineering focuses on water quality issues, waste handling and treatment, and contaminant fate and transport
  • Materials, structures and geo-systems focuses on engineering and environmental geophysics, theoretical and applied computational mechanics, theoretical soil and rock mechanics, seismic vibration suppression, failure analysis and design theory.
  • Hydrology and fluid dynamics focuses on environmental fluid dynamics, land-atmosphere and air-sea interactions, weather and climate modeling, hydrology, deterministic and stochastic modeling of water flow and contaminant transport, and ecohydrology.
  • Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology investigates the fate and effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors, particularly chemicals, in the environment such as environmental implications of nanotechnology, mechanisms underlying chemical fate and transport, modeling of atmospheric transport and chemistry, molecular mechanisms of toxicity and adaptation, toxicogenomics, impacts on populations, communities and ecosystems; and environmental risk assessment.

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Electrical and computer engineering is a broadly based engineering discipline dealing with the processing, control, and transmission of information and energy by making extensive use of electrical and electromagnetic phenomena, systems theory, and computational hardware and software. The Department also encourages students and faculty to develop synergies with disciplines outside of engineering, such as medicine and the life sciences. Duke undergraduates participate in independent study, a semester abroad, and a degree program with a second major. Electrical engineers complete second majors in biomedical engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, economics, and public policy studies. Additional interests such as pre-medicine, pre-law, business, other engineering disciplines, art, music, psychology, and social sciences can be accommodated.

ECE faculty members are actively involved in advanced research and teaching in all major areas of electrical and computer engineering. The Department houses several research centers, and promotes graduate and undergraduate curriculum innovation. It is the driving force behind the Pratt School's Strategic Initiative in Photonics and Communications, and a major participant in the Materials Engineering and Materials Systems initiative, as well as several other focus programs. In addition to its own advanced, completely networked computing equipment, the Department has networked access to the resources of the North Carolina microelectronics, supercomputing, and communications centers in nearby Research Triangle Park. Specialized laboratories are devoted to machine intelligence, signal processing, visualization, optoelectronics, computer architecture and digital systems, design automation technology, electromagnetics, molecular beam epitaxy, and an instructional integrated circuit fabrication facility.

Research areas:

  • Architecture and Networking Research in computer architecture and networking focuses on the architecture of next generation computer systems that will be high-performance, reliable, self-healing, and even self assembled. Furthermore, we are networking these computers over the wired and wireless media to realize a future in which information will be available anytime, anywhere.
  • Biological Applications Faculty in this research subgroup collaborate with other ECE faculty, and with faculty in other departments and in the medical school, to address a wide variety of applications of electrical and computer engineering to biological problems.
  • Circuits and Systems This research focuses on the behavior, integration and testing of components in both digital and analog circuits and systems. We leverage the properties of emerging technologies to deliver new capabilities in mixed-signal, RF, and digital applications and in many cases seek to exploit new phenomena at the nanoscale.
  • Nanosystems, Devices & Materials This research focuses on devices and systems that exploit the properties of materials at the nanoscale. An important aspect of this work is to study the broad, vertical implications of the behavior of materials on integrated systems in new application domains.
  • Quantum Computing & Photonics Adequate utilization of light promises unparalleled performance in a wide range of applications in imaging, sensing, energy sciences and advanced information processing. The Quantum Computing & Photonics (or, the appropriate research group name here) research activities at Duke explore novel approaches to building unique optical devices and systems leveraging advances in new material systems, nano-and micro-fabrication technologies, integrated microsystems concepts and computational techniques.
  • Sensing & Signals The sensing and signals group focuses on fundamental theoretical and methodological aspects of information processing with a wide variety of important and exciting applications. Recording and analyzing signals, images, and electromagnetic waves is a key component of Duke's interdisciplinary research in ECE. The researchers in this area tackle challenging problems ranging from the measurement of lightening to improving hearing with cochlear implants and from homeland security to the next generation of digital cameras.
  • Waves & Metamaterials The next generation of materials will be engineered with desirable properties, depending on the need of an application. When an object needs to be invisible, it can be developed from a material with negative refractive index. Revolutionary research from the waves and metamaterial labs makes Duke an exciting place to be in.

Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

Departmental faculty are engaged in research and education over a wide range of topics in the broad disciplines of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. This research is innovative and well funded. Educational programs are benefited by the scholarly activities of the faculty and provide many special student opportunities. Research topics currently active in mechanical engineering include adaptive structures, acoustics, aerodynamics, controls, dynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. A flexible curriculum allows undergraduates a variety of double majors in both other engineering disciplines and the sciences.

Research facilities include a microparticle and cell manipulation laboratory, a fully instrumented anechoic chamber, a wind tunnel, a shock wave lithotripsy facility, electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction equipment, and specialized laboratories in controls, robotics, adaptive structures, dynamic systems, and positron annihilation spectroscopy. Computer support includes fully networked workstations and interconnection with the supercomputing facilities at the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina. Departmental faculty, staff, and students collaborate regularly with researchers from other departments in engineering, physics, chemistry, biology, the basic medical sciences, medicine, and environmental studies, as well as with a number of industry and government laboratories. Active topics in research and education in materials science are centered around soft wet materials and nanostructures as well as electronic materials and the use of positron annihilation methods in materials evaluation. The soft wet materials research effort has recently achieved a major advance in drug delivery.

A number of international exchange arrangements are in place, including extensive interchange with the Max Planck Institute/Halle, where a former faculty member is a co-director. A Duke University in Romania program is directed by a member of the department, and a member of our department was invited by the government of Singapore to participate in a review of proposed new educational initiatives. An upcoming international conference on turbomachinery will be hosted at Duke under the leadership of another departmental faculty member.

Research areas:

  • Acoustics & Vibrations - Research centers on seven areas: aeroacoustics, acoustics of underwater vehicles, architectural acoustics, sound propagation and absorbing materials, structural acoustics, vehicle interior noise, and vibration and acoustics of dynamical systems.
  • Aerodynamics & Fluid Mechanics - Research focuses on the following areas: aeroacoustics, aeroelasticity, computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer, tribology, unsteady aerodynamics, vortex dominated flows.
  • Biomechanics & Biomaterials - Research focuses on the following areas: atomic force microscopy, biomaterials, biorheology, biostealth surfaces, cell membrane and surface engineering, cell rheology, mechanics and biomechanics, mechanical properties of kidney stones
  • Dynamics & Controls - Research centers on several areas: complex systems, control of structure-borne noise, fluid-structure interaction (aeroelasticity), flutter suppression, noise and vibration suppression, nonlinear dynamics and chaos, robotics
  • Energy Tech & Thermodynamics - Research focuses on the following areas: convection in porous media, magnetic bearings, melting and solidification, natural convection, second law analysis, thermal design by entropy generation, minimization, tribology, energy harvesting, two-phase heat transfer.
  • Manufacturing - Research focuses on the following areas: nanomanufacturing, instrumentation, fabrication, self assembly, machining dynamics, dynamic nanoindentation.
  • Materials Science & Mechanics - Research focuses on soft wet materials, enzyme stamping, biointerface science, corrosion, electronic materials, nondestructive testing, oxide heterostructures, computational materials science, positron annihilation spectroscopy, nanostructured interfaces, computational mechanics.

Master of Engineering Management Program

The Master of Engineering Management Program is an interdisciplinary professional program that integrates management, technology, and a practical internship to produce tomorrow's technology leaders. The one-year program is a hands-on, applied master's degree program designed to give graduates a rapid start to careers in technical management. Applicants must have completed either an engineering or science bachelor degree program.

Offered with the support of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and the School of Law, the management curriculum includes business law, finance, marketing, and management with an emphasis on technology management and entrepreneurship.

Students customize their curriculum by choosing technical electives in core engineering disciplines of biomedical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering or material science; interdisciplinary fields such as photonics, biomaterials or nanomaterials; or technology management topics, such as operations management, project management or engineering entrepreneurship.

The curriculum is complemented with a seminar series featuring entrepreneurs and industry leaders who discuss the current challenges they are facing in the area of technology management. In the complex, competitive world of technology driven industry, skilled engineers who understand the essential principles of business and law have a tremendous competitive advantage.