ABOUT BMES
History
In response to the emerging need to provide a society offering equal status to representatives of both biomedical and engineering interests, the Biomedical Engineering Society was incorporated in Illinois on February 1, 1968. BMES published its "Historical Perspective" in 2004, celebrating its 35-year history and growth. For reprints of this Perspective, please e-mail the office at info@bmes.org.
The Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit professional association, which was established to serve as the lead society and professional home for biomedical engineering and bioengineering students, academics, and professionals. The mission of the Society is to promote and enhance biomedical engineering knowledge worldwide and its utilization for human health and well-being. Mission and Vision...
Initially, the membership of the Society included 171 founding members and 89 charter members. With the cooperation of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the first open meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlantic City on April 17, 1968.
Now, more than 40 years later, BMES membership has grown to nearly 4,000, with almost 100 BMES student chapters and several emerging industry and international chapters.
The Society offers several categories of membership: Fellow, Member, Associate Member, Student Member, Early-Career Member, and Emeritus Member. Membership Information
The first meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society was held in Houston, Texas, November 18–20, 1968, in conjunction with the 21st Annual Conference on Engineering in Medicine and Biology.
The first annual fall (scientific) meeting of the Biomedical Engineering Society was held in Blacksburg, Virginia, in 1990. Since then, BMES annually conducts multiday scientific meetings with oral (platform) and poster presentations and industry and institution exhibits. Because of the Society’s emphasis on students, graduate students, and emerging professionals, BMES also hosts student sessions and events, career services, and premeeting workshops, special symposia, and courses.
The Society publishes a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal, the Annals of Biomedical Engineering (AMBE), and a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal, Cellular Biomolecular Engineering (CMBE). The cost of the journal subscriptions is included in the membership fee of Regular members. Student and Early Career members may subscribe to the journal for an additional fee, and institutional subscriptions are processed by the publisher. BMES also publishes a monthly online newsletter, Biomedical Engineering News, which is also included with membership at all levels.