Our Mission

To build an inclusive, diverse and responsible community recognized for:

  • providing an accessible, modern education in engineering and science for future, interdisciplinary leaders;
  • advancing knowledge through fundamental and applied research; and
  • facilitating life-long learning and economic development.

Our Vision

The College of Engineering at the University of Iowa is driven by talented faculty, staff, and students who are producing knowledge to address grand challenges around advanced technologies, health sciences, sustainability, energy, and the environment. Our graduates are ethical, globally-aware citizens whose work while at the University of Iowa and throughout their careers make the world safer and our use of resources more efficient. As a center of innovation and discovery, the people who make up the College of Engineering are undoubtedly improving quality of life for our Iowa community as well as for people across the United States and around the world.

About Our Programs

 

BME students in lab

Biomedical Engineering

A biomedical engineer uses traditional engineering expertise to analyze and solve problems in biology and medicine, providing an overall enhancement of human health. Students choose the biomedical engineering field to be of service to people, to experience the excitement of working with living systems, and to apply advanced technology to the complex problems of medical care. Biomedical engineers work with health care professionals (e.g., physicians, nurses, therapists, and technicians) and may be called upon in a wide range of capacities such as designing instruments, devices, and software.  Biomedical engineers incorporate knowledge from many technical sources to develop new medical procedures and conduct research in an effort to solve clinical problems.

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

For nearly a century, the University of Iowa has been preparing students for careers in chemical engineering. Today, with approximately 150 undergraduate and 35 graduate students, the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering is well known as one of the best small programs nationwide. Our research program, which focuses substantially on current public and environmental concerns, is headed by internationally recognized leaders in biocatalysis, atmospheric chemistry and modeling, development of alternative fuels, and new polymeric materials.

CBE student in lab
CEE lab

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Civil and environmental engineers are on the front lines of some of the world’s most pressing problems, building solutions and putting technology to work for the good of all. The world needs your passion for doing good — for abundant clean drinking water, for safe roads and bridges, for flood protection and reduction, and much more. At the University of Iowa, you won’t find yourself being “weeded out” of the program. Instead, we want every student to succeed, and we offer the support and programs to make that happen.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

At the University of Iowa Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, research programs and classroom instruction are headed by an outstanding faculty. We are proud to have among our faculty a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow, a National Science Foundation National Young Investigator, and several Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Optical Society of America, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Available facilities support interdisciplinary research and include individual laboratories as well as access to specialized facilities of the Iowa Technology Institute, Iowa Driving Simulator, IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering , and Iowa Institute for Biomedical Imaging.

computer engr students using vR
IE student in lab

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Better, faster, cheaper, safer. Industrial engineers enhance the systems and processes around us, exploring business challenges and finding innovative solutions that boost efficiency and effectiveness.

Iowa’s program emphasizes teamwork and hands-on projects that call for structured problem solving, process and quality engineering, statistics and big data analytics, and other techniques.

Working with faculty, you might develop robots for space exploration, a production system for a Fortune 500 company, data-mining tools for a hospital, or a new jet cockpit.

Mechanical Engineering

Cars, aircraft, medical devices, structures— all of these begin in the imaginations of mechanical engineers. Mechanical engineers use computers to simulate freezing human cells, casting processes, and failure of vehicle components, among other things. They improve alternative energy sources like fuel cells, wind, and biomass, and use reality-based design and optimization to boost performance.

Iowa’s program is especially strong in areas ranging from biomechanics to fluid mechanics, such as design optimization for ship hydrodynamics. The breadth of faculty expertise opens extensive options for students to do hands-on research, and a combined B.S./M.S. degree option means more opportunity for specialization.

Student in machine lab

Learn More About Our Programs

Students working on dummy for surgery

Undergraduate

The College offers undergraduate (BSE) engineering degrees in several disciplines.

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Graduate students working in a lab

Graduate

The College offers MS and PhD engineering degrees in multiple disciplines.

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students walking on campus

Transfer

Thinking about becoming a Hawkeye? Or just transferring courses?

Learn More

In the News

Chemurgy 2.0 graphic of Iowa with yellow and red sun in the background

CoE faculty play critical role in multi-institutional biomanufacturing project

Thursday, September 7, 2023
A multidisciplinary team of University of Iowa engineering faculty will contribute to a $20 million, multi-institutional project to boost Iowa’s position as a leader in bioscience and advanced manufacturing.
Hydrostation

Iowa Flood Center receives $1M for Eastern Iowa

Tuesday, September 5, 2023
The Iowa Flood Center (IFC) at the University of Iowa was awarded $1 million to expand flood and drought monitoring, watershed management, and forecasting services in Eastern Iowa through Congress’s Community Project Funding championed by Congresswoman Ashley Hinson and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Smokey photo of a sunset

CBE Profs Stanier and Carmichael coauthor The Conversation article

Friday, September 1, 2023
Canada’s seemingly endless wildfires in 2023 introduced millions of people across North America to the health hazards of wildfire smoke. While Western states have contended with smoky fire seasons for years, the air quality alerts across the U.S. Midwest and Northeast this summer reached levels never seen there before.

Events

BME Senior Design Prototype Day  promotional image

BME Senior Design Prototype Day

Thursday, December 7, 2023 3:30pm to 4:45pm
Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)
The Roy J. Carver Department of Biomedical Engineering presents the Fall 2023 Senior Design Prototype Day. Please note that is a private event and that you will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement prior to viewing the projects. Check in at the front table before visiting the student prototype displays.
BMindful Holy Days: Buddha's Enlightenment Day (Buddhism) promotional image

BMindful Holy Days: Buddha's Enlightenment Day (Buddhism)

Friday, December 8, 2023 (all day)
University of Iowa Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
BMindful is an initiative that seeks to meet the needs of diverse communities by providing event and conference planners with the dates of holy days of major religious faiths for five years into the future. By providing these dates in advance, BMindful seeks to help planners avoid those dates when scheduling events. BMindful does not include all religious holy days. It focuses on three major holy days for each faith—days when faith members may choose not to go to work or send their children to...
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