Best practices for Bio in EE

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Best practices for Bio in EE
P. P. Vaidyanathan Dept. EE, Caltech,
Pasadena, CA
ECEDHA 2006, Hawaii
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EE graduate students interested in biology often
learn it themselves (self study with adviser).
Good or bad?
Good just learn what you want, directly jump
into research.
Bad somewhat hard start. Professional training
lacking.
Pronunciation
Escherichia coli
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium
Ribosomes
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Core requirement for undergraduates includes a
biology class
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If you do not take Bi 1 then you have to take
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Dr. Changhuei Yang Professor of EE and BE, Caltech
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MIT freshman biology
Very elegant math, not just memorizing.
Engineers need a different kind of motivation
more analytical, quantititative treatements.
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Prof. Yangs class in EE/Bioengineering option
Mostly graduate students
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Caltech Bioengineering website
http//www.be.caltech.edu/academics/phd_req.html
Biomolecular Track Biodevices Track Systems
Track
Biofluid Mechanics (BE/AE 243) Biomechanics
(Pending Approval) Physics of Biomolecular
Structure (BE/APh 161) Design of Biological
Molecules and Systems (BE/CHE 163) Cellular and
Tissue Engineering (Pending) Advanced
Bioengineering Laboratory (APH/BE 165) Systems
Biology Biology of Systems (Pending) Electronic
Measurements and Sensors (Ph/EE/BE 118)
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Prof. Michael Dickinson (Bioengineering faculty)
http//www.be.caltech.edu/faculty/dickinson_m.html
Physiology and mechanics of flight behavior in
insects.
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  Professor Joel Burdick Mechanical Engineering
and Bioengineering
http//www.be.caltech.edu/faculty/burdick.html
Robotics, mechanical systems, and kinematics.
Computer algorithms which control and coordinate
complex robotic motion.
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An Analysis of EEG Neural Activity of the Moment
of Insight
SURF Projects and Senior Theses in Bio/EE

• Arthi Srinivasan
• EE80 Fall

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Molecular biology involves signal processing,
computer science, mathematics, informatics, all
coming together wonderfully!
It is not just wet smelly lab-work any more.
There is no formal mechanism in place, to
educate, except freshman biology requirement.
Students are guided on a case-by-case basis.
Is this the right way to go?
Perhaps it is!
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Codons in traditional genes
The gene is interpreted in groups of three bases
called codons.
E
V
ATG start codon also codon for M (met) plays
two roles
TAA, TAG, TGA stop codons (do not code for
amino acids).
Typically genes are long (1000s of bases)
proteins have 100s to 1000s of amin acids
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The genetic code
The genetic code is common to ALL life!
Khorana, Nirenberg, and Holley, 1968 Nobel prize.