Biomedical Engineering Students to Charter New Honor Society

Elizabeth DeMeo

April Jules, vice president; Hayley Chandler, president; and Katelyn Heath, secretary, are among the founding members of the Arkansas chapter of Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the biomedical engineering honors society.

Biomedical engineering students will soon have a new opportunity to pursue excellence in their field through Alpha Eta Mu Beta, the National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society.

The University of Arkansas Chapter was approved in early February by the Alpha Eta Mu Beta National Executive Council. The chapter will be formally chartered in October at the group's national conference in Atlanta.

The chapter is the only one in Arkansas.

Alpha Eta Mu Beta exists to recognize and encourage excellence in the fields of biomedical engineering and bioengineering. Membership consists of individuals who have shown a deep interested and marked ability in their chosen field, according to the group's website.

Members have access to development, training, networking and service opportunities designed to facilitate learning and growth on a personal and professional level.

Raj Rao, head of the department of biomedical engineering, praised the students who worked to bring the chapter to life.

"This marks a significant milestone in the University of Arkansas' AEMB chapter and also the University of Arkansas' Biomedical Engineering Department," he said. "The approval to form a chapter is a reflection of the caliber of the students we currently have."

Membership will be open to new biomedical engineering students beginning in the late spring or early fall.

Founding members of the chapter are:

• President: Hayley Chandler
• Vice-President: April Jules
• Treasurer: Mason Belue
• Secretary: Katelyn Heath
• Mary Brandecker
• Olga Brazhkina
• Ethan Echols
• Jackson Hedrick
• Emily Janowski
• Yeeun Park
• Laura Peck
• Pranav Suri