The federal government is not the only source of funding for projects in undergraduate biology education. Private institutions playa crucial role, most notably the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. HHMI invested more than S476 million between 1987 and 2001 to support improvements in biology education at 232 colleges and universities. Their investment has transformed biology instruction at these institutions, in ranging from developing new curricula, hiring new faculty, promoting faculty development, and supporting independent research by undergraduate students. Many examples of outstanding programs can be found on their Web site and in publications, including examples of integration of science teaching across disciplines, especially at small colleges.

The institute also has recently launched the HHMI Professors program to honor and support faculty who provide leadership in undergraduate education. The first awards were made in the fall of 2002 to biologists with excellent credentials in both teaching and research. One foundation that has had a major impact in building an interdisciplinary approach is the Whitaker Foundation. Whitaker funds projects to enhance research and education in biomedical engineering in the United States and Canada. Biomedical engineering combines computer and engineering technology with the study of complex biological systems, and is an inherently interdisciplinary field. Departments of biomedical engineering draw faculty from many different disciplines. Established in 1975 by U.A. Whitaker, the foundation has already dispensed 5600 million and will spend down its endowment to completely phase out its operations by 2006.

Whitaker supports a variety of programs including faculty research, creation or expansion of departments of biomedical engineering, fellowships for graduate students, internships in industry and at NIH, creation of teaching materials and conferences, and workshops in biomedical engineering. The foundation has recently consolidated a number of initiatives into Leader-ship and Development Awards that provide substantial funding to institutions committed to continuing to build up biomedical engineering after the foundation closes its doors. The foundation held a Biomedical Engineering Educational Summit in December 2000 that brought together 123 institutions from the United States and Canada and 24 overseas institutions. It was designed to review the wide variety of interdisciplinary programs receiving Whitaker support. The summit participants did not agree on one unique curriculum that would suit all schools because each institution has molded its biomedical engineering program to its mission and the needs of its faculty and students. The summit highlighted the fact that like other engineering programs, those in biomedical engineering frequently incorpo-rate real-world problems and tasks into their curricula. Most of the departments emphasize critical thinking, teamwork, interpersonal skills, group decisions, analysis and problem-solving processes, and oral and written communication skills in their courses.

Biomedical engineering laboratories are designed to incorporate equipment and procedures that are common in the workplace. In many cases, computer simulations are used when the actual procedures cannot be carried out. The development of biomedical engineering over the past decade demonstrates that a focused effort, such as that undertaken by the Whitaker Foundation, has the potential to catalyze the growth of a new interdisciplinary field, both in terms of its research and its educational curriculum. Browsing through all the things above, maybe you have learned something on learning a foreign language, especially the one you have chosen. Want to learn more, click Rosetta Stone Japanese and Rosetta Stone Korean.