2023-2024 Events
Previous Events
Our 2024-2025 school year was filled with some really great events! Check out below to see all the fun we had.
Social Events
BMES Freshman Scavenger Hunt
During freshmen orientation week, we led a scavenger hunt for freshmen to connect with their 5-person Biomedical Engineering & Design Lab group. Given 21 tasks, BME students spent an hour taking photos of various tasks with their lab group. Amassing over 360 responses, the average completed tasks per group was over 15. We received feedback from the students that this activity allowed them to get to know the BME students they would be working closely with their first semester at Hopkins.
Fall Gelato Social
Our Fall Gelato Social is historically the earliest social event JHU BMES has hosted in the semester. Drawing a crowd of over 150 attendees, students enjoyed free gelato and lawn games. For many freshmen, it was an invaluable opportunity to meet their peers at the beginning of the semester in a casual setting, as well as mingle with upperclassmen to semester/extracurricular advice. We will continue to build out and expand this event in the years to come for a beginning-of-the-year social event.
Freshman Cookie Decorating Social
This year, our freshman representatives hosted a Halloween-themed cookie decorating social for our Class of 2027. With an assortment of sugar cookies, our freshmen and board members were able to create gastronomical artistic masterpieces of cookies.
Fall Jack O'Lantern, Donuts, and Cider Social
Our November event consisted of a donut, apple cider, and jack o’lantern painting social. Students were able to enjoy fresh Krispy Kreme donuts and cider, while painting light-up plastic pumpkins with their peers. In addition, this fall event was the first event our Social Committee planned together. Coupled with a playlist one committee member created, it provided a relaxing atmosphere for over 30 students
BMES Winter Social
Winter Social is our chapter’s most popular event, gathering more than 300 students and faculty in celebration of the end of the fall semester each year. We had an even larger turnout than in previous years, which was evidence of the student body’s excitement at being able to connect at social events. At the event, students, faculty, and alumni alike enjoyed a catered dinner, socialized with fellow BMEs, entered the raffle, and bought BME specific merchandise from our fall collection.
BMES Jeopardy Night
Starting off the Spring Semester strong, BMES hosted our inaugural BMES Jeopardy Night. 12 teams of 5 came together to compete for a $100 Ekiben gift card, JHU blue-jay keychains, and BME merchandise, answering three rounds of BMES board-created questions with pizza and drinks. Lasting around 2 hours, this event garnered participation from both upper- and underclassmen, who answered trivia questions ranging from Baltimore Food and Drinks, to the classic Jeopardy category, Before-and-After.
Welcome Back From Spring Break Event
Following JHU’s Spring Break, BMES hosted a casual, air-dry clay keychain and dirt-cups (chocolate pudding, oreos, gummy worms) event. This event was a manifestation from our social committee members, who were given full reign for event planning, and gave practice to our Freshman Representative for event purchasing and logistics with the BME department. In addition to activities and food, students participated in casual Fall 2024 course discussions, giving each other advice for the upcoming BME semesters and beyond.
BMES Spring Gelato Social
JHU BMES hosted our second ever Spring Gelato Social, an outdoors event with lawn games and free gelato for >150 attendees. With 90F sunny weather, this event garnered a large turnout from the BME community, with invited faculty there to sign our limited edition, summer BME t-shirts. Thus, we will continue our annual tradition of a Spring Social and will continue to build out and expand the event in the years to come.
Inter-Chapter Activities
Mid-Atlantic Research Day
Our Annual Mid-Atlantic Research Day was held jointly with the University of Maryland Biomedical Engineering Society on April 20th, 2024. This event was hosted by the University of Maryland since we alternate location between the two universities on an annual basis. The event consisted of poster presentations, workshops, and keynote speakers bookending the event. Mid-Atlantic Research Day allowed students to submit research abstracts and be selected to display their posters, give oral presentations, and compete for a $350 prize pool. All abstracts were reviewed by a selectively chosen expert panel of judges, who provided individualized feedback for each student. Based on the judge’s scoring and deliberations, the top 3 students were awarded cash prizes of $200, $100, and $50 to commemorate their research abilities. The event started and ended with keynote presentations by Dr. Katharina Maisal (opening) of the University of Maryland and Dr. Warren Grayson (closing) of Johns Hopkins University, who shared insights into their research and provided advice for aspiring undergraduates on pursuing careers in biomedical engineering-related research. Those who were not presenting had the opportunity to participate in 4 workshops led by University of Maryland graduate students, with whom students were also able to network. Students were also provided free catered breakfast and lunch, during which students were able to connect with each other to learn about undergraduate research occurring across the East Coast.
Mentoring
Monthly Meetings
September Mentor Meeting
This event provided support to mentors and the ability to discuss how the initial meetings went with their freshman mentees. It gave the group a chance to problem-solve and think of new ways to actively engage the freshman to stay connected with them during the school year.
October Mentoring Social
This event was an opportunity to enjoy food and engage with other mentors about the mentoring program and how the semester is going for everyone. This made the program more cohesive and set the tone for the mentoring community for the remainder of the year.
Spring Registration Information Session
This event was a panel for BME students who were unsure what courses to register for during the spring semester. The panel featured upperclassmen representatives across all the focus areas and gave students a chance to ask about specific classes they are interested in.
February Mentoring Introduction Meeting
This event was open to all BME students interested in the mentoring program. Everyone brainstormed the most important content mentors could go over during the first meeting with their freshman mentees. Additionally, the plan for action items for the rest of the semester was laid out and the goal of assembling a common collection of resources for the mentoring program was established. There was food and all of the attendees worked in groups to come up with ideas.
March Mentoring Introduction Meeting
This event was open to all BME students interested in the mentoring program. Everyone brainstormed ways to overcome burnout and establish a more positive and collaborative culture within the BME program. They also noted the importance of having reliable study tips and the importance of being open to discussing mistakes as well as successes.
Fall Registration Information Session
This event was a panel for BME students who were unsure what courses to register for during the spring semester. The panel featured upperclassmen representatives across all the focus areas and gave sophomores a chance to ask about specific classes they are interested in.
Mentoring Wrap-up Meeting
This event was the final mentoring meeting discussing mentoring content for next year. All the resources and talking points for each month were finalized and the mentor application for the fall was released. The official mentoring timeline and expectations were also created.
New Mentor Training
This was a mandatory training session for the Fall 2024 mentors to introduce the mentor expectations and all of the available resources collated over the course of the semester.
Mentoring
Workshops
BME Design Team Workshop
This event introduced the freshman class to Johns Hopkins’s Design Team class, where they learned how to tackle the application and the class schedule. Previous advanced design team leads also spoke on their experiences and fielded questions.
BMES Summer Opportunities Panel
This year we hosted upperclassmen students who had participated in study abroad opportunities, worked for government programs, and worked at different industry internships over the summer and went over the application process and tips and tricks to make the most out of the experience.
BMES x LDL Networking 101 Event
We collaborated with Johns Hopkins’s Life Design Lab to discuss how students can connect with employers and cultivate a meaningful network as well as how to secure positions at different jobs. Our speaker was BME’s LDL coordinator Marsha Hammond.
BMES Hackathon Pilot
To prepare for future large-scale Hackathons, we coordinated a PILOT-scale Hackathon with a certain number of teams. Teams learned how to prepare a pitch, ideate, research their problem, and develop a business plan, in addition to learning about a CAD workshop.