2026 Annual BEEC Conference
Thank you for attending the 2026 Conference! Check out our winners here.
Conference Information:
Time: January 15th, 2026 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Abstract Topics:
Class or Course instruction - innovations in the classroom and instruction.
Design and Laboratory Implementations - innovations in hands-on/applied instruction.
Work by a Student - innovations led by undergraduate/graduate students.
Conference Agenda
Keynote: Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, PhD
Agenda
| Thursday – January 15th, 2026 | |
| 12:00-12:10pm | Welcome Remarks Welcome remarks by the BEEC Team! Alexis Ortiz-Rosario, PhD – Ohio State University Yanfen Li, PhD – University of Massachusetts, Lowell Christine King, PhD – University of California, Irvine Roza Vaez Ghaemi, PhD – University of British Columbia |
| 12:10-1:00pm | Keynote Reimagining Faculty Professional Development: Unleashing Faculty Agency Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, PhD - University of Florida (BIO Here) |
| 1:15pm-2:00pm | New Faculty Development: Panel Discussion Panel Discussion on Reimagining Faculty Professional Development Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, PhD - University of Florida (BIO Here) Cassandra Sue Ellen Jamison, PhD - Rowan University (BIO Here) Karin Jensen, PhD - University of Michigan (BIO Here) |
| 2:00pm-2:10pm | Small Break |
| 2:10pm-3:00pm | Presentation Session 1 Katie Zobus - Undergraduate Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign "Mobile Bioengineering Lab: Inclusive STEM Outreach with Near-Peer Mentorship in Local Middle Schools" Christian J. Andrade Herrera - Graduate Student Research Fellow, University of California, Irvine "Demystifying Summer Research for First-Year Engineering: A Curriculum-Embedded Career Advising Strategy" Hope Whitestone and Paul Gordon - Student, BME BS / Associate Professor Educator, University of Cincinnati "Engineering Design in Context: Catalog of Disabled History" Thea Abad Pepperl - Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University "Design Challenge: Biometric Devices to Assess Health and Wellness" Rebecca Reck - Teaching Associate Professor | Associate Head of Undergraduate Programs, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign "The Oops Files: Normalizing Learning from Mistakes in Lab" |
| 3:00pm-3:50pm | Presentation Session 2 Sara Wilson - Associate Professor, University of Kansas "Applying Grading for Growth to an Upper-Level, Undergraduate Engineering Course" Doug Yung - Teaching Professor, Syracuse University "Fixation Matters: A Hands-On Hip Arthroplasty Lab" Siva Nalla - Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "An Undergraduate Neural Tissue Engineering Lab Course" Joseph Tibbs - PhD Candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign "Self-Reported Certainty in Engineering Students' Knowledge of Bioinstrumentation and Validity of Statements from Peers and LLMs" |
| 3:50pm-4:00pm | Closing Remarks Closing Remarks by the BEEC Team |