BECON MEETING MINUTES
April 18, 2001

A meeting of the Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) was held on Wednesday, April 18^th, from 3-5 PM in Room 151 of Building l on the NIH Main Campus. Most of the discussion focused on the status of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the BECON 2002 Symposium. The following text describes the proceedings of this meeting.

1. Status of BRP-3 Reviews (Eileen Bradley) – A demonstration of the latest software changes of the PEER REVIEW module of IMPACii was presented. In the new module, applications will be scanned and can be read on the screen by the SRA. Eventually, the institutes will have access to the full application through the ICO module. This new module is another step in the movement toward paperless reviews.

2. National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (Donna Dean) – An update of the NIBIB was given. The mission statement is now on the BECON Web site. The implementation package is still awaiting Secretary Thompson’s signature, and the search for a new director cannot begin until this has been obtained.

3. Nanotechnology Symposium Report (Jeff Schloss and Eleni Kousvelari) – Hardcopies of the June 2000 Nanotechnology Symposium Report were distributed to the BECON representatives. The OD office also has 250 copies for individuals.

4. BECON 2001 Symposium on Reparative Medicine (Chris Kelley) – The symposium planning is going well. A Government 101 session is being planned to include representatives from the FDA to speak on review (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Center for Devices and Radiological Health) and standards development. The abstract deadline was been moved up to May 7^th.

5. Status of BRP-2 Awards (Wendy Baldwin) – The status of the BRP-2 August 2000 applications was reviewed.

6. Topic for BECON 2002 Symposium – The topic of the next BECON symposium was discussed. Many topics were suggested including: Biocompatible Materials, Medical Implant Science, Imaging, Robotics, a joint meeting with BISTI, and Biosensors. Biosensors received the most enthusiasm because it fulfilled the mission of the symposium by strengthening the linkage of other programs and agencies.

7. NSF/NIH Workshop for Training Bioengineers (Sohi Rastegar) – A joint NIH/NSF workshop to discuss training the next generation of bioengineers was discussed.

The next BECON meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 16, from 3 to 5 PM in Room 151 of Building l. A preliminary agenda will be available about a week before the meeting.