Alex Engel, a now junior in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western in Ohio, was like many high school students. He found many classes bland and uninspiring. He struggled to discover the deeper importance in rote memorization of textbooks and tests.

     “I didn’t take high school seriously because I didn’t think it was applicable,” he admits. “And then I got to college and thought ‘oh no.’ ”
The first year of college was a struggle for Engel, who had to work hard to overcome the effects of his lack of effort.

     Looking back he says, “we need to brain-wash high school students to care about high school.”

     College has been a very different academic experience for Engel. It allowed him to ignite a spark that he believes had always been inside of him. He recalls that even as a child he was fascinated by science. He describes himself as “a little science nerd.” His favorite book was Bill Nye’s Big Book of Science. He read it until it fell apart.

     The enthusiasm that  Engel had as a child has re-emerged.

     “In high school I had memorize books and but couldn’t see what could be done with that information,” he explained. “I thought: Give me a reason to care about what I am learning and I will.”

     College has given him a reason to care. Now a student in the ever-expanding field of biomedical engineering, Engel can see how his new knowledge is full of importance.

     “Biomedical engineering,” he explained, “is about making people’s lives better. That’s why I like it. The field is connected to anything that has to do with making people’s bodies better—orthopedic shoes, pacemakers, drug delivery systems and so on.”

     With this reason to care, Engel has found his life consumed with his studies. He spends late nights working on computer models for his homework --- not because his has to, but because he wants to.

     Even with a heavy course load at one of the nation’s top engineering schools, Engel has expanded his studies outside of the classroom.

     As a member of Case Rising Engineering And Technological Entrepreneurs (CREATE) he has put his education to work. The group, designed and operated by students, is assembled from a variety of engineering students.  They work to design and create products for clients that may not always be able to fund their own teams of engineers.

      With this group Engel has worked to develop a page-turner for a quadriplegic man who works as an accountant. Unable to use his hands to sort through paychecks, the accountant told the students that he would benefit from a device that could pick up and move single checks. Engel’s team of student engineers — two biomedical, one mechanical, one aerospace, and one software —will do it all, from the simple idea to building the device.

     “I didn’t know what being and engineer really meant until I joined this group.” Engel said. “We start with a client’s ideas and build the whole thing.” 

     And being a real engineer means that the first answer is not always the right answer. Engel says that going back to the drawing board is part of it.

      In the struggles to develop new products and ideas, Engel sees a great need for creativity and inspiration. Biomedical engineers require this creativity to be able to mimic the body in new and better ways.

     “I always liked the idea of creating something and synthesizing from what we already have,” Engel says. In this lies the inspiration Engel sometimes missed in high school. 

     “Being a biomedical engineer means that you design for people. I am not designing a stamping machine.  I am designing a replacement for a bone so that a person doesn’t have to be in a wheelchair. People are emotional and not always logical. The design of a device or product has got to reflect that.”

     “In the future I am going to get paid to invent things that no one has thought of before,” Engel said. “I have got to train my mind for that creativity.”

     Lately he has been writing short stories, sixty words or less. They are not computations or chemical equations but something Engel sees as essential to his studies. To him, creativity is just as important as knowing physics or chemistry for a biomedical engineer.

     Creativity is a part of his mental process. He recalled his preliminary drawings for the device for the quadriplegic accountant. He had to design one that was totally off the wall. He drew a bird cage, with a sparrow inside. The bird would come out of the cage and turn the page. Though obviously not feasible, it allowed Engel to consider broader solutions.

     Sometimes, Engel has learned, he needs to go outside of what is standard to find inspiration.