Biomedical engineering is the interdisciplinary field of study combining engineering with life sciences. The role of the biomedical engineer is to provide answers to problems arising from the study of living systems by employing the methodology and principles of engineering. This activity may encompass the spectrum from direct clinical applications to long-range fundamental research.

The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University (the Coulter Department) is a unique partnership between a public institution and a private university. The formation of the Department in 1997 was the culmination of collaborative efforts between the two institutions in the field of biomedical engineering that dated back to the 1980s. In 2000, the Department assumed the name of Wallace H. Coulter, recognized as one of the most influential engineers in the twentieth century through his entrepreneurial efforts in shaping the fields of automated cell analysis and hematology.

The Coulter Department has identified six thrust areas in which to focus research and educational programs: cardiovascular biomechanics and biology, cellular and biomolecular engineering, neuroengineering, biomedical imaging and informatics, and biomaterials and tissue engineering, and health systems. Research in these biomedical engineering thrust areas can result in major breakthroughs in medicine, basic science, and applied technology.

The true integration of the life sciences and engineering is essential in educating a substantial percentage of the next generation of biomedical engineers in order to benefit from the biological revolution and its applications to medicine. The Coulter Department offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs that attract outstanding students who wish to have that integration in their education so that they may be equipped with the tools to be the leaders in this field in the twenty-first century.