Back in September, Wichita State added a new biomedical engineering department to its school of engineering, marking the first new department in that field in decades.

With a new department comes the need for a department chair, a position that will be filled for the first time by Michael Jorgensen, the university recently announced.

Biomedical engineering, which according to the university website “integrates physical, chemical and mathematical sciences with engineering principles for the study of biology, medicine, behavior or health,” began in 2009 and was officially just a program until it became a full-fledged department —with its own faculty — last year.

Jorgensen was the program coordinator from the beginning, meaning he had to assemble the entire thing from scratch. He said it has been rewarding to watch his work pay off over the years, as the department has grown to include 160 undergraduate students.

“We’ve seen students graduate and go onto grad school,” Jorgensen said. “It’s been pretty gratifying.”

Assistant professor Anil Mahapatro was just the second person Jorgensen hired, and he said Jorgensen’s leadership makes him unquestionably the best man for the job.

“He’s been there through thick and thin, taking it from scratch to the formation of the department,” Mahapatro said. “It was a unanimous choice to make him the department chair.”

Senior Courtney Krugh has studied biomedical engineering for four years at WSU. Krugh said Jorgensen has a strong work ethic and is committed to his students.

“Dr. Jorgensen just goes above and beyond for his students,” Krugh said. “There have been times when I’ve sent emails very last minute when I’ve needed help with something, and he always gets back very quickly.”

Krugh agreed with Mahapatro’s sentiments regarding Jorgensen’s job qualifications.

“He’s a great person for this job,” Krugh said. “I can’t imagine anyone else doing it.”

Jorgensen said prioritizing the success and well-being of everyone in the department will allow it to reach its goals.

“If we focus on the success of the students, on the success of the faculty, everything else will follow,” Jorgensen said. “With that vision, in working towards that, I think things will be in place.”