Recognizing the potential benefits to human health to be realized from applying and advancing the field of bioengineering, the NIH Director formally established the Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) in February 1997. BECON is the focus of bioengineering issues at the NIH and is composed of senior-level representatives from each of the NIH centers, institutes, and divisions. The Consortium also includes representatives of other federal agencies concerned with biomedical research and development. The BECON is administered by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the NIH.

The mission of the Consortium is to foster new basic understandings, collaborations, and transdisciplinary initiatives among the biological, medical, physical, engineering, and computational sciences. In support of this objective, BECON coordinates and facilitates research grants, training opportunities, and scientific symposia associated with biomedical engineering. Regular monthly meetings of the Consortium are conducted to discuss program status, future needs and directions, and topics of interest to the biomedical engineering community.

Information available on this portion of the NIH Bioengineering Web Site includes the original BECON Charter, members and affiliations, and Consortium meeting schedules and proceedings. Detailed information on BECON bioengineering research grants, training opportunities, and symposia is accessible from the Home Page of this Web site.

The "Members Only" feature is an interactive, access-controlled option for BECON members to conduct Consortium business activities and review developmental information.