Engineering their futures
A few months after making Boston College history, the 26 members of the Human-Centered Engineering program’s first graduating class have embarked on an impressive array of work, graduate study, and other opportunities.
Many have taken engineering positions with companies focused on everything from water supply, public works, and health to the environment and construction. Others have entered graduate programs including medical school, finance, biomedical engineering, nuclear science and engineering, and educational design technology.
“It is rewarding to see the breadth of careers our students are going into
both within and outside the engineering field,” said Professor Glenn Gaudette, the John W. Kozarich ’71 Chair of the Engineering Department. “That speaks to the Boston College education where we want them to find their passion.”
Gaudette noted that most members of the graduated class are pursuing engineering careers aligned with the program’s focus on health, energy, and the environment. Others are making documentary films and caring for the homeless, “because they found their passion while they were here,” he said.
The first cohort of students in BC's Human-Centered Engineering program graduated in May 2025.
Nava Bozorgmehri ’25 is a product development engineer at Applied Medical, where she designs new surgical devices focused on the needs of surgeons and patients. “The medical device industry is, at its core, human-centered,” she said. “Every detail matters—how a device feels in a surgeon’s hands, how quickly a patient recovers after surgery, and how to ensure that products are high-quality while also remaining affordable. The human-centered engineering mindset I gained at BC guides my daily work to ensure the new devices we develop meet clinical needs and improve surgical outcomes in the most humane way.”
Will Purnell ’25, who began graduate study in biomedical engineering this fall at Duke University, said he feels uniquely prepared by the combination of BC’s traditional core curriculum and the human-centered engineering curriculum.
“Boston College inspired me to look for unconventional solutions to engineering problems that more conventional programs might discourage or otherwise not emphasize,” he said. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to study engineering at BC,” Purnell added. “I went into this experience fairly blind, with little idea about what the program would actually look like, but I also had fairly strong confidence that I was in good hands. After four years, I can say this was certainly true.”
For his part, Charles Neill ’25, a design engineer at Acorn Engineering, said he formed close bonds with his classmates and faculty. “I really enjoyed being part of a group of people with such diverse goals and personalities. I am truly grateful to have been part of a major with people who have such distinct interests. Plus, being part of the development of new classes with new professors in a new major made for a unique experience.”
Boston College launched its Human-Centered Engineering program in 2021, integrating BC’s core liberal arts focus and a rigorous engineering curriculum to prepare students to find solutions to critical human needs. The bachelor of science in engineering requires 120 credits, with two-thirds in engineering, mathematics, and science topics and one-third in liberal arts and humanities. Course offerings include Introduction to Human-Centered Engineering, Engineering for Society, Introduction to Statistical Data Analysis and Machine Learning, and Collaborative Service Engineering Project.
In many ways, the students in the inaugural class and those who have followed have helped faculty to refine the very curriculum that they study, said the program’s Director of Undergraduate Studies Jenna Tonn.
“We appreciate that our students took a chance on us,” said Tonn, also an associate professor of the practice in the department. “Students and faculty worked hard to make their time here an academic success and to prepare them for that next step and to reflect on what they want to do with their lives.”