Quarter at Aggie Square is an academic program offered by UC Davis for undergraduates at UC Davis Sacramento campus that consists of coursework, internships, and community engagement of up to 18 units towards graduation. Different topics are taught each academic quarter. Quarter at Aggie Square’s 2022 fall quarter Biomedical Engineering cohort won the 2023 Big Bang! Competition in spring 2023 with Square Solutions, one of their two medical innovations. The students received the $10,000 Human Health + Industry Sector Award for their design for safe transportation for cell therapies. They hope to solve the issue of cell loss during transportation from research labs to patients in the hospital by providing an easier way for these cell therapies, cells that are grown in labs, to make it to the target patient without freezing them which can kill about 15% of the cells in the process. 

Since winning the competition, the students have been focused on understanding how to manufacture their incubator to provide the best results. They intend to use the prize money to create and develop a functional prototype that will be utilized for future competitions and as a potential product model for interested customers. 

The competition has given them more confidence to participate in more programs for student startups. They are currently participating in PLASMA, an accelerator program that will help the students with their ventures and connect them with accomplished entrepreneurs and investors. As a team comprised of senior biomedical engineering majors, the students have been using their experience at Quarter at Aggie Square and the Big Bang! Competition to enhance their senior design projects. Senior design projects are group projects in which a team designs and prototypes a product, device, process or software system, and are a requirement for all students in an engineering major at UC Davis. 

Quarter at Aggie Square offered students opportunities that are uniquely available. They learn directly from and engage with physicians, nurses, and technicians that help them apply what is learned in the classroom to real-life situations. By observing professionals and actively engaging with them, the students are able to adapt to the field they will work in and develop the skills needed for success early on. Some notable experiences included learning about the physiology of specific body parts and witnessing how physicians find solutions and treat the body within surgical procedure.  

To learn about the Biomedical Engineering Quarter at Aggie Square students or the Quarter at Aggie Square offerings, visit qas.ucdavis.edu.