What Biomedical Engineering Society does

The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), founded on February 1, 1968, is a tax-exempt non-profit professional society headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, that serves biomedical engineers across academia, industry, and healthcare. BMES operates as the recognized lead organization for the biomedical engineering profession, with a network exceeding 6,700 paying members and an extended community of over 25,000 professionals connected through more than 115 student chapters worldwide. Its membership spans students (high school through post-doctoral), early-career professionals within three years of graduation, faculty and academic researchers, and industry professionals in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare technology.

BMES's core deliverables are organized around four primary product lines: (1) four peer-reviewed journals — Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, Cardiovascular Engineering & Technology, and Biomedical Engineering Education — that anchor its content publishing franchise; (2) the flagship Annual Meeting, which in 2025 attracted nearly 5,000 attendees from 25 countries at the San Diego Convention Center and hosts 2,500+ scientific presentations; (3) five Special Interest Groups (Medical Devices, CMBE, Advanced Biomanufacturing, Computational Biomedical Engineering, and BME and Women's Health) that provide sub-community structure; and (4) career resources including a job board, mentorship program, and webinar series. Distribution is primarily self-service through bmes.org and member.bmes.org, supplemented by the BMES Hub collaborative platform launched to facilitate member interaction.

The society's business model relies on diversified, member-centric revenue streams: tiered annual membership dues ($30 student / $80 early career / $200–$250 professional), conference registration fees with member/non-member price discrimination, corporate sponsorship packages at four tiers (Platinum $35,000 down to Bronze $6,000), exhibit booth sales, journal subscriptions, and DEI event sponsorships. GTM motion is community-led and event-driven, with the annual meeting functioning as the primary acquisition and retention touchpoint. BMES is governed by an elected Board of Directors and operated by a small staff (1–10 employees) reporting through an Executive Director role, which transitioned effective July 1, 2023.

Name

Biomedical Engineering Society

Legal name

Biomedical Engineering Society

Website

https://bmes.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), founded in 1968, is a non-profit professional society serving over 6,700 biomedical engineers across academia, industry, and healthcare through four journals, an annual meeting drawing ~5,000 attendees from 25 countries, 115+ student chapters, and five Special Interest Groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hyattsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from Student ($30), Early Career ($80), and Professional ($200-$250) members generating recurring revenue from over 6,700 members.
2. Conference Registration: Revenue from annual meeting registrations with tiered pricing for members and non-members. Includes early-bird and on-site pricing for students, early career, and professionals.
3. Journal Publications: Four professional journals: Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, Cardiovascular Engineering & Technology, and Biomedical Engineering Education.
4. Corporate Sponsorships & Exhibits: Tiered sponsorship packages (Platinum $35,000, Gold $23,000, Silver $12,000, Bronze $6,000) and exhibit booth sales at annual meetings.
5. Diversity Event Sponsorships: Sponsorships for DEI events including Gender Equity Luncheons, LGBTQIA+ Dessert Receptions, and Celebration of Communities of Color in BME at various champion, advocate, and supporter levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

BMES is a non-profit professional society that provides individual and corporate memberships, the flagship BMES Annual Meeting and CMBE conferences, four peer-reviewed biomedical engineering journals, Special Interest Groups, student chapters, mentorship and career resources, webinars, and awards. Revenue is generated primarily through membership dues, conference registrations, journal subscriptions, and corporate sponsorships, all directed at advancing the biomedical engineering profession.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BMES Individual Membership Tiered annual membership program for biomedical engineering students ($30), early career professionals within 3 years of degree ($80), and professionals/fellows ($200-$250), providing access to journals, conferences, BMES Hub, networking, and member benefits.
• BMES Corporate Membership Corporate membership program allowing companies and institutions to engage with the BMES community through sponsorships, exhibit opportunities, and partnership programs, including the Medtronic/BMES Student Design Competition.
• BMES Annual Meeting Flagship annual conference of BMES, held at venues such as the San Diego Convention Center, hosting nearly 5,000 attendees from 25 countries and 2,500+ scientific presentations on biomedical engineering research, with tiered registration pricing for members and non-members.
• BMES Peer-Reviewed Journals Four scientific journals published by BMES: Annals of Biomedical Engineering, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, Cardiovascular Engineering & Technology, and Biomedical Engineering Education, providing peer-reviewed publication venues for the biomedical engineering research community.
• Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Five SIGs covering Medical Devices, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, Advanced Biomanufacturing, Computational Biomedical Engineering, and BME and Women's Health, providing focused sub-community membership, conferences, and awards within BMES.
• BMES Job Board Online job board connecting biomedical engineering employers with talent, accessible at jobboard.bmes.org for both job seekers and employers.
• Mentorship Program Member-to-member mentorship program connecting students and early career professionals with experienced biomedical engineering mentors for career guidance and professional development.
• BMES Webinars and Professional Development Webinar series including 'The Pathway to a BME Master's', 'Industry Connections', and abstract submission guidance, providing professional development for members.
• BMES Awards and Fellow Recognition Recognition programs including the Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Lectureship Award, Athanasiou Medal of Excellence, Wallace H. Coulter Award for Healthcare Innovation, Mid-Career Award, Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award, BMES Grade of Fellow, Student Chapter Awards, and other society and SIG-level awards.
• Conference Sponsorship and Exhibits Tiered corporate sponsorship packages (Platinum $35,000, Gold $23,000, Silver $12,000, Bronze $6,000) and exhibit booth sales (10x10 to 20x20) at the BMES Annual Meeting, providing corporate visibility and engagement with the BME community.
• Student Chapter Program University-based student chapter network with 115+ chapters worldwide, providing local event organization, mentorship pipelines, leadership development, and recognition through Student Chapter Awards.
• American Health Discovery Campaign Nationwide public awareness campaign powered by BMES collecting 250 stories for America's 250th anniversary, highlighting the impact of biomedical engineering and allied fields.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $69 billion annual contribution to US GDP
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and supporting.

• ABETcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerABET is the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. BMES partners with ABET for accreditation support and quality standards in biomedical engineering education.
• AIMBEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmerican Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering is a non-profit organization advocating for public policy issues affecting medical and biological engineering. BMES collaborates with AIMBE on advocacy for biomedical research funding and Capitol Hill initiatives.
• BOLDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOLD (BMES Organization for Leadership Development) is an initiative within BMES focused on developing leadership skills and opportunities for members. Includes dedicated committee members and leadership programs.
• FASEBcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederation of American Societies for Experimental Biology represents scientific societies in biological and biomedical research. BMES partners through FASEB for broader coalition building and shared advocacy efforts.
• NE-BME LeagueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional consortium of Northeastern biomedical engineering programs collaborating on shared initiatives and networking within the BME community.
• NSBEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Society of Black Engineers partnership focused on diversity and inclusion in biomedical engineering. Joint efforts to support underrepresented minorities in the field.
• Society of Physician EntrepreneursminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership connecting biomedical engineers with physician entrepreneurs to facilitate translation of medical technologies from concept to market.
• MedtroniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedtronic is a premier corporate partner supporting BMES through the Medtronic/BMES Student Design Competition, annual meeting sponsorships, and Coulter College program hosting. Special thanks to Medtronic as generous supporter.
• Johns Hopkins UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum sponsor and track sponsor for Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering at 2023 Annual Meeting. Partner in American Health Discovery campaign.
• Virginia Tech - Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering & SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum sponsor and track sponsor for Biomechanics at 2023 Annual Meeting.
• Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech & Emory UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatinum sponsor and track sponsor for Biomaterials at 2023 Annual Meeting. Named after Wallace H. Coulter with ongoing foundation partnership.
• American Health DiscoverycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBMES-powered nationwide public awareness campaign collecting 250 stories for America's 250th anniversary to highlight biomedical engineering's impact. Alliance of organizations committed to field recognition.
• DEI Event Sponsors (University of Washington, Ohio State, Clemson, UC Davis, etc.)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerMultiple universities sponsor BMES diversity events including Gender Equity Luncheons, LGBTQIA+ Dessert Receptions, and Celebration of Communities of Color in BME at various champion, advocate, and supporter levels.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB): FASEB is a federation of scientific societies in biological and biomedical research that BMES partners with through shared advocacy; FASEB competes for biomedical researchers' memberships and federal science-policy engagement.
• American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE): AIMBE is a non-profit advocacy organization for medical and biological engineering that overlaps directly with BMES on Capitol Hill advocacy, peer recognition (Fellows), and academic/industry membership, making it the closest peer in mission and constituency.
• Controlled Release Society (CRS): CRS is a scientific society focused on delivery science and bioengineering with conferences, journals, and members that overlap with BMES's Advanced Biomanufacturing and CMBE communities.
• IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (IEEE EMBS): IEEE EMBS is a major international society for biomedical engineering that competes directly with BMES on conferences, journals, and global membership among biomedical engineers, while being embedded within the broader IEEE ecosystem.
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE): NSBE is a national student and professional engineering society with overlapping DEI and student-chapter missions; BMES has formal partnerships with NSBE on diversity in biomedical engineering, indicating a close peer relationship.
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE): SWE is a professional society serving women engineers with overlapping mission in student support, diversity programming, and conference sponsorship, comparable to BMES in scale and member demographics.
• Society for Biological Engineering (SBE): SBE is a subgroup of AIChE focused on biological engineering that directly competes with BMES's Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering SIG for members, conferences, and journal authors in bioengineering.

Broad incumbents

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME): ASME is a broad engineering professional society that overlaps with BMES in mechanical and biomechanical sub-fields and competes for engineering students and professionals, though it serves a much wider technical constituency.
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE): AIChE is a broad engineering society that intersects with BMES through biomanufacturing, drug delivery, and cellular bioengineering, competing for chemical and biomedical engineering students and industry talent.

Regional players

• European Society for Engineering and Medicine (ESEM): ESEM serves biomedical engineering communities primarily in Europe with comparable conferences and publications, representing a regional peer that competes for international members and authors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BMESociety
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BMESociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/BMESociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/biomedical-engineering-society
• Instagraminstagram.com/bmesociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Biomedical Engineering Society