The History from 1963 of the IBSIS-RMBS

the oldest continuously held biomedical engineering conference in the world

Our first Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium (RMBS) meeting, sponsored by the U. S. Air Force Academy and the Committee on Electrical Techiques in Medicine and Biology of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), was organized for the end of November 1963 at the then recently opened US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy forced its postponement to the following Spring. After that first meeting, we realized that we were onto something and we decided to meet again the following years.

Also in 1963, another group of scientists interested in medicine and measurement sciences started to meet annually at the National Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation Symposium (NBSIS) with the support of the Instrument Society of America (ISA).

In 1970, since our interests were overlapping, we decided to experiment by combining our respective conferences into the joint 7^th Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium (RMBS) and the 8^th International Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation Symposium (IBSIS). Two years later in 1972 we repeated the experiment with the joint 9^th Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium and the 10^th International Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation Symposium.

After a 4-year courtship, in 1974 we finally combined the two meetings into the joint 11^th Rocky Mountain Bioengineering Symposium and the 11^th International Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation Symposium and the two conferences have been held jointly ever since. Only SARS-CoV-2 forced us to cancel one of our symposia (in 2020), and only because when everything shut down we did not have time to go virtual as we successfully did in 2021.

The initial RMBS symposia were held in Colorado and Wyoming, but we expanded first to the nearby states and then all around the USA, including Rochester (MN), Dayton (OH), San Antonio (TX), Biloxi (MS), Terre Haute (IN), Blacksburg (VA), Milwaukee (WI), and Glassboro (NJ). But Colorado will always be home for us … Below you find the list of all our symposia, their location and their organizers. For more details on the most recent symposia, visit our Symposia website.

The scientific works presented at the symposia have always been peer-reviewed and published as full papers (not conference proceedings) in our publications.

And in the true spirit of a symposium, our meetings have always been structured with plenty of time for socializing, sharing a meal and having fun together: from a beach party in Copper Mountain (CO), to an Elvis appearance in Terre Haute (IN), from a shrimp boat excursion in Biloxi (MS) to a visit to a Viking museum in Fargo (ND), from a private tour of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs (CO) to a visit to the Stennis Space Center (MS). Every year has its own fond memories to go together with a remarkable scientific and technical program.

Come and join us for the next symposium and become part of our family and our long history.

Symposia

1963:

1^st NBSIS, June 14-17 1963, Los Angeles, CA, Fred Alt

1964:

1^st RMBS, May 4-5 1964, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, Grover J.D. Schock
2^nd NBSIS, May 4-6 1964, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, William E. Murry and Peter F. Salisbury

1965:

3^rd NBSIS, April 1965, Dallas, TX, Harold W. Shipton
2^nd RMBS, May 3-4 1965, Denver, CO, Richard J. Gowen

1966:

3^rd RMBS, May 2-3 1966, Boulder, CO, Richard J. Gowen
4^th NBSIS, May 16-18 1966, Anaheim, CA, Joe Poyer, Julia Herrick and Thomas B. Weber

1967:

4^th RMBS, May 1-2 1967, Denver, CO, John Conger
5^th NBSIS, May 15-17 1967, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, Robert D. Allison

1968:

5^th RMBS, May 6-7 1968, Denver, CO, Grover J.D. Schock
6^th NBSIS, May 21-23 1968, University of Pittsburg Schhool of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, Josephine N. Martin

1969:

6^th RMBS, May 5-6 1969, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, Edward Lonsdale
7^th NBSIS, May 19-22 1969, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, Frank Deaver Thomas and Ernest E Sellers

1970:

8^th IBSIS & 7^th RMBS, May 4-6 1970, Denver, CO, Richard J. Gowen, Clyde E. Tucker and Jerry K. Aikawa

1971:

8^th RMBS, May 3-5 1971, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, R. John Morgan and Richard J. Gowen
9^th NBSIS, Aug 30-Sept 1 1971, Milwaukee, WI, Aida Khalafalla and Marvin D. Weiss

1972:

10^th IBSIS & 9^th RMBS, May 1-3 1972, Omaha, NE, Grant G. Myers

1973:

10^th RMBS, May 7-9 1973, Boulder, CO, Donald E. Dick

1974-1979:

11^th IBSIS, April 15-17 1974, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, Ronald David Barnett
12^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 28-30 1975, Denver, CO, K. C. Rock
13^th IBSIS-RMBS, May 3-5 1976, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, Charles Norman Rhodine
14^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 25-27 1977, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, Charles W. Miller
15^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 17-18 1978, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, David Carlson
16^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 23-25 1979, Fitzsimons Army Hospital, Denver, CO, Neal B. Kindig

1980-1989:

17^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 21-22 1980, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, Michael F. Guyote
18^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 20-21 1981, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, Clifford D. Ferris
19^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 19-20 1982, Denver, CO, K.C. Rock
20^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 18-19 1983, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, David Carlson
21^st IBSIS-RMBS, April 16-17 1984, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, Howard Wachtel
22^nd IBSIS-RMBS, April 15-16 1985, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, Charles W. Miller
23^rd IBSIS-RMBS, April 11-12 1986, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, Allen W. Hahn
24^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 27-28 1987, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, John D. Enderle and Thomas Akers
25^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 25-26 1988, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, Harry L. Valenta, Jr. and Sandra K. Fischer
26^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 21-22 1989, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, David Carlson

1990-1999:

27^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 6-7 1990, Denver, CO, Paul Frenger
28^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 12-13 1991, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, David Carlson
29^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 10-11 1992, Denver, CO, Clifford D. Ferris and Matthew Baretich
30^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 2-3 1993, San Antonio, TX, John D. Enderle
31^st IBSIS-RMBS, April 22-23 1994, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, Ruth A. Dyer and Richard R. Gallagher
32^nd IBSIS-RMBS, April 7-9 1995, Copper Mountain, CO, Michael F. Nichols
33^rd IBSIS-RMBS, April 12-13 1996, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, Harry L. Valenta, Jr. and Steven F. Barrett
34^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 11-13 1997, Dayton, OH, Hamed A. Benghuzzi and Praphulla K. Bajpai
35^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 17-19 1998, Copper Mountain, CO, Lt. Col. Steven F. Barrett and Major Cameron H.G. Wright
36^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 16-18 1999, Copper Mountain, CO, Patrick E. Patterson

2000-2009:

37^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 14-16 2000, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, William A. Waugaman, James C. Miller, Cameron H.G. Wright and Peter de Graaf
38^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 19-21 2001, Copper Mountain, CO, Steven F. Barrett
39^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 15-17 2002, Copper Mountain, CO, John J. Sollers III and Julian F. Thayer
40^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 10-13 2003, Biloxi, MS, Hamed Benghuzzi and Michelle Tucci
41^st IBSIS-RMBS, April 23-25 2004, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, Susan P. James and Harry L. Valenta, Jr.
42^nd IBSIS-RMBS, April 8-10 2005, Copper Mountain, CO, Jason Gillette and Patrick E. Patterson
43^rd IBSIS-RMBS, April 7-9 2006, Rose-Hulman University, Terre Haute, IN, Leroy R. Waite
44^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 13-15 2007, Denver, CO, John J. Sollers III and Julian F. Thayer
45^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 4-6 2008, Copper Mountain, CO, Jeffrey R. Anderson
46^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 17-19 2009, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Milwaukee, WI, Brian Stemper and Srirangam Kumaresan

2010-2019:

47^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 9-11 2010, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, Steven F. Barrett, Cameron H.G. Wright and Jeffrey R. Anderson
48^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 15-17 2011, Denver, CO, Patrick E. Patterson and Iris Rivero
49^th IBSIS-RMBS, March 23-25 2012, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, Joel Stitzel
50^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 5-7 2013, Colorado Springs, CO, Jeffrey R. Anderson, Steven F. Barrett and Cameron H.G. Wright
51^st IBSIS-RMBS, April 4-5 2014, Denver, CO, Joseph Cameron, Hamed Benghuzzi and Michelle Tucci
52^nd IBSIS-RMBS, April 10-12 2015, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, Amanda Brooks and Jeffrey R. Anderson
53^rd IBSIS-RMBS, April 8-10 2016, Denver, CO, Steven F. Barrett and Leroy R. Waite
54^th IBSIS-RMBS, March 31-April 1 2017, University of Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, Julian F. Thayer
55^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 13-14 2018, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, Amanda Brooks and Jeffrey R. Anderson
56^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 12-14 2019, Milwaukee School of Engineering in partnership with the 38th IEEE Great Lakes Biomedical Conference, Milwaukee, WI, Brian D. Stemper, Jeffrey LaMack and Sajal Chirvi

2020-today:

57^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 23-25 2020, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, Jeffrey R. Anderson, Steven F. Barrett, Cameron H.G. Wright - CANCELLED due to SARS-CoV-2 pandemia
58^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 8-10 2021, University of Mississippi Medical Center and Jackson State University, Virtual meeting, Michelle Tucci, Ibrahim Farah and Kenenth Butler
59^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 8-9 2022, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, Rowan University, Glassboro NJ, Brian Stemper, Carolyn Hampton and Sean Fisher
60^th IBSIS-RMBS, April 13-16 2023, Translational Medicine Institute, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins CO, Sri Kumar, Katie J. Sikes and Robert W. Streeter
61^st IBSIS-RMBS, April 11-14 2024, HILTON NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT,Kenner, LA, Kenenth Butler, Shivaram Poigai Arunachalam Hamed Benghuzzi and Jonathan Barrett
62^nd IBSIS-RMBS, April 10-13 2025, Utah Tech University, St. George, UT, Jeffrey R. Anderson and Steven F. Barrett