TWP: Bath

Emily's Tourist with a Purpose write up:

For my second adventure for Tourist with a Purpose, I traveled to Bath, a city in England. I selected this location in order to see how much medicine and biomedical engineering has advanced over the last thousands of years. This location relates to my major, biomedical engineering, and inspires me to want to accomplish more once I enter the work force.

I first began my adventure to Bath excited to see the beautiful town and travel to a location outside of London. The city did not fail to disappoint on its striking landscapes. The breathtaking views of the countryside, extravagant columns lining the buildings, and lively city streets made this town a quick favorite of mine. My favorite part of the trip was walking around the streets of the town. Every front of the buildings was required to have the same gold color as well as to be styled similarly, while the backs of the buildings were not uniform at all. Driving around the city it was interesting to see the consistency; however, as soon as you turn a corner and catch a glimpse of the backs of the houses you notice not everything is as harmonious as you would think. Nevertheless, this ancient city was beautiful.

Despite its gorgeous views, I realized Bath had even more to offer me: more knowledge on my major. The ancient Roman baths, established in 43 AD, were thought to heal the Romans for life. They believed in this healing power because they had never seen anything like the hot springs that bubbled from the ground. Drinking six glasses of water a day in 43 AD was seen as a method to cure a person for life. This example for curing signifies how much the world has advanced in medicine and biomedical engineering fields over the past thousands of years. Clearly, we have come a long way since then.

Today we know the scientific reasoning behind the great healing powers of the bath water. This spring water is full of minerals that are good for the body. Since 43 AD, we have significantly advanced in medical fields. We now can transfer kidneys, engineering fake limbs, or reconstruct parts of the heart. Back then, the closest thing to biomedical engineering was discovering magical powers in water for no known cause.

By comparing the ideas of medicine treatments in 43 AD to today’s biomedical engineering advancements, I am inspired. We have come such a long way since the beginning of our calendar. I do not doubt that there is a lot more to discover in the biomedical field. There is so much left to learn and engineer and Bath made me eager for my future in the field of biomedical engineering.