Bruce Wheeler received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1981. He is the Interim Head and professor of the newly formed Department of Bioengineering and a professor in the U of I Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Neuroscience Program, as well as a full-time Beckman Institute faculty member and group leader of the NeuroTech group with affiliation with the Institute's Bioacoustics Research Laboratory . His fields of professional interest involve the application of electrical engineering technologies to the neurosciences, particularly in the use of microlithography to design, grow, monitor and control in vitro neural networks composed of real, living neurons.   He is also active in signal processing and computer modeling for advanced multichannel neuroscience instrumentation.

Honors: Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2004; U of I Medical Scholars Outstanding MD/PhD Advisor 2003; U of I Campus Wide Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising.