Last updated*: 11/29/2025
One of the most common questions I get is why I chose two seemingly unrelated majors: Economics and Bioengineering. But to me, they’ve never felt disconnected, because both engage with systems, though at different scales and contexts. I like exploring to understand how complex and dynamic structures function, evolve, and respond to change.
In Bioengineering, we study how the human body functions as a network of interconnected systems—cardiovascular, digestive, immune—each composed of countless interacting units like cells, tissues, and signaling pathways. We model drug concentrations or simulate how signals propagate, helping us predict systemic responses to local interventions.
The same is true for Economics, but instead of cells and tissues, the components are individuals, markets, and institutions. Economics seeks to understand the functioning of another complex organism: the economy. Individuals, firms, sectors, and governments act like the “cells” or “organs” of this system. To monitor its health, we’ve developed abstract indicators such as GDP, inflation, and employment.
Both disciplines aim to explain how units behave and interact, and how their collective behavior shapes the system. At their core, both seek to understand how complex systems operate and adapt.