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The performance of noncoherent M -ary frequencyshift keying (MFSK) with dual-branch postdetection switch and stay combining (SSC) in two-wave with diffuse power (TWDP) fading is studied. A closed-form expression for the average bit error rate (BER) of noncoherent MFSK with dual-branch postdetection SSC is derived. Monte carlo simulation results are presented to verify the validity of the obtained analytical expressions. The effects of TWDP fading parameters on the relative performances of postdetection and predetection SSC receivers are studied. It is shown that postdetection SSC has superior performance over predetection SSC.Index Terms-Diversity combining, fading channels, noncoherent frequency shift keying, predetection diversity, postdetection diversity, Rayleigh fading, Rician fading, two-wave with diffuse power fading.

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Biomedical Engineering (BME) is a new, multidisciplinary, and rapidly growing field, however, the BME Workforce suffers from limited ethnic and gender diversity. Despite the demand and growth of this new field due to its public health importance, only 4 out of the 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) nationwide offers a Bachelor's of Science (B.S.) in Bio-Engineering related fields. In order to contribute to a growing BME Workforce, HBCUs need to react and offer more degree-programs relevant to BME. At the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), an HBCU and the District's only public institution for higher learning, we have recently established a new, degree program: Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering (B.S. in BME) full-board approved in Fall 2014, with program activities initiated in Fall 2015. The educational goal of this program is to enhance the quality and diversity of the BME Workforce via student professional development, new and relevant BME courses, and BME scholarly activities (e.g., guest lectures and journal club sessions), ultimately to increase the number of ethnic minorities pursuing careers and degrees in BME. Through our program activities, we are aiming to meet the nation's demand to contribute to a diverse BME workforce, directed towards solving problems in human health. A secondary, but related goal, is to increase the diversity of STEM-related fields. This paper summarizes our initial, but encouraging, BME activity-related findings. However, this study will be longitudinal (on a multiple year time period) to observe the true outcomes of our initiative.