interior of building with spiral staircase

Research

Boldly innovating to impact society and transform the world.

Northeastern University has achieved the prestigious recognition as a top-tier R1 institution for research activity among U.S. colleges and universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Our tradition of partnership and engagement guides a use-inspired and interdisciplinary research enterprise that is strategically aligned with three global imperatives: health, security, and sustainability. Our annual Annual Report highlights pioneering research and achievements over the past year.


The College of Engineering has over 235 tenured/tenure-track faculty, each bringing complementary areas of research expertise to address pressing global challenges. Their state-of-art-research looks at critical issues in materials, processes, systems, infrastructure, hardware and software at every scale—nano to macro to global—grounded in a translational approach that integrates the values of fundamental and applied research.

Our faculty boldly innovate by collaborating across engineering disciplines and the university, as well as with government, academia, and industry. The College of Engineering has 18 multidisciplinary research centers and institutes with funding from eight federal agencies. Our commitment to conducting transformative research to better the world can be seen by a 101% increase in external research funding from FY2017 to FY2023, and by an investment in research capabilities such as our 223,000 square foot, six-story Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex and 367,000 square foot, eight-story EXP facility for teaching and research.

Government and Industry Partnerships

Industry and government partner with Northeastern for basic and applied research. The reason is simple: they know that at Northeastern, our two guiding principles are interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement with the real world. These principles are reflected in our research programs, which are driven by critical issues in materials, processes, systems and infrastructure. Our research collaborations are a win-win-win: our partners receive knowledge and products tailored to their needs, our researchers validate and extend their work, and our students receive training and experience to become the next generation of effective technologists.


Research At-A-Glance

$118M

External Research Funding (FY2023)

18

Research Centers and Institutes

142

Young Investigator Awards (as of Aug. 2023)

154

Patents 2017-Aug. 2023


Recent News

Advancing Wire-Arc Direct Energy Deposition for Large-Format Metal Additive Manufacturing

The Cold Spray Research Group was awarded a $4.38 million grant by the Army Research Laboratory to advance wire-arc direct energy deposition (WA-DED) for large-format metal additive manufacturing. The work will be led by MIE Professor Sinan Müftü and Assistant Professor Ozan Özdemir. The team will include collaboration from Professors Ozlem Ergün, Mohammad Taslim, and […]

Assessing the Environmental Impact of Discarded Unexploded Ordnances

CEE/MES Associate Professor Loretta Fernandez explains the environmental risks of unexploded munitions and the toxic heavy metals they contain being left underwater. Lead and mercury, among other toxic chemicals, can leach into ocean water, ground water, and soil sediment. 

Developing Tools to Analyze Individual RNA Molecules

COS/BioE Professor Meni Wanunu and Assistant Professor Sara Rouhanifard, in collaboration with Anna-Marie Pyle from Yale University, were awarded a $4.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) for “Direct RNA sequencing using electro-optical zero-mode waveguides and custom click fluorescent nucleotides.”

Building a Floating Pier to Provide Aid to Gaza

CEE/MES Professor Qin Jim Chen says the construction of a floating pier to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza will present many engineering challenges, but none are insurmountable.