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 240 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 more than 20 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 our growth in external research funding, which exceeds $100 million annually, and by an investment in research facilities 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.
Research At-A-Glance
External Research Funding (FY2024)
Research Centers and Institutes
Young Investigator Awards (as of Aug. 2024)
Patents 2018-Aug. 2024
Related Resources
Understand how Northeastern partners with industry for research and workforce development
View the faculty directory for more information on individual researchers.
Recent News
Adaptive Splint Designed for Individuals with Autism
ECE Associate Professor Kris Dorsey is the principal researcher on a project working to develop an adaptive splint for autistic individuals to prevent them from self-injurious behaviors.
Patent for Adapter Enables Use of Open RAN Technologies on Legacy RAN Systems
ECE Associate Research Professor Salvatore D’Oro, Associate Research Scientist Leonardo Bonati, Assistant Research Professor Michele Polese, and William Lincoln Smith Professor Tommaso Melodia were awarded a patent for “Open RAN adapter for use of open RAN technologies on legacy RAN systems.”
New Discovery in Human Cells
BioE Professor Nikolai Slavov and his team at the Single-Cell Proteomics Center made a discovery in early human cell differences. The findings of this discovery could have a huge impact on regenerative medicine.
Northeastern Faculty Travel to West Africa for Medical Innovation Expo
BioE/COS Professor Lee Makowski traveled to Accra, Ghana, to extend the Northeastern-Academic City University collaboration and promote local manufacturing of cost-effective medical devices through the new Ghana Bioinnovation Center.