Northeastern University College of Engineering

Graduate Student Proposal/Fellowship Writing Hours: CommLab Drop-In Hours
2025-08-05 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-12 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-19 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-26 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Graduate students, are you looking for support in writing your research or fellowship proposal? Join the CommLab virtual drop-in writing hours any Tuesday between 10 am -12 pm ET and stay for a short time or the whole two hours. A CommLab Fellow will be available to help you set writing goals and provide feedback on your writing. Join this drop-in workshop through Zoom.

LinkedIn, CV, Resume: CommLab Drop-In Hours
2025-08-05 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-12 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-19 11:00 - 12:00, 2025-08-26 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Graduate students, do you need to increase your on-line presence or update your CV or Resume? Join the CommLab’s LinkedIn, CV, and Resume drop-in workshops every other Tuesday from 11 pm to 12 pm ET. This collaborative space offers valuable advice and peer feedback to enhance your online profile and professional presence. Join this drop-in workshop through Zoom.

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Miami
2025-08-06 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York)
Join Northeastern University’s College of Engineering Coast-to-Coast webinar series of events. We’ll explore each of our global campuses and highlight what makes them outstanding places to study, launch a tech career, and immerse yourself in a dynamic local culture.
During these webinars, you will:

Learn how our global campus network empowers you to shape your graduate experience around opportunity, innovation, and real-world impact.
Gain insight into the graduate engineering programs offered at each campus and discover how our programs help prepare you to become a forward-thinking leader by blending advanced technical expertise with strong communication skills to address society’s most pressing challenges.
Hear about the multinational companies that provide students with unique co-op opportunities.
Explore the campuses and their impressive resources, with insights shared by program and campus representatives.
Find out how you may be eligible for a 25% tuition discount scholarship.

ChE PhD Dissertation Defense: Sabrina Marnoto
2025-08-06 12:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | 610-A EXP, 360 Huntington Ave, 610-A EXP, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Name: Sabrina Marnoto
Title: Dynamics of Droplet and Soft Particle Systems in Confined Microflows
Date: 08/06/2025
Time: 12:00:00 PM
Committee Members:
Prof. Sara M. Hashmi (Advisor)
Dr. Petia Vlahovska
Prof. Xiaoyu Tang
Prof. Ambika Bajpayee
Prof. Mansoor Amiji
Location: EXP-610A
Abstract:
Droplets and soft particles are ubiquitous, exhibiting behavior in nature through rainfall and in biological materials, and serving industrial needs such as hopper de-cloggers and cell encapsulators. While droplets and particles appear in natural and industrial settings, their behavior is especially rich when flowing in confined geometries. In confined flow systems, droplets and soft particles exhibit unique phenomena that cause passive sorting and shape deformation. Many researchers utilize this distinctive behavior for applications in understanding the micro-vascular system, creating lab-on-a-chip platforms, and manipulating droplets and soft particles. In this thesis, we exploit droplet and soft particle dynamics in confined flow for two primary objectives: to develop a technique for measuring mechanical properties of individual droplets or particles and to gain a deeper understanding of the passive softness-driven separation of droplet and particle suspensions.
To begin, we focus on developing a continuous fluidic tool that combines droplet and particle formation with mechanical measurement in a single device. Current measurement tools are known to be challenging to use and time-consuming. Specifically, methods measure a single droplet or particle at a time. Furthermore, the measurement tools are discontinuous, requiring the creation of droplets and particles, followed by a separate measurement of mechanical properties. Discontinuous methods can introduce experimental errors in measurements. Confined geometries, such as microfluidic devices, offer the opportunity to measure the properties of multiple droplets and soft particles continuously. High-throughput continuous methods have implications in automation, material design optimization, and provide precise quality control. In this thesis, we explore the mechanical properties of two systems: droplets and soft particles. For droplets, we develop a robust yet simple fluidic tensiometer for surface tension measurements. The tensiometer accurately measures surface tension for a wide range of emulsion systems and is validated by established techniques.
Our tensiometer not only measures surface tension, but also can measure the restoring stress of soft particles. Restoring stress is the stress for a particle to reform back to its initial shape in response to an applied viscous shear. A higher restoring stress is indicative of a stiffer particle. We use polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) as our model for soft particles. PEGDA is biocompatible, tunable, and photocurable, making it a widely used soft particle in fluidic measurements. In fluidic devices, PEGDA particles are formed by first pinching off PEGDA-filled droplets using oil, followed by exposure to UV light downstream, either on or off-chip. Off-chip curing presents complications, as droplets coalesce as they exit fluidic channels, causing polydispersion and negating the monodisperse advantage of fluidic techniques. On-chip exposure is possible with the rise of transparent fluidic device materials. In devices, many researchers expose particles to a single UV intensity and assume that particles are fully crosslinked as they flow. However, intensity and particle curing have a direct relationship. The UV curing mechanisms in flow are also not well understood. There are numerous methods for monitoring particle gelation, but few researchers combine techniques to comprehensively understand UV curing under precise flow conditions and UV control. We utilize our fluidic measurement tool, combined with a multitude of other analysis techniques, to fully grasp crosslinking kinetics both in and out of flow. We find that crosslinking particles in flow introduces additional complexities because UV intensity and exposure time depend on velocity and trajectory and can result in nonuniform curing.
In confined shear flows, wall effects cause individual droplets and particles to migrate towards the center of the channel and even deform. Shifting from individual droplet and particle measurements, we explore both emulsion and particle suspensions in flow. Suspensions of droplets and particles experience additional hydrodynamic forces due to pair-wise interactions with each other. In many computational and theoretical analyses, researchers assume monodisperse or bidisperse suspensions and simple shear flow for simplicity. However, real-world systems often deviate from these assumptions, particularly in polydispersed systems and Poiseuille flow. We employ a scaling behavior analysis on a polydispersed emulsion, considering both simple shear and Poiseuille phenomena. We investigate the validity of the scaling theory applied to varied shear rates, volume fractions, and viscosity ratios.
Multicomponent suspension flows through confined spaces are ubiquitous in nature. One of the most commonly investigated confined particle suspension systems is blood. In blood vessels in the microcirculation, red blood cells migrate towards the center of the channel, creating a cell-free layer, and other particulates, such as white blood cells, platelets, and leukocytes, partition towards the walls of the channels. Among the particulates circulating with red blood cells are drug delivery vehicles. Understanding carrier migration in blood vessels is crucial for improving drug efficacy and reducing adverse side effects. Both particle and flow properties control carrier migration. We provide a comprehensive review explaining how various properties affect particle migration in flow. Further, we suggest a method for quantifying said migration.
The thesis explores the individual and collective behavior of both particles and droplets in confined flow. By developing novel measurement tools and gaining a better fundamental understanding of droplet and particle behavior in confined flows, we present opportunities for broader industrial and academic applications, including automation, cell mechanics, and more.

Scientific Oral Communication : CommLab Drop-In Workshops
2025-08-06 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-08-13 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-08-20 13:00 - 14:00, 2025-08-27 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
The NU CommLab is hosting a weekly hybrid Scientific Oral Communication Drop-in practice for graduate students. Drop-in virtually or in-person any week to practice for your upcoming oral exams, proposals, thesis, dissertation or talks. Receive and implement feedback on your verbal and non-verbal public speaking skills. Meet any Wednesday from 1-2pm in 306 Egan or on Zoom. Note on June 4th the workshop will be in 206 Egan.

Northeastern Global Study Expo- Hyderabad, India 2025
2025-08-09 09:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
Join Kelly Egorova, Assistant Dean, Graduate Enrollment and Retention, in Hyderabad, India on Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM until 11:45 AM at ITC Kohenur, Hyderabad
Knowledge City, Plot No.5, Survey No. 83/1 Madhapur for the largest in-person educational event hosted by a U.S.-based university!
Enhance your career and open doors to a world of opportunities by investing in yourself at Northeastern University College of Engineering. As a globally renowned institution ranked among the top-50 U.S. universities, Northeastern offers an education that is designed to propel your professional growth.
The Global Study Expo-India 2025 presents a unique chance to explore the unparalleled advantages of pursuing a engineering degree at Northeastern’s College of Engineering, which boasts a remarkable global network and a diverse community of talented individuals worldwide.
Register today and join us for an informative and inspiring day where you can:

Connect with Northeastern representatives.
Deepen your understanding of our graduate engineering programs.
Learn about our admissions requirements.
Discover potential scholarship opportunities.
Learn about our students’ educational and professional outcomes.
Hear about our successful students and alumni.

Northeastern Global Study Expo- Mumbai, India 2025
2025-08-10 09:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Join Kelly Egorova, Assistant Dean, Graduate Enrollment and Retention, on August 10, 2025 at 9:00am at JW MAriott Mumbai Juhu, India for the largest in-person educational event hosted by a U.S.-based university!
Enhance your career and open doors to a world of opportunities by investing in yourself at Northeastern University College of Engineering. As a globally renowned institution ranked among the top-50 U.S. universities, Northeastern offers an education that is designed to propel your professional growth.
The Global Study Expo-India 2025 presents a unique chance to explore the unparalleled advantages of pursuing a engineering degree at Northeastern’s College of Engineering, which boasts a remarkable global network and a diverse community of talented individuals worldwide.
Register today and join us for an informative and inspiring day where you can:

Connect with Northeastern representatives.
Deepen your understanding of our graduate engineering programs.
Learn about our admissions requirements.
Discover potential scholarship opportunities.
Learn about our students’ educational and professional outcomes.
Hear about our successful students and alumni.

Northeastern Global Study Expo- Bengaluru, India 2025
2025-08-12 06:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Join Kelly Egorova, Assistant Dean, Graduate Enrollment and Retention, in Bengaluru, India Tuesday August 12, 2025 at 6:00pm until 8:30pm at JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru
24/1 Vittal Mallya Road Bengaluru, Karnataka for the largest in-person educational event hosted by a U.S.-based university!
Enhance your career and open doors to a world of opportunities by investing in yourself at Northeastern University College of Engineering. As a globally renowned institution ranked among the top-50 U.S. universities, Northeastern offers an education that is designed to propel your professional growth.
The Global Study Expo-India 2025 presents a unique chance to explore the unparalleled advantages of pursuing a engineering degree at Northeastern’s College of Engineering, which boasts a remarkable global network and a diverse community of talented individuals worldwide.
Register today and join us for an informative and inspiring day where you can:

Connect with Northeastern representatives.
Deepen your understanding of our graduate engineering programs.
Learn about our admissions requirements.
Discover potential scholarship opportunities.
Learn about our students’ educational and professional outcomes.
Hear about our successful students and alumni.

Graduate Student Writing: CommLab Drop-In Writing Hours
2025-08-12 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-19 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-08-26 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
Graduate students, are you looking for a time for focused research writing? Join the CommLab drop-in writing hours any Tuesday between 9 -11 am ET. Drop in any Tuesday and stay for a short time or two hours. A CommLab Fellow will be available to provide feedback on your writing. We will be meeting virtually on Teams.

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Oakland
2025-08-14 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles)

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Portland
2025-08-19 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Seattle
2025-08-20 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Sao_Paulo) | Virtual

Dissertation Defense with Joseph Rodriguez
2025-08-20 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
We invite you to join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for a dissertation defense with student Joseph Rodriguez. We encourage you to arrive early to prevent disruptions.

Classroom to Career Conversations: Northeastern University Toronto
2025-08-20 17:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York)
Join Toronto Campus faculty, alumni and current students as they connect prospective students about the tangible value, career outcomes, and academic experience at Northeastern University in Toronto.
What to Expect:

Hear from Local Faculty—Learn about program highlights, curriculum structure, and industry relevance directly from our expert faculty.
Alumni and Student Perspectives—Discover how current students and graduates are applying what they’ve learned to real-world challenges and career opportunities.
Career Pathways—Gain insight into job prospects, industry demand, and professional growth opportunities in Toronto and beyond.
Q&A—Bring your questions and engage directly with the panel to better understand how each program aligns with your goals

Details:
Date/Time: August 20, 5:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m. ET
Featured Programs: MS in Information Systems (+Bridge) and MS in Cyber-Physical Systems
Location: The Centre for Social Innovation | 192 Spadina Ave. Suite 101
Registration is required: https://connect.northeastern.edu/portal/tor_classroom_to_career

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Silicon Valley
2025-08-21 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Toronto
2025-08-22 09:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual

Discover the College of Engineering from Coast to Coast: Vancouver
2025-08-26 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Vancouver) | Virtual

Northeast Regional Higher Education Neurodiversity Coalition Conference
2025-08-29 08:00 - 2025-08-30 17:00 (America/New_York)
The conference is grounded in the principles of the Neurodiversity Initiative led by Northeastern University College of Engineering and is proudly co-hosted with our regional coalition partners: the University of Rhode Island (URI), the University of Connecticut (UConn), and the University of New Hampshire (UNH). This in-person event serves as a foundational step toward the establishment of the “Northeastern Regional Higher Education Neurodiversity Coalition” (NEHENC). Through this coalition, higher education scholars, employer partners committed to neurodiverse inclusion, and workplace practitioners will come together to form a collaborative community. The goal is to share best practices and develop strategies that improve both educational and employment outcomes for neurodivergent individuals. The conference will begin with training sessions to deepen participants’ understanding of neurodiversity, followed by focused breakout sessions and discussions.

Fall Fest 2025
2025-09-02 12:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
The ultimate celebration to kick off the academic year! Fall Fest is the largest involvement fair of the year, stretching across the entire campus and bustling with energy and excitement.
At Fall Fest, you will find over 500 student organizations and campus resources, live music from our DJs, free food, and fun giveaways! This is your opportunity to connect with friends old and new, get inspired for the year ahead, and immerse yourself in the vibrant community that makes our campus truly special.
So, grab your friends, and get ready to explore, enjoy, and engage. Whether you’re looking to join a club, explore new interests, or immerse yourself in the Boston and Northeastern community, this is your chance to discover the endless possibilities that await you here at Northeastern.
