The College of Engineering continues to make numerous, impactful contributions to the intellectual and economic vitality of the world through our discoveries and innovations.
The Engineering Research Accelerator reinforces the College’s efforts to expand our participation and influence in national and international research forums, which allows us to develop a stronger platform to share our insights and discoveries on emerging issues. We develop deep industry ties and seek new relationships to collaboratively develop solutions to broad problems. These solutions have the potential to create economic value through new products that are useful, usable, and desirable in the marketplace.
Next generation research initiatives and moonshots
Body, brain, behavior: Advancing beurotechnology for peak performance, health, and well-being
This moonshot will bring together CMU and clinical institutions to ask how physical health, internal and external stressors, and the environment influence the performance of the brain and behavior. It will develop engineering solutions for understanding and optimizing human cognitive performance in the healthy brain, focusing on innovative, translational solutions for treating neural health conditions.
Principle investigator:
- Jana Kainerstorfer, professor of biomedical engineering
Co-PIs:
- Matthew Smith, professor of biomedical engineering
- Steven Chase, professor of biomedical engineering
- Barbara Shinn-Cunningham, director of the Neuroscience Institute; professor of auditory neuroscience, psychology, biomedical engineering, and electrical and computer engineering
Additional team members:
- Douglas Weber, professor of mechanical engineering
- Eric Yttri, professor of biological sciences
- Itzhaq Cohen-Karni, professor of biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering
- Timothy Verstynen, professor of psychology
- Maysam Chamanzar, professor, electrical and computer engineering
- Bin He, trustee professor of biomedical engineering
- Eni Halilaj, associate professor of mechanical engineering
- Burak Ozdoganlar, professor of mechanical engineering; associate directory of the Engineering Research Accelerator; and co-director of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance
- Carmel Majidi, professor of mechanical engineering
- Gary Fedder, professor of electrical and computer engineering; faculty director of the Manufacturing Futures Initiative
- Sossena Wood, assistant professor of biomedical engineering
- Byron Yu, professor of biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering
- Xaq Pitkow, associate professor in the Neuroscience Institute
- Keith Cook, department head of biomedical engineering
- Liz Ransey, assistant professor of biological sciences
Communication and compute for all
The goal of this collaboration is to provide internet connection to underprivileged communities around the world, allowing affordable communication and computer infrastructure to be accessible to all. As a globally recognized institution in technology and innovation, CMU is perfectly positioned to host the Communication and Compute for All initiative. Its proximity to both low-income communities and rural areas is essential to introducing those who have never used the internet to the digital world.
Principle investigators:
- Swarun Kumar, professor of electrical and computer engineering
- Akshitha Sriraman, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
Engineering competitiveness: critical technologies and critical supply chains
This group targets the development of intellectual foundations, data, and tools required to identify and support strategic action by governments around technologies critical for ensuring the security, prosperity (including jobs) and welfare (including health, environments and equity) of all citizens.
Principle investigators:
- Erica Fuchs, professor of engineering and public policy
- Valerie Karplus, associate professor of engineering and public policy
- Lee Branstetter, professor of economics and public policy
- Eduard Hovy, research professor in the Language Technologies Institute
- Shawn Blanton, Associate Department Head for Research and professor, electrical and computer engineering
- Ken Mai, principle systems scientist, electrical and computer engineering
- Jay Whitacre, director of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, professor of engineering and public policy and materials science engineering
- Costa Samaras, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering
- Ramayya Krishnan, dean of Heinz College
- Peter Zhang, assistant professor of operations research
- Larry Pillegi, professor of electrical and computer engineering
- Destine Nock, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, assistant professor of engineering and pubic policy
Moonshot Winner 2021
Autonomous technologies for livability and sustainability (ATLAS)
Led by Mario Bergés, professor of civil and environmental engineering, the proposed Autonomous Technologies for Livability and Sustainability initiative is dedicated to target a big societal challenge and shifts that need to occur on engineering intelligent and autonomous systems that engage with the world sustainably without leaving anyone behind. The outcome of this team effort will be development of autonomous systems, from sensing layer to decision-making, which are equitable and sustainable by design.
Principle investigators:
- Mario Bergés, professor of civil and environmental engineering
Executive director: Matt Bartman, director for research partnerships, College of Engineering
Moonshot Winner 2020
Intelligent symbiotic systems (IS4)
Led by Carmel Majidi, Clarence H. Adamson associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Mohammad Islam, professor of materials science and engineering, the proposed Intelligent Symbiotic Systems initiative is dedicated to pioneering new classes of intelligent programmable matter that will have transformative impact on robotics and human computer interactions (HCI). The outcome of this long-term effort will be a new paradigm in bio-inspired engineering in which autonomously reconfigurable robotic functionality—integrated sensing, actuation, learning, decision making, self-repair, and energy storage—is intrinsically achieved at the materials level with limited or no dependency on traditional machines, motors, or computing hardware.
Executive director: Lenna Cominos, director of corporate partnerships, electrical and computer engineering
Moonshot Winner 2020
Bioengineered Organs Initiative
The Bioengineered Organs Initiative aims to save lives by increasing the number of organs available to patients in need. The multi-disciplinary research team designs, creates, and tests revolutionary, long-term replacement organs engineered from a combination of bio-printed materials, which are both cellular and synthetic. This lifesaving technology could eventually eliminate the current organ transplant waiting list.
Carnegie Mellon’s collaborative research includes 3-D printing, tissue engineering, biomaterials, cellular mechanics, and artificial organs that can support or replace diseased organs. These bioengineered organs can improve the survival rates of millions of patients suffering from end-stage organ failure in the United States.
The Bioengineered Organs Initiative is the first formal, next-generation research initiative directed by and incubated within the Accelerator.
Principle investigators:
- Keith Cook, professor of biomedical engineering
- Adam Feinberg, associate professor of materials science and engineering
Executive director: Anita Jesionowski, director of research partnerships, College of Engineering
Remanence Computing Initiative
The Remanence Computing Initiative conducts transformational research on a new computing platform and architecture, which would fuse CPU, memory, and storage together in a single and powerful chip. This research will enable an exponential increase in computing capability and data storage. It will also drastically reduce size and power requirements, which will enable on-platform machine learning and pervasive artificial intelligence. The Remanence Computing Initiative is a moonshot project supported by the Accelerator.
Principle investigator:
- Jimmy Zhu, professor of electrical and computer engineering and materials science and engineering
NextManufacturing Center
The NextManufacturing Center is one of the world’s leading research centers for additive manufacturing (AM), which is often referred to as 3-D printing. The Center leverages multi-disciplinary knowledge to develop an innovative approach to AM, including design optimization, materials selection and characterization, process parameter mapping, software development, final part inspection, and qualification. The Center develops tools for AM that impact and benefit a wide range of additional advanced manufacturing processes. The NextManufacturing Center will also educate and train the next generation of AM experts through creative, hands-on problem-solving in the College’s innovative maker facilities. The NextManufacturing Center is housed at the Accelerator and was one of the Accelerator’s earliest, successful research incubation efforts.
Principle investigators:
- Jack Beuth, professor of mechanical engineering
- Anthony Rollett, professor of materials science and engineering
Executive director: Sandra DeVincent Wolf, Executive Director, NextManufacturing Center
New research frontiers
The College of Engineering takes pride in its position at the forefront of new research frontiers. Through annual support of one to two new moonshot ideas, the College of Engineering identifies and fosters the next set of cross‐cutting research directions that could lead to future centers of excellence within the college.
The selected moonshot projects receive incubation support through the Engineering Research Accelerator, such as student support, workshop organization support, short‐term incubation space, broader impact formulation, editorial and graphics support for grant writing, and company and federal partnership development support.
The college has regular calls for proposals to identify new moonshot ideas. The Accelerator facilitates the moonshot proposal process and will contact faculty with details when the call for proposals is open.
Explore the College of Engineering’s research topics
Our research is without boundaries.