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The Impact of Our Research

Inspired by and touching on nearly every area of society and daily life

At Northwestern Engineering, our research — in areas ranging from medicine to manufacturing to energy to safety — is inspired by and touches on nearly every area of society and daily life. We are constantly connecting disciplines and collaborating with partners both internal and external to Northwestern to explore innovative ideas and achieve something new.



Jump to an area to see how we're impacting lives:

DATA FOR DISCOVERY Manufacturing Energy Optimization & Productivity HEALTHCARE Safety & Security Resilient Communities VIRTUAL EXPERIENCES

Our Community and Output

Bringing together the best minds from around the world

16

National Academy Members

performing engineering research at the top of their fields

30+

research centers and institutes

bringing together interdisciplinary collaborators

16

highly cited researchers

in 2024 according to Clarivate

98

patents issued

in fiscal year 2024


Data for Discovery


We are using data science, machine learning, and AI models to build knowledge and accelerate discoveries in a wide variety of areas. 

batteries

Building better batteries

We are rapidly predicting the properties of electrolyte mixtures, significantly speeding up and guiding the discovery of more efficient and longer-lasting electrolytes for batteries.

Learn more about the AI model


Manufacturing and Services


Our research impacts every aspect of the manufacturing and service sector, from developing better materials and methods for building products to ensuring worker productivity and safety on a factory floor. We are even getting ready to supply an extra set of hands when they're needed.

Robotic hands to assist with manufacturing and caregiving

By 2030, worker shortages in health, social services, and manufacturing are projected to cause more than $1 trillion in economic losses in the US. Our new US National Science Foundation Human AugmentatioN via Dexterity Engineering Research Center (HAND ERC) is working to mitigate this impending labor shortfall by developing dexterous, intelligent, and affordable robot hands capable of assisting humans with a variety of tasks.

A new process for printing a superior superconductor

Our researchers have developed an additive manufacturing technique to create more robust, ceramic-based superconductor materials with greater design flexibility.

Learn more about this manufacturing technique

Improving speed, precision, and cost-efficiency in manufacturing

Our new technique using computer vision metrology could lead to faster, more precise and economical manufacturing of everything from traditional machine tools to the assembly of cars and robots.

Read about the computer vision metrology

Improving worker performance

Our wearable, multimodal sensor system leverages machine learning to provide near-real-time fatigue prediction and reporting on the factory floor to avoid injuries and improve performance.

Read more about the sensor system


Energy


Global energy demand keeps rising — an increase of 47 percent by 2050 is predicted by the US Energy Information Administration — while much of our energy still comes from finite resources. To meet rising demand and keep our economy moving forward, we are taking a holistic approach to energy challenges by looking at the entire cycle of creation and use.


Optimization & Productivity

Improving decision-making and processes in complex environments

Through algorithms, computation, and mathematical modeling, our researchers are developing decision-support tools that improve society. Our custom data visualization system, for example, is used by the Bank of America Chicago Marathon to help race officials plan medical aid. Our algorithms have been adopted by industry to help build chemical plants, forecast weather, devise more efficient plane routes, and ensure donated kidneys reach patients.


Ensuring the progress of tomorrow

Training the next generation of researchers

Starting at the undergraduate level, we are training the researchers of tomorrow to continue making discoveries that will improve our lives.

1000+

undergraduates

trained in research labs in 2024

1058

PhD Students

working in more than 250 labs


Healthcare


Our research optimizes the human health span through new techniques to diagnosis, monitor, treat, and rehabilitate patients. Our pursuits not only seek cures and longevity, but access to improved quality of life for millions of people.

A new implant and associated smartphone app will allow patients with paralysis, spina bifida, or bladder cancer to monitor bladder fullness in real-time, taking the guesswork out of needing to go.
Monitoring bladder fullness:A new implant and associated smartphone app will allow patients with paralysis, spina bifida, or bladder cancer to monitor bladder fullness in real-time, taking the guesswork out of needing to go.
A new implant, about the size of a postage stamp, will allow doctors to monitor patients following a traumatic heart-related event. When no longer needed, the device dissolves into the body.
Monitoring and treating heart disease:A new implant, about the size of a postage stamp, will allow doctors to monitor patients following a traumatic heart-related event. When no longer needed, the device dissolves into the body.
An implantable device that delivers therapy on demand for obesity and Type 2 diabetes may be on the way — eliminating injections, trips to the pharmacy, and careful storage of expensive medications.
Providing on-demand medications:An implantable device that delivers therapy on demand for obesity and Type 2 diabetes may be on the way — eliminating injections, trips to the pharmacy, and careful storage of expensive medications.
We are developing a small implant to sense inflammatory markers associated with cancer and autonomously deliver immunotherapy. Our goal: personalized therapy for cancer patients.
Sensing and treating cancer:We are developing a small implant to sense inflammatory markers associated with cancer and autonomously deliver immunotherapy. Our goal: personalized therapy for cancer patients.
A new implant and associated smartphone app will allow patients with paralysis, spina bifida, or bladder cancer to monitor bladder fullness in real-time, taking the guesswork out of needing to go.
Monitoring bladder fullness:A new implant and associated smartphone app will allow patients with paralysis, spina bifida, or bladder cancer to monitor bladder fullness in real-time, taking the guesswork out of needing to go.
A new implant, about the size of a postage stamp, will allow doctors to monitor patients following a traumatic heart-related event. When no longer needed, the device dissolves into the body.
Monitoring and treating heart disease:A new implant, about the size of a postage stamp, will allow doctors to monitor patients following a traumatic heart-related event. When no longer needed, the device dissolves into the body.

Implantable monitors that sense and treat disease, and improve quality of life

Knowing what's happening inside our bodies can support treatment and cures for a variety of ailments. Our researchers are developing implantable bioelectronic devices that do just that. One group has created a device that allows doctors to remotely monitor a patient’s heart in real time and will dissolve when no longer needed. Another sensor measures strain in the bladder as it fills, alerting patients with paralysis or bladder damage when to use the bathroom. And yet another device senses cancer and autonomously delivers immunotherapy. In fact, an implantable pharmacy that enables our bodies to produce its own medications may be within reach. 

Fast, low-cost diagnostics and testing

Currently, HIV is diagnosed via high-cost tests run in labs with long processing times and requiring multiple patient visits. Our researchers have developed a new nanomechanical technology to detect HIV in a matter of minutes that can be easily built into a solar-powered device and brought to hard-to-reach populations. Similar principles have also been used to create a highly sensitive water contamination detection tool.

electronic bandage

Tissue and organ regeneration and healing

The body’s inability to jump-start the regeneration of diseased, injured, or missing tissue is one of the greatest challenges faced by patients and surgeons. Our researchers have developed tools that support complex tissue and organ regeneration or reconstruction, such as novel biomaterials to improve bladder tissue regeneration, regrow damaged cartilage in knee joints, and regenerate bone following musculoskeletal surgeries. They also introduced the first transient electronic bandage, which speeds up the healing of diabetic ulcers by 30 percent.

cures for Alzheimer's

Cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's

New research from the Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering uncovers how 3D genome structures generate cellular memories, paving the way for advances in medicine and longevity through cellular reprogramming.


Safety and Security


Our research creates a safer environment in the factory, in the air, and in society at-large.

Terrorism early warning system

Our AI models trained on unclassified, open-source data can predict terrorist attacks, combat drone-based assaults, aid in deepfake and malware detection, and counter advanced phishing and cyber-attacks in real time.

Read about the terrrorism warning system

Collaborative robots for auto assembly

In 1995, our researchers developed collaborative robots (cobots) that work safely alongside humans to move and manipulate heavy objects, revolutionizing assembly lines by reducing physical strain on workers. Their invention, initially funded by General Motors, has significantly improved the efficiency and safety of industrial tasks.

Read about the cobots

Tracking counterfeit medications

The World Health Organization estimates that at least one in 10 pharmaceuticals consumed in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified. Using supply-chain data, our researchers modeled the flow of degraded or counterfeit versions of medications, which could aid regulators in targeting their intervention resources.

Read more about the supply chain disruption model


Resilient Communities


To support a community’s health and prosperity, we must develop methods of building, preserving, and restoring systems that support human activities and communities. From construction methods that are resilient to climate impacts to strategies for preventing food and water shortages to efficient new ways to move people, goods, energy, and information, we're designing the cities and towns of the future. 

clean water

Clean water

We think about water challenges holistically. We created a highly sensitive, rapid water quality test that detects extremely low concentrations of metals in a matter of minutes, allowing us to better protect public health. We are designing new ways to clean our water. Our specialized nanoparticle sponge absorbs water contaminants such as oil, lead, copper, and zinc. And we are developing innovative technology that allows us to foster workplace opportunities by attracting water-intensive manufacturers to the Great Lakes, while recovering valuable energy and minerals from industrial wastewater. 

agriculture

Reliable agriculture

Leveraging in vitro synthetic biology, our researchers have developed a hand-held diagnostic tool that allows farmers in low-resource settings to diagnose disease in crops before symptoms even appear. The technology could one day be used as part of famine mitigation strategies, saving yields before it is too late.

transportation

Transportation and logistics

Our research covers a range of transportation and logistical issues facing communities: from exploring the complexity surrounding the movement of materials, energy, and information to studying the behavioral patterns of demographic and geographic groups to understand how they would react to evacuation orders or access to new types of transportation. Using this new knowledge, we are better equipped to craft the policies that govern such movements, and the infrastructure required to support them. 

Virtual Experiences

Bringing new degrees of interaction, capability, and accessibility

Our researchers are reimagining what’s possible in the virtual realm. A haptic patch worn on the skin could deliver more immersive sensory experiences, including vibrations, pressure, and twisting, to both gamers and people with visual impairments. A recently developed app supports real-time, full-body motion capture using sensors already embedded in consumer mobile devices, democratizing access to a traditionally expensive technology.