Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Northeastern University College of Engineering
professor holding mechanical design component

Research

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) has a vibrant research environment motivated by our dedicated faculty. Our research programs are funded by many government agencies. In addition to the government, working with academia and industry is part of our focus. We have established large-scale collaborations with government agencies and industry including Rogers Corporation and Dow Chemical, Army Research Laboratory, and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

Research activities at the department can be classified by research areas and by research centers. The department is focused within twelve disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and trans-disciplinary research themes strengthened by the wide range of MIE faculty expertise. Department faculty are leveraging Northeastern’s global network and Institutes to build strong research partnerships, these include the Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security – Burlington, MA, Roux Institute – Portland, MA, Institute for Experiential Robotics, Network Science Institute, Institute for Experiential AI, and Global Resilience Institute.  The department also leads two research centers, including the Center for High Rate Nanomanufacturing and the Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute, both federally funded.

View faculty profiles to learn about their research, including work being conducted in their laboratories. Also, view our Annual Reports.

Recent News

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Image for Northeastern’s Ahmed Busnaina Named 2026 NextFlex Fellow
Faculty

Northeastern’s Ahmed Busnaina Named 2026 NextFlex Fellow

Ahmed Busnaina, Distinguished University Professor at Northeastern University and director of the Advanced Nanomanufacturing Cluster for Smart Sensors and Materials, has been named a 2026 NextFlex Fellow. He was inducted alongside three other honorees during NextFlex’s annual recognition ceremony at the 2026 Innovation Day event.

Image for Patent for AI Driven Digital Twin System to Improve Factory Efficiency
Faculty

Patent for AI Driven Digital Twin System to Improve Factory Efficiency

MIE Teaching Professor Mohammad Dehghani was awarded a patent for “Digital twin modeling and optimization of production processes.”

Image for New AI Design Framework Uses Light to Pack More Data Into Ultrathin Materials
Faculty

New AI Design Framework Uses Light to Pack More Data Into Ultrathin Materials

MIE/ECE Professor Yongmin Liu was awarded a $448K NSF grant for “Pushing the Multiplexing Limit in Metasurfaces via Physics-Informed and Data-Driven Approaches.”

Image for New All Terrain Robot Snuffs Out Wildfires With Liquid Nitrogen
Faculty

New All Terrain Robot Snuffs Out Wildfires With Liquid Nitrogen

MIE Professor Yiannis Levendis and a team of students have developed an all-terrain, mobile prototype robot that utilizes a residue-free cryogenic spray to safely suppress and smother dangerous wildfire hotspots before they expand out of control.