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
Northeastern Launches Physical AI Research Initiative, Unveils NU-WORLD Platform
Northeastern University launched the Physical AI Research (PAIR) Initiative on May 21–22, bringing together over 200 researchers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and government representatives to advance intelligent systems that learn from and act in the physical world. The two-day event featured keynote talks, the public debut of Northeastern’s open world-model platform NU-WORLD, and broad participation from organizations including NVIDIA, Amazon Robotics, Boston Dynamics, and Microsoft — signaling strong momentum around a field that spans robotics, healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond.
Why U.S Drivers Aren’t Switching to Electric Vehicles
The gas prices have soared since the War in Iran, but Americans are still not buying into the electric vehicle industry. MIE Assistant Professor Juner Zhu and others explain the variables that may be influencing their decisions.
Zheng Selected as 2026 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow
MIE Associate Professor Yi Zheng was selected as a 2026 NASA Glenn Faculty Fellow, a 10-week residential research program, to work on advanced energy and power systems for space applications.
New Project Combines Biology, Music, and Math to Display Limb Regeneration
A project named “Morphogenesis,” led by Garret Compston and MIE/BioE Professor Sandra Shefelbine, uses Alan Turing’s pattern with musical representation to portray the biological process behind how individual cells, tissues and organs develop their specific shapes and structures when the embryo is still developing.