Research

Northeastern focuses on interdisciplinary and translational research that meets societal needs.

A Sampling of Northeastern Research Centers and Institutes

  • Antimicrobial Discovery Center (ADC)
  • Barnett Institute of Chemical and Biological Analysis
  • Center for Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT)*‡
    - DHS Center of Excellence
  • Center for Complex Network Research (CCNR)
  • Center for Drug Discovery (CDD)
  • Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN)*
    - NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
  • Center on Population Health and Health Disparities (CPHHD)*‡
    - National Institutes of Health Center
  • Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine (CTCN)*‡
    - Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence
  • Center for Translational NeuroImaging (CTNI)
  • Center for Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors (VOTERS)*
    - NIST Technology Innovation Center
  • Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy (CURP)
  • Gordon Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (CenSSIS)*
    - NSF Engineering Research Center
  • Institute for Information Assurance (IIA)*‡
    - NSA Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Research (cyber security)
  • Institute on Urban Health Research (IUHR)
  • Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Programs (IGERT)*
    - Nanomedicine, Science, and Technology, 2005, NSF and NCI
    - Intelligent Diagnostics for Aging Civil Infrastructure Systems, 2007, NSF
  • Marine Science Center (MSC)
  • New England Healthcare Systems Engineering Center
    - VHA Veterans Engineering Resource Center*
  • Northeastern University Center for Renewable Energy Technology (NUCRET)

*National Research Center

‡Center of Excellence

Examples of Recent Grants

  • $13.8 million from the National Institutes of Health for the Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine
  • $12.6 million renewal from the National Science Foundation for the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center: The Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing
  • $10.2 million from the National Institutes of Health to study heart disease among Puerto Ricans living in the United States (Center for Population Health and Health Disparities—CPHHD)
  • $9.9 million from the National Institutes of Health to investigate links between preterm births and environmental contaminants (Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Environmental Contaminant Threats—PRoTECT)
  • $9 million from the Department of Homeland Security to detect explosives (Center for Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats—ALERT)
  • $8.4 million grant from the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to NUCRET for renewable-energy research

Faculty Distinctions

  • Six faculty members in the national academies
  • Six elected Fellows of prestigious U.S. professional societies
  • Faculty held 83 active research awards of $1 million or above

Student Research Highlights

  • Ninety-eight undergraduates and 183 graduate students presented at the 2011 Research and Scholarship Exposition
  • Students won six competitive international and national awards for research, including three National Science Foundation Fellowships, two Fulbright Scholarships, and a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
  • $13.8 million from the National Institutes of Health for the Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine