RESEARCH THAT STARTS WITH INDUSTRY NEEDS.

Mission: Engineer materials with targeted properties and functionalities that enable next-generation technologies and resilient physical systems.

Core Research Areas

• Multifunctional and Field-Adaptive Materials
• Mechanism-Informed Materials Design and Discovery through Experimentation and Integrated Multiscale Modeling
• Physics-Informed Surrogate Modeling and Digital Twins
• Autonomous Materials Intelligence and Design

Grand Challenge Question
How do we engineer multifunctional materials with programmable properties that adapt and perform across complex environments?

Mission: Engineer biological systems and biointegrated technologies that repair, restore, and augment human capabilities.

Core Research Areas

• Intelligent Biomedical Devices and Implantable Systems
• Robotic Surgery
• Precision Intervention Technologies
• Human Augmentation and Biointegrated Systems

Grand Challenge Question
How do we engineer intelligent, safe biomedical systems, reliable intervention technologies, and augment human capabilities with precision, adaptability, and safety?

Mission: Develop intelligent systems that are reliable, interpretable, robust and capable of trusted collaboration with humans.

Core Research Areas:

• Alignment and value learning
• Interpretability and explainable artificial intelligence
• Robustness, verification and assurance
• Human-AI partnership and trust calibration
• Human-in-the-loop systems and shared decision-making

Grand Question:
How do we build increasingly capable intelligence that remains trustworthy, collaborative and beneficial to humanity?

Mission: Develop intelligent machines that can perceive, reason, manipulate and autonomously operate in complex physical environments.

Core Research Areas:

• Causal reasoning and world models
• Embodied intelligence and adaptive learning
• Dexterous manipulation and mobility
• Human-robot collaboration
• Autonomous robotic and industrial systems

Grand Question:
How do we create machines that can intelligently and safely act in the physical world?

Mission: Develop digital and physical systems that can model, predict, coordinate and adapt complex engineered systems across scales.

Core Research Areas:

• Digital twins and simulation environments
• Cyber-physical systems and intelligent infrastructure
• Sensing, internet of things and real-time monitoring
• Systems engineering and decision support
• Adaptive and resilient engineered systems

Grand Question:
How do we design and operate complex systems that continuously sense, predict and adapt?

Mission: Advance the responsible translation of engineering innovation through leadership development, public engagement, policy and inclusive partnerships that maximize societal benefit.

Core Research Areas:

• Technology policy and governance
• Human-centered innovation and responsible deployment
• Community engagement and regional partnerships
• Engineering leadership and workforce development
• Ethics, culture and societal resilience

Grand Question:
How do we ensure that transformative technologies are responsibly governed, broadly accessible and translated into lasting societal benefit?