2026 News

Associate Professor Jonghwan Lee is the recipient of a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop high-tech imaging and AI tools aimed at detecting early microvascular failure in people at elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Lily Badiani-Shah Sc.M. ’26 seamlessly bridges creative design with strategic entrepreneurship, thriving in the fast-paced PRIME program by seizing competitive opportunities on a trajectory toward shaping the future of health tech.

The Brown University Division of Research has announced the recipients of this year’s internal funding opportunities which includes Professor Jay Tang as one of 17 Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Awards and 15 School of Engineering awardees for the 2026 Division of Research Seed Program.

The Brown Engineering professor was elected for his sustained contribution in the field of science or technology of carbon materials.

Seventy-four innovative early-career engineers have been chosen to participate in the Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering 2026 Symposium, a signature activity of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Horacio Espinosa '89 Sc.M., '90 Sc.M., '92 Ph.D. has spent his career finding answers that are reshaping how we understand materials, medicine, and the microscopic world. A three-time Brown graduate and world-leading researcher, Espinosa is the 2026 recipient of the Horace Mann Medal, the Brown Graduate School's highest honor for alumni who have made significant contributions in their field.

In all, six members of the senior class, two current graduate students, and five undergraduate alumni from Brown University engineering have been granted funds from the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Two others were tabbed honorable mention selections.

Through the early-career grant, Peipei Zhou will advance the scalable, verifiable co-design of heterogeneous reconfigurable computing systems, enabling domain experts to efficiently build next-generation customized AI and data-intensive applications, such as autonomous physical systems, adaptive intelligent agents, and advanced healthcare technologies.

After graduating from Brown University with a focus on sustainable energy, Jacquie Pierri ’12 took her hockey talents to the global stage, competing for the host, Team Italy, in the 2026 Winter Olympics. As an engineer and EcoAthlete, she is leveraging her platform as a hockey player to champion climate change awareness and sustainable innovation in sports.

Assistant Professor Mehdi Saligane explores new ways to design silicon, combining energy-efficient circuits, artificial intelligence, and open design ecosystems to make advanced chip design faster, more efficient, and more accessible.