Under the direction of Professor Nitin Padture, research is performed in the areas of advanced structural ceramics and their coatings and composites, functional nanomaterials, and novel photovoltaics.

Under the directions of Professors J.J. Trey Crisco and Braden C. Fleming, the Bioengineering Laboratory, which is located within the Department of Orthopedics, seeks to advance orthopaedic care through basic science and clinical research on musculoskeletal injuries and diseases and their prevention and treatment.

Research in the Breuer Lab covers a diverse range of problems in experimental fluid mechanics, aerodynamics and biomechanics including: animal flight, vortex dynamics, renewable energy, microfluidics, and active matter. 

David Borton's lab is composed of an interdisciplinary team of researchers and is focused on the design, development, and implementation of novel neural recording and stimulation systems. The lab currently focuses on designing, developing, and deploying new tools for interrogation of the nervous system across species with a goal of untangling the underpinnings of neuromotor and neuropsychiatric disease and injury.

Under the direction of Andrew Peterson, the Catalyst Design Lab combines a theoretical understanding of heterogeneous catalytic systems with laboratory-based experimental testing. Catalysts are crucial for transforming our energy economy, and the laboratory focuses on catalysts for electrofuels and biofuels.

PI Kareen Coulombe and her team are investigating ways to re-engineer contractility of the heart after injury or disease.  Using tissue engineering, stem cells, and biomaterials, the group studies cardiotoxicity, develops revascularization therapies, and aims to regenerate heart muscle. 

Led by Pradeep Guduru, the group investigates a variety of problems in experimental solid mechanics such as mechanics of energy storage materials, mechanics in catalysis, contact mechanics of soft materials, and dynamic deformation and fracture of heterogemeous materials.

Focusing on chemical kinetics, the Goldsmith group combines experimental techniques with electronic structure methods, statistical mechanics, and uncertainty quantification to provide accurate, predictive models for complex reaction networks in energy conversion.

Our research involves custom laboratory experiments in fluid mechanics and soft matter supported by mathematical and numerical modeling techniques. Our current research directions focus on interfacial phenomena, microfluidics, and nonlinear dynamics.

Research in the Henann Group focuses on the formulation of new continuum-level constitutive theories for describing material behavior and the quantitative modeling of material behavior through numerical simulation. Areas of ongoing research include: granular materials, constitutive modeling of elastomeric foams, modeling of inertial microcavitation in soft materials, and modeling of dielectric elastomer composites.

The Laboratory for Emerging Technologies provides a research environment for students to explore the emerging cross-disciplinary research fields in nanoscale device, circuit design, opto-electronics, and nanobiology.

PI Robert Hurt and researchers focus on the creation of new nanomaterials and new 3D material architectures and their applications and implications for both the environment and for human health.

The BrainGate research team includes leading neurologists, neuroscientists, engineers, computer scientists, neurosurgeons, mathematicians, and other researchers – all focused on developing brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies to restore the communication, mobility, and independence of people with neurologic disease, injury, or limb loss.

The Larson Lab is working on innovations in microelectronic technology for health care, wireless, and the post-carbon world.

The group focuses on development of optical technologies for label-free, micrometer-resolution, three-dimensional imaging of tissue structures and dynamics, mainly in but not limited to the brain cortex, and dissemination of the technologies for translational research through wide collaboration.

Dan Mittleman and researchers focus on the science and technology of terahertz radiation.

Under the direction of Professor Arto Nurmikko, the N3 Lab conducts research in the areas of neuroengineering and nanophotonics.

Led by Kurt Pennell, the group research investigates soil and groundwater remediation, engineered nanomaterial fate and transport, and environmental toxicology. Current research focuses on in situ remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), environmental exposure monitoring and metabolic responses, and the use of engineered nanomaterials for subsurface characterization.

Under the direction of Kimani C. Toussaint, Jr., the Photonics Research of Bio/nano Environments (PROBE) Lab, is an interdisciplinary research group which focuses on both developing nonlinear optical imaging techniques for quantitative assessment of biological tissues, and novel methods for harnessing multifunctional nanostructures for light-driven control of matter.

We consider communication theory as a lens on everything, from standard wireless and other telecommunication to fundamental physics, biological communication and very long distance interstellar communication.

Researchers are interested in improving the ways that integrated electronic systems interface with the physical world, by designing new high-performance electronic circuits and combining them with new materials and biophysical systems.

The SCALE research group focuses on advancing the scalability of computing chips and systems by making them more energy efficient.  We devise novel solutions to improve performance and reduce energy consumption across the computing spectrum, from circuit design methodologies and tools to server/cloud computing management techniques. 

The lab identifies and develops biomaterials solutions for critical unmet clinical needs in the areas of drug delivery and regenerative medicine. We apply concepts from polymer self-assembly, the study of molecular interactions, and cellular mechanobiology to create smart and informed biomaterials to address these biomedical challenges.

The group conducts experimental and computational modeling research to study the role of fundamental mechanics in applications ranging from the biomedical sciences to large scale engineering structures.

The research lab led by Tejal Desai applies microscale and nanoscale technologies to create new and improved ways to deliver medicine to target sites in the body and to enable the body to heal itself.

The Tripathi Biomedical Engineering group uses microfluidic devices to investigate clinical applications involving infectious diseases, as well as protein structure and basic questions regarding biological molecules. The laboratory has an active research program with interfaces between Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering.

The van de Walle group is developing and applying novel atomic-level simulations methods to predict and understand the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of materials. It specializes in quantum mechanics-based methods that bypass the need for experimental input in making predictions. It also develops software, used in hundreds of research groups worldwide, that facilitate and automate large-scale computations.

The Wilhelmus Lab focuses on fluid mechanics within biology, oceanography, and engineering, primarily transport mechanisms and mixing phenomena.

We are interested in engineering new technologies to study cancer cell invasion and phenotypic plasticity. Physically, we explore how materials and mechanical aspects of the tumor microenvironment regulate malignant behavior both in 2D and in 3D. Biologically, we seek new insights into single cell heterogeneity and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

As silicon technology marches on towards ultimately scaled devices, the Zaslavsky group is pursuing alternative technologies based on either different physical mechanisms (such as tunneling or hot-electron effects), different materials (Ge, III-V materials, amorphous conducting oxides), and different geometries (nanowires, quantum dots, ultrathin SOI) that could provide added functionality.

The Zeng Lab at Brown University will open its doors in July 2025! We are motivated by the immense potential of electrons to facilitate reactions in fundamentally new and practically sustainable ways. We conduct this work with the vision of tackling crucial sustainability challenges in energy, manufacturing, and waste.

The Zenit Lab conducts research in the mechanics of two-phase flows, non Newtonian fluid mechanics, fluid mechanics of painting, and biological flows.

The Zia group works in the field of nanophotonics at the interface of electrical engineering, materials science, optical physics, and physical chemistry. In particular, the group studies how light is emitted from a range of solid-state quantum emitters (including atoms, defect centers, ions, molecules, and quantum dots), and develops new ways to control and enhance the process of light emission for photonic devices.