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Worcester Polytechnic Institute spent a record $71.6 million on research and development activities during the 2024 academic year, up 8% over the previous year, as expenditures grew on projects funded by federal agencies and nonprofit organizations. University researchers also launched 234 multiyear projects in 2024 and received a record $60 million in public and private awards for research activities. “WPI’s extraordinary faculty, staff, and students are conducting research that tackles some of the world’s most pressing problems, and the awards they have received from government, corporate, and private funders are a testament to their innovative thinking,” said Bogdan Vernescu, WPI vice president and vice provost for research and innovation. WPI’s research growth follows a decade of investment and work by students, faculty, and staff. The university was recently designated an R1 institution, the top tier of American research colleges and universities, based on its 2023 research spending and doctorate degrees. Newer data shows that WPI’s expansion of research and development continued in 2024. Information on research expenditures was recently submitted to the National Science Foundation, and WPI published award data in late 2024. About 83% of all research dollars awarded to WPI during 2024 were provided by the federal government. The Department of Defense sponsored more than $15 million in awards to WPI, followed by the NSF with nearly $14 million in awards, and the Department of Health and Human Services with more than $9 million in awards. Other large federal funders included the Department of Energy and the Department of Education, each with more than $2 million in awards to WPI researchers. State and local governments sponsored about 10% of the research funds awarded to WPI, and the remaining awards were sponsored by corporate, foundation, and other sponsors. Among those who received awards were a range of researchers across multiple disciplines. • Neil Heffernan, the William B. Smith Professor of Computer Science, received a $3.7 million award from the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences to develop an AI math tutor to help students as they do their homework. • Sergey Makaroff, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was awarded $3.7 million from the National Institute of Mental Health, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. He leads a multicenter project that is developing a new method for modeling brain activity. • Rodica Neamtu, professor of teaching in the Department of Computer Science, was awarded $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation to develop strategies and resources to boost the enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of low-income computer science undergraduates. • Vladimir Vantsevich, professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, was awarded $2 million by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to support the development of a new laboratory for autonomous vehicle simulations. Successful research led to commercial activities, too. WPI inventors were awarded 21 patents during 2024, the university closed six technology licensing deals, and one new startup company focused on WPI technology was formed, WoundSys LLC. Founded by computer science Professor Emmanuel Agu, WoundSys is developing a smartphone-based technology that nurses could use to assess chronic wounds, incisions, and injuries while treating patients in their homes. In addition, several clean tech and climate tech companies with ties to WPI faculty and alumni were named to TIME magazine’s list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2024. Among those named to the list and later honored by Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey at a statehouse ceremony were Ascend Elements and AM Batteries, both co-founded by Yan Wang, the William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Ascend Elements focuses on lithium-ion battery recycling, and AM Batteries is pioneering cleaner battery manufacturing. To set the stage for additional grants in the years ahead, WPI awarded $360,000 in seed funding to more than a dozen research projects. The largest awards went to three photonics projects, each of which were awarded $70,000 from the Gapontsev Family Collaborative Venture Fund for research focused on lasers and laser applications. The President’s Research Catalyst Grants Program also awarded $50,000 each, from research-designated gift funds, to three faculty-led groups that will develop proposals for large research centers focused on making advances in bioengineering, new materials, and mental health. “Researchers across the university are using these seed grants to set the stage for larger, more expansive research in the future,” Vernescu said. “We expect these projects to result in bigger grants and an expanded research footprint involving faculty members across the campus.”

Who's ready for round two of 'Guess the Professor'?

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers believe a new robotic technology they’re developing can help save lives by improving the process of matching kidney donors with people awaiting a transplant. Their approach seeks to advance medical evaluations that determine whether a donated kidney is viable to be transplanted.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute researchers believe a new robotic technology they’re developing can help save lives by improving the process of matching kidney donors with people awaiting a transplant. Their approach seeks to advance medical evaluations that determine whether a donated kidney is viable to be transplanted.According to the National Kidney Foundation, 90,000 people in the United States are on a kidney waitlist; each day, 12 die before a transplant can happen.While a shortage of donors is one reason for the long waitlist, another major factor is the number of donated kidneys that get discarded. Assessing a kidney for transplant involves examining the organ after it’s been removed from the donor to ensure the kidney is free of disease or structural anomalies.Current methods for this assessment include either a biopsy, which involves a review of cells taken from a small sample of the kidney, or optical coherence tomography (OCT), a light-based handheld imaging technology that can provide a high-resolution snapshot of a limited section of the organ.The assessment process risks wasting the organ because these exams take time and provide information about only a small portion of the kidney; both factors may hamper clinicians’ ability to accurately assess the organ and approve it for transplant while it is still viable.Haichong (Kai) Zhang, associate professor of robotics engineering and biomedical engineering, and Xihan Ma, a robotics engineering PhD student, are using innovations in medical robotics to address this problem.“With our robotic system, we can capture a scan of the whole kidney,” said Zhang. “With current approaches, the area of the kidney that can be assessed is inherently limited by either the size of the biopsy needle or the size of the OCT imaging probe, and thus the assessment of the organ is biased by which small part of the kidney the operator chooses to focus on.”Zhang and Ma have developed a robotic OCT system, which is a fully automated method of imaging an entire donated kidney to help a clinician make an assessment. The system was developed at WPI’s Medical FUSION (Frontier Ultrasound Imaging and Robotic Instrumentation) Lab.“Our motivation is to think about how we can streamline the process used to evaluate the viability of donated kidneys to be more reliable and accurate, and to not waste kidneys that potentially can be used to save lives of patients,” said Zhang. “We are integrating the strengths of medical robots to make imaging of donor kidneys more accessible and less user-dependent and to acquire images over a wider area of the organ, which can provide more concise and direct feedback to clinicians so they can make better clinical decisions.”The method Zhang’s team developed consists of a robotic arm and a software system programmed to position an optical coherence tomography camera above a donated kidney in a sample tray at the height that will ensure maximum image quality. Zhang said the innovation improves upon handheld OCT technology, which requires a person to manually hold the imaging device at the proper height and take photos one at a time, a process that can be difficult and time-consuming. Through the robotic system, the imaging device can automatically and precisely adjust its position to sweep above the entire kidney, without touching it, and stitch together a full image of the organ, without missing any portions of it.The robotic system analyzes information from a separate 3D camera mounted to the arm to plot out a path, like how a GPS unit devises a route, to ensure a full scan. “This real-time information from the images will guide the robot to apply a more optimized scanning trajectory and optimize the image quality,” said Ma, who added that the images from the scan appear immediately on a monitor for a clinician’s assessment of the transplant viability. “Ultimately, this system will provide the clinical staff with valuable information about the kidney’s health status.”Zhang and Ma are part of a cross-institution research team working on this project. The team includes experts in optics and biomedical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Oklahoma, as well as clinical experts in biology and biochemistry at Georgetown University. The research is funded by a $2,527,424 award, shared among the organizations, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.In September 2024, the research team published findings of its testing on the robotic optical coherence tomography system in the journal Communications Engineering. The testing, conducted at PracticePoint, WPI’s state-of-the-art medical technology and biotechnology research and development testing facility, used 3D-printed objects to mimic the structure of kidneys as well as a donated human kidney that had been declined for transplantation. The tests demonstra...

Guess the WPI Professor: Can You Identify Them? – Part One

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) announced today the election of Chartsiri “Tony” Sophonpanich ’80, president of Bangkok Bank, to its Board of Trustees. He will start his five-year term on May 1.“Confronting global challenges is part of our DNA at WPI,” said Bill Fitzgerald ’83, board chair. “Tony has taken that charge to heart. As a renowned leader in the global banking industry, he brings deep experience in investment management to our board. His perspectives will be invaluable to WPI as we pursue our mission of delivering excellence in education and research.”Sophonpanich was appointed executive director of Bangkok Bank in 1992 and named president in 1994. He is also the chairman of Bangkok Bank (China) and president commissioner of Permata Bank in Indonesia.He has dedicated his career to developing Thailand’s financial sector and works to find new ways to increase access to education. As the driving force behind Bangkok Bank’s initiatives to train science teachers across Southeast Asia, Sophonpanich’s efforts have supported communities through social development and educational initiatives. In 1993, he established a partnership between WPI and the faculty of science at Chulalongkorn University that continues to this day.Sophonpanich received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from WPI in 1980 and received master’s degrees in chemical engineering and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At last year’s WPI Graduate Commencement ceremony, he received an honorary doctorate of business.“Tony’s visionary leadership and his track record of creating partnerships and driving innovation and growth will add tremendous value to our board,” said WPI President Grace Wang. “His approaches and achievements exemplify the impact of WPI’s transformative, project-based STEM education.”

Worcester Polytechnic Institute has awarded promotions and/or tenure to 33 full-time faculty members in recognition of their exemplary teaching, research, and service to the WPI community. All promotions and awards of tenure take effect July 1, 2025. “I am delighted to congratulate the talented faculty members who have been promoted and awarded tenure this year,” said Andrew Sears, WPI provost. “These faculty are being recognized for the outstanding contributions they have made through their teaching, advising, research, and scholarship. They are excellent teachers, internationally recognized scholars, and respected representatives of the WPI community.” Among those recognized for their achievements are 21 faculty members who have been awarded tenure. Sixteen faculty members were awarded tenure for their achievements in both teaching and research. Six other professors were awarded tenure through the university’s innovative tenure track for faculty who focus on excellence in teaching. WPI launched the tenure track for teaching faculty in 2021 and first awarded tenure to teaching faculty members in 2024. The following awards and promotions were announced: Sakthikumar Ambady was promoted to teaching professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Scott Barton was promoted to professor in the Department of Humanities and Arts. John Blandino was promoted to professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Joseph Cullon, professor of teaching in the Department of Humanities and Arts, was awarded tenure. Holger Droessler was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Arts. Wen-Hua Du, associate professor of teaching in the Department of Humanities and Arts, was awarded tenure. Kwamie Dunbar was promoted to professor in The Business School. Michael Engling was promoted to associate teaching professor in the Department of Computer Science. Natalie Farny was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology. Loris Fichera was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Robotics Engineering. John Galante, associate professor of teaching in the Department of Humanities and Arts, was awarded tenure. Edward Gutierrez was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Interactive Media and Game Development program and the Department of Humanities and Arts. Jagannath Jayachandran was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. Snehalata Kadam was promoted to associate teaching professor in the Department of Physics. Renata Konrad was promoted to professor in The Business School. Nima Kordzadeh was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in The Business School. Zhi (Jane) Li was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Robotics Engineering. Oren Mangoubi was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. V.J. Manzo was promoted to professor in the Department of Humanities and Arts. Kate McIntyre was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Arts. Rodica Neamtu, professor of teaching in the Department of Computer Science, was awarded tenure. Adam Powell IV, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, was awarded tenure. Angela Incollingo Rodriguez was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. Joshua Rohde, associate professor of teaching in the Department of Humanities and Arts, was awarded tenure. Derren Rosbach, associate professor of teaching in the Department of Integrative and Global Studies, was awarded tenure. John Sanbonmatsu was promoted to professor in the Department of Humanities and Arts. Anthony Spangenberger was promoted to associate research professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Sarah Stanlick was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Integrative and Global Studies. Seth Tuler, associate professor in the Department of Integrative and Global Studies, was awarded tenure. Steven Van Dessel was promoted to professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering. Catherine Whittington was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Sarah Jane Wodin-Schwartz was promoted to professor of teaching in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. Ziming Zhang was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

WPI students huddled together around tables strewn with copper tape, cardstock, scissors, coin cell batteries, vibration motors, nail clippers, and paperclips. Some students picked up and examined the items. Others opened their laptops and studied a diagram. It was a training session for WPI’s Engineering Ambassadors, a group of 42 undergrads who work with the Office of Pre-Collegiate Outreach Programs to get young students excited about STEM. On this day, the trainees were putting together a wristband that could send Morse code signals using motorized vibrations. It’s one of the projects featured in the recent NOVA docuseries Building Stuff and the ambassadors were making sure they could complete it themselves before teaching it to younger students. The student ambassadors got to work with a hum of animated chatter. Individual voices periodically stood out from the rest: “Actually, a paperclip would be really nice.” “I’m so confused.” “We got it!!” One student smiled while raising an arm encircled by a vibrating wristband. Ambassadors as troubleshooters Last summer staff from GBH, Boston’s PBS affiliate and producer of the popular science show NOVA, recruited the Engineering Ambassadors to troubleshoot instructions for the wristband and two other hands-on projects in an outreach toolkit that supplements the Building Stuff docuseries. “The Engineering Ambassadors’ mission goes right along with what GBH was trying to do with this documentary, which is getting younger folks interested in STEM,” says James Guaragna, associate director of WPI’s pre-collegiate outreach programs. NOVA’s outreach kit helps classroom teachers and community groups further demystify the engineering topics covered in the docuseries by getting viewers to learn by doing. Each project in the booklet corresponds to one of the series’ episodes: “Boost It!,” “Reach It!,” and “Change It!” Seven WPI ambassadors volunteered to try out the projects and offer input to help GBH staff clarify the toolkit’s written instructions. “Their feedback was extremely helpful and informative in making sure that the engineering activities had instructions and diagrams that were easy to follow for students and would keep students engaged,” says Ralph Bouquet, NOVA’s director of education and outreach. Mechanical engineering major Jorge Saa ’26 tested the wristband project, which was inspired by a section of the documentary about haptics. “When we looked at the first diagram that we were given, we were confused. The instructions were a bit broad, but we made it work,” Saa says. “Then we met with the GBH people who designed the project and gave them a few recommendations on what information to include.” Saa’s team also suggested some technical tweaks to the materials in the outreach toolkit, including making the electrical contacts bigger so students without previous experience maneuvering wires would have an easier time connecting them with the battery. “If you’re in middle school, maybe you can work with tiny wires and contacts. High school? Definitely. But elementary school? That’s a big maybe,” he says. Relatable role models Figuring out the target age group for a project is an important part of the Engineering Ambassadors’ work. Every year they host events for roughly 75 school groups from around Central and Eastern Massachusetts. Most are in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade, but groups as young as fourth grade sometimes come. The fact that many of the ambassadors vividly remember their own experiences with STEM in middle school is a big part of why they are so successful at translating concepts to younger students in ways that adults can’t. WPI helped found the national Engineering Ambassadors program in 2011. Since then they have developed a repertoire of about 50 hands-on projects to do with school groups. Each project gets the younger students thinking about how modern life depends on engineering, and a short presentation from the ambassadors introduces the project’s topic. Take, for instance, windmills. Ambassadors present the concept of wind energy in terms simple enough that sixth graders will be interested in it. Then small groups of the younger students work together—with help from ambassadors as needed—to build a windmill out of basic supplies like index cards and pencils. “It gets kind of competitive,” Guaragna says. “They see how strong they can build their windmills by testing how many pennies they can lift up.” Engineering in everyday context The projects that WPI students tested for the NOVA outreach kit now give the Engineering Ambassadors three additional options to choose from when deciding what activity to lead with visiting school groups. Sofia Murphy ’27, the student who showed off the completed mechanical wristband during the training session, was among those who volunteered with GBH. Murphy’s team tested a project that gets kids thinking about the connection between engineering and textiles, then developed the introductory...

A first-of-its-kind study from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) shows that reusing automobile parts can greatly cut greenhouse gas emissions without sacrificing the quality of the products. The research, which examined commonly reused components such as engines, transmissions, bumpers, headlights, and doors across different vehicle types, highlights the environmental benefits of using reclaimed auto parts in vehicle repairs, which reduces the need for energy-heavy manufacturing processes. “This work provides clear, quantifiable evidence that reusing auto parts offers a practical way to reduce carbon emissions while improving supply chain resilience,” said Brajendra Mishra, the Kenneth G. Merriam Professor in Mechanical Engineering. “By extending the life cycle of automotive components, we can significantly cut manufacturing-related emissions and decrease dependency on imported parts, making the industry more sustainable and self-sufficient.” The study, led by Mishra and Hyunsoo Jin, a research assistant professor in the mechanical and materials engineering department, titled “Quantifying the Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Carbon) Impact of Reusing Automotive Parts for Vehicle Repairs,” was sponsored by the Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA), a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of over 4,500 professional automotive recyclers across the United States and in 17 countries. The tests were conducted at WPI’s Metal Processing Institute, one of the nation’s leading centers for advancing materials science and sustainable manufacturing. The team assessed 10 common automotive components across three vehicle categories: sedans, SUVs, and pickup trucks. Researchers analyzed data from 2015 models of the Toyota Camry, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Ford F-150, examining parts such as engines, transmissions, bumpers, headlights, doors, wheels, fenders, tailgates, hoods, and door mirrors. Using the Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies (GREET2) model and guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency, the research team measured the carbon footprint of manufacturing new parts, including mining raw materials and producing steel, aluminum, copper, plastics, glass, and rubber. Their findings confirm that reusing auto parts dramatically reduces greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, reusing a single Toyota Camry engine can save more than 1600 kilowatt-hours of energy (depending on the source) and prevent the emission of up to 1,760 kilograms of carbon dioxide. These amounts do not include the impact of transport emissions and end-of-life assessment. “Further findings in our research demonstrate additional benefits for recycling rather than building from scratch,” said Jin. “The energy and labor required for transporting and manufacturing new parts are significantly higher than the energy used to dismantle cars and reclaim parts.” Beyond environmental advantages, reclaimed auto parts play a crucial role in reinforcing the US supply chain. By recovering and reusing parts from end-of-life vehicles, the industry can reduce demand for newly manufactured parts, many of which are produced overseas. This shift helps mitigate risks associated with global supply chain disruptions, ensuring more stable access to critical automotive components while promoting domestic economic growth. The WPI research team will present their findings at The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) annual meeting March 23–27 in Las Vegas. The TMS is a professional association that connects minerals, metals, and materials scientists and engineers who work in industry, academia, and government positions around the world.