Prof. Joanna Aizenberg Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Asst. Prof. Jonathan Grinham Assistant Professor of Architecture Harvard University Graduate School of Design Project Overview The DryScreen system developed by an interdisciplinary team from SEAS and GSD aims to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in heating, ventilation, and air c

Professor Katia Bertoldi William and Ami Kuan Danoff Professor of Applied Mechanics, Harvard SEAS Project Overview Problem : High blood pressure affects nearly half of US adults. Medication to reduce high blood pressure must be taken daily and almost 20% of people with hypertension cannot be successfully treated with these medicines.   Proposed Solution: Researchers in the lab of Professor Katia Bertoldi are developing a soft, stent-like device to mitigate high blood pressur

Professor Kiyoul Yang Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Harvard SEAS Professor Mikhail Lukin Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor Co-Director of the Quantum Science and Engineering Initiative, Harvard Physics Department Project Overview The problem: Supercomputers, clusters of individual computers networked together, are used to process large amounts of data with applications in weather prediction, cryptography, and drug development. For quantum computi

Prof. Shriya Srinivasan Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, SEAS Project Overview This GRID accelerator project will mature our wearable mechanostimulation system from benchtop prototype to translation-ready device, incorporating critical parameter optimization and user connectivity components necessary for large-scale clinical trials in patients with spasticity. Spasticity causes involuntary muscle stiffness and contractions in over 12 million individuals worldwide, and i

Prof. Daniel Jacob Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, SEAS Project Overview There is growing demand from climate policy stakeholders to use satellite observations of greenhouse gases to quantify emissions. Our Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling Group (ACMG) at Harvard is widely recognized as the world leader in the development and application of inverse methods to infer methane emissions from satellite observations. Our Integrated

Professor Kiyoul Yang Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Harvard SEAS Project Overview Problem: The demand for data centers is expected to soar with the adoption of increasingly sophisticated AI tools. Data centers use large amounts of electricity and are estimated to account for between 6 and 12% of total US electricity use by 2028.   Silicon photonics are being adopted in higher-end data centers to both decrease energy consumption and increase communication cap

Dr. Santiago Canete Riaza Researcher Project Overview Over $56B is spent to treat stroke in the US annually and more than five million Americans live with impaired mobility post-stroke. Such impairment significantly affects both physical and mental wellbeing, impeding the recovery of quality-of-life and driving a downward spiral of other health consequences such as higher risk/exacerbation of chronic disease, depression, musculoskeletal diseases, and increased mortality. Dr.

Dr. Keith Powell Researcher Project Overview  Integrated photonics is a nascent technology that integrates complex optical circuits and systems at chip scale. Much like how integrated electronics revolutionized the electronics industry over the last 60+ years, photonic circuits enable the next leap in circuity. Dr Keith Powell and the Loncar lab are developing lithium tantalate electro-optic modulators to deliver ultra-fast processing with significantly reduced power consumpt

Prof. David A. Weitz Professor of Applied Physics, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University Project Overview The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of drug delivery. There, an mRNA was encapsulated inside a lipid-based container to protect it from degradation within the human body to engineer an efficient vaccine against COVID-19. However, vaccines are only one of the possible applications of drug delivery. If we could encapsulate and deliver

Dr. Helen Yang Researcher Project Overview OvaVision is transforming the fertility industry with AI-driven solutions. With a PhD in Biophysics from Harvard University, Helen’s interdisciplinary research spans clinical IVF, physics, biology, and computer science. Her diverse expertise drives innovative approaches to reproductive health, integrating cutting-edge technology with deep scientific knowledge. ​ OvaVision’s BlastAssist platform leverages interpretable artificial inte

Prof. Jia Liu Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, Department, Division, Center and/or Laboratory: Harvard SEAS Project Overview This project aims to develop an innovative approach to integrating modern electronics and AI with healthcare through the development of AI-driven flexible bioelectronics therapeutics. The project addresses the mismatch between traditional rigid electronics and the soft, dynamic nature of the human body, which has limited the seamless integration o

Prof. Joanna Aizenberg Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology Project Overview Getting reliable information for disease detection is a major challenge for existing diagnostic technologies, typically requiring invasive and time-consuming tests involving bodily fluids such as blood and urine. Over the past 5-10 years, molecules in the breath have been identified as biomarkers of certain diseases such as bladder or lung ca

Prof. Jennifer A. Lewis Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Project Overview Researchers in Jennifer Lewis’s lab are developing a new paradigm for CAD projects that reveals optimal versions of human-specified designs. In this method, the user inputs high-level design concepts and specifies device functionality, and AI is leveraged to optimize, verify performance, and prepare designs for fabric

Prof. Patrick Slade Assistant Professor of Bioengineering (Harvard Ability Lab) Project Overview We have developed a navigation system that overcomes all of these navigation challenges by combining novel computer vision techniques, sensor fusion, and personalized feedback to the user, requiring only a smartphone. We have provided extensive research testing to validate the mobility benefits and surveyed 99 potential users to understand the market fit.   Our system will provide

Prof. Joost Vlassak Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Materials Engineering, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Ben Schafer PhD Student, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Project Overview The mesosphere is an inaccessible region of the atmosphere (50-100 km altitudes) that is too high for conventional aircraft to generate lift, yet too low for satellites to maintain orbit. Flight in this near-space region

Conor Walsh, PhD (Harvard SEAS) project PI with other members of the lab contributing to the project Mark Etzelmueller Research fellow at the Harvard Move Lab. Project Lead and has strong interest in moving the technology towards translation. Dabin Choe (G5-Harvard) a PhD student who will lead data collection and technical development of sensor control and timing algorithms. Fivos Kavassalis Research fellow at the Harvard Move Lab. Background in electrical engineering and

Matheus V. X. Ferreira Postdoctoral Fellow in Computer Science School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Prof. David C. Parkes George F. Colony Professor of Computer Science School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Project Overview Blockchain trading on decentralized exchanges currently allows miners to manipulate transaction orders to generate risk-free profits. David Parkes’ lab is creating a secure, verifiable platform for trading digital assets on decentralized exchang

Prof. Robert J. Wood Harry Lewis and Marlyn McGrath Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Project Overview Wireless headphone customers continually demand better sound quality, more powerful noise cancellation, a more comfortable fit, and longer battery life. Existing electromagnetic drivers, however, have already been optimized to their physical limits. Drivers based on dielectric elastomer actuators would e

Prof. Hanspeter Pfister An Wang Professor of Computer Science, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Project Overview Current high-quality video editing tools are expensive and difficult to use, which limits the content individual fans can create. The team in Hanspeter Pfister’s laboratory is developing an easy-to-use video editing tool for creating and editing engaging sports videos. Augmented sports videos incorporate sports data into the video, for exa

Prof. Joost J. Vlassak Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Materials Engineering John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Juanjuan Zheng, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering Project Overview Pathogenic bacteria are increasingly acquiring antibiotic resistance and new forms of resistance are continuously emerging; upwards of 50% of treatments are started with the wrong antibiotics. Current culture-based Antimicrobial Sus

Prof. Michael J. Aziz Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials & Energy Technologies Project Overview Green hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that can help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and increase energy security by providing a reliable source of renewable energy. Transition to a green hydrogen economy requires not only hydrogen generation, but crucially it requires innovation in safe, cost-effective hydrogen storage. The Aziz lab is developing a system for reversibl

Researchers: Pamela Silver and Michael Springe Project Overview Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most common greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. CO2 also lingers longer than other greenhouse gases, which means it must be removed from the atmosphere to stop warming temperatures. The rock cycle is Earth’s natural way of capturing CO2 through rock weathering, which permanently locks CO2 into the oceans. However, weathering takes millions of years, and the need to address c

Researcher: Michael Aziz Project Overview Hydrogen peroxide is a key industrial chemical used widely in manufacturing products ranging from paper to textiles. Making hydrogen peroxide currently requires fossil fuels and expensive catalysts, contributing to climate change. The process of creating the chemical also produces hazardous byproducts. ​ A research team led by Michael Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies, has developed a novel appr

Researcher: Vinothan N. Manoharan Project Overview Most plastic packaging is not recyclable and adds to waste pollution. But plastic is doing much more to harm the planet than sitting in landfills for decades and polluting our oceans. Creating plastics requires fossil fuels, emitting large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Thanks to dyes and additives, many of the plastics in use today are un-recyclable.  ​ A research team led by Vinothan N. Manoharan, Wagner Family Prof