Announcing Our Young Investigator Award Recipients
The College of Engineering at Northeastern University is pleased to announce eight young investigator grants awarded to faculty during the 2023-2024 academic year. Awards were from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institutes of Health, and National Science Foundation.
Current Northeastern College of Engineering faculty have received 142 young investigator awards, including 73 NSF CAREER and 24 Department of Defense Awards. Our research development team works closely with faculty and provides strategic and tactical support to ensure individual faculty members succeed and the college continues to grow as a research enterprise. In the past five years, faculty have received 49 young investigator awards.
Srirupa Chakraborty
NIH R35 MIRA Award for Early-Stage Investigators, Developing Biomaterials That Function Like Mucin
RESEARCH
With a $1.99 million National Institutes of Health R35 MIRA (Maximizing Investigator’s Research Award) grant for Early-Stage Investigators, Srirupa Chakraborty, assistant professor of chemical engineering, jointly appointed in chemistry and chemical biology, is developing a computational model for making biomaterials that function like mucin—a naturally occurring substance in the human body that serves as a protective layer on tubular organs and surfaces exposed to the external environment. The biomaterials developed with Chakraborty’s model, such as a new type of surgical glue or in drug delivery systems, would act as a protective layer, like mucin does. The protective properties could also be expanded for a range of opportunities, even acting as a membrane between clean water and foreign bodies.
The team will use a multi-modal approach for computational tools such as principles-based atomistic modeling, biophysics-based coarse-grained methods, and data-driven machine learning to enable investigation of the mucin at different scales. The research will include investigating how some molecules are able to outsmart the mucin layer and pass through, while others cannot.
BIOGRAPHY
Chakraborty’s research at the interface of biology, chemistry, and physics uses computeraided structural modeling and simulations of biomolecules. She aims to elucidate the conformational dynamics of viral envelope glycoproteins and other densely glycosylated systems, ultimately designing knowledge-based therapeutic strategies and novel biomaterials. She was recognized with the Wiley Computers in Chemistry Outstanding Research Award by the American Chemical Society in 2020, and an award by the Consortia for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD) in 2019. She joined Northeastern in 2022 and received her PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2016.
Photos by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Srirupa Chakraborty Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, jointly appointed in Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Siddhartha Ghosh
DARPA Young Faculty Award: Improving All-Acoustic RF Signal Processing
NSF CAREER Award: Developing Novel Acoustic and Optical Hybrid Microsystems
RESEARCH
DARPA Young Faculty Award: Improving All-Acoustic RF Signal Processing
Siddhartha Ghosh, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is advancing wireless communications by creating single-platform microsystems that can process acoustic waves in the radio frequency domain while also incorporating active functionality with passive acoustic wave (AW) devices. The research, supported by a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award, seeks to incorporate acoustoelectric (AE) functions with phononic integrated circuits (PnICs) for novel AW devices. Ghosh will also develop systems that are capable of full-duplex communication. While many researchers have worked on improving signal power by implementing different amplifiers and signal processing elements over several decades, Ghosh aims to leverage recent advances in both new materials and processing technology to solve the issue.
NSF CAREER Award: Developing Novel Acoustic and Optical Hybrid Microsystems
With a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Ghosh is developing a novel microsystem on-a-chip platform that seamlessly integrates acoustic, optical, and electric fields and is highly configurable to be used in a range of devices and materials. The innovative technology addresses the different requirements needed on materials and structures to leverage the benefits of the multiple domains integrated in the microsystems. It will reduce costs, enhance performance, and extend radio frequency (RF) communications and information processing capabilities, as well as have applications in optical communications and in quantum computing.
The new microsystems will enable new kinds of radio frequency front-end (RFFE) signal processing devices, which utilize a variety of active and passive modules to transmit and receive RF signals. With the integrated signal processing capability, multiple domains can be manipulated at the same time, resulting in more efficient processing and spectrum utilization. Additionally, it will enable hybrid quantum systems using phonon buses or microwave-optical conversion for next-generation quantum networks.
Siddhartha Ghosh Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Photo by Bella Martinez/Northeastern University
TEACHING/OUTREACH
To increase the understanding of signal processing and microsystems, Ghosh will work with the Michael B. Silevitch and the Claire J. Duggan Center for STEM Education to engage approximately 50 students per year spanning elementary through graduate school. Approaches will include field trips, high school programs, undergraduate research, and a twocourse sequence on phononic integrated circuits to attract new students to the field.
BIOGRAPHY
Ghosh’s research interests include piezoelectric MEMS, acousto-optic and acousto-electric signal processing devices, oscillator-based computing, nanofabrication techniques, and heterogeneous material integration. He has authored more than 40 journal and conference publications and is the co-inventor of three patents. He joined Northeastern in 2021 and received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in 2015.
Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Mona Minkara
NSF CAREER Award, Improving Identification of Pathogens
NIH R35 MIRA Award for Early-Stage Investigators, Foundational Investigations Into Bacterial Surface Glycan Dynamics
RESEARCH
Mona Minkara, assistant professor of bioengineering, applies advanced computational techniques to model and analyze the interactions of surfactant immunoproteins in the lungs. Supported by both the National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the National Institutes of Health R35 MIRA (Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award) for Early-Stage Investigators, her research focuses on pulmonary surfactants, vital to lung function and immune defense. By investigating the molecular interactions between collectins, particularly surfactant proteins, and different pathogens, her work provides critical insights into how the body identifies and responds to disease.
Using cutting-edge computational methods, including molecular dynamics simulations, homology modeling, and molecular docking, Minkara’s research focuses on decoding the molecular mechanisms of glycan-collectin interactions to engineer surfactant proteins with enhanced viral glycan binding capabilities, while also conducting foundational investigations into the dynamics of bacterial surface glycans. Her work has the potential to influence global health by informing new approaches to combat respiratory conditions, improving diagnostics, and optimizing drug delivery systems through the lungs.
TEACHING/OUTREACH
In addition to her research, Minkara has pioneered the Blind Scientist Toolkit, a comprehensive resource designed to enable nonvisual multisensorial scientific research. Through tactile models and technologies, this toolkit provides blind researchers with the tools necessary to engage with and contribute to cutting-edge scientific work, advancing inclusivity in STEM fields. As a blind scientist, Minkara continues to engineer multisensory tools for scientific research such as the lithophane data format featured on NPR.
BIOGRAPHY
Minkara’s research merges molecular biophysics and bioengineering to explore molecular mechanisms within the pulmonary surfactant sphere. Supported by grants from the NSF and NIH, she addresses critical health challenges, particularly in the realm of respiratory health, contributing to both scientific innovation and practical therapeutic solutions. Minkara joined Northeastern in 2019 and received a PhD from the University of Florida in 2015.
Mona Minkara
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Alireza Ramezani
NSF CAREER Award, Building Autonomous Robots for Confined Spaces
RESEARCH
With a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Alireza Ramezani, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing a small, lightweight autonomous robot that mimics movements of bats and birds and can traverse confined crawlspaces. The robot adjusts its movement from walking to jumping or flying as needed, while gathering data through sensing equipment. Crawlspaces can include caves, shafts, ducts, ballast tanks, pipes, and grain elevators. The device could be used in a variety of circumstances, including biodiversity and geological processes, environmental explorations for natural resources and mineral deposits, and exploration of archaeological or cultural artifacts. Current robotic technology designed for crawlspaces—typically a snake- or insect-styled device—can work in tight spaces, but they are not fast and cannot autonomously accomplish tasks. The new robot technology will rely on AI algorithms that deploy real-time decision making to change locomotion modes, resulting in a faster and more agile device.
TEACHING/OUTREACH
Dedicated to increasing the number of women in the robotics field, Ramazani places a student from the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)-Pathways program, offered in Northeastern’s College of Engineering, in his robotics laboratory each summer. He also plans to help raise awareness of STEM among students, particularly women students, in Grade 6 at schools in the Greater Boston area by providing engaging activities and competitions focusing on kinetic sculptures.
BIOGRAPHY
Ramezani’s robotics research has had many breakthroughs. His research on autonomous flying robots and drones that mimic the properties of bat and bird locomotion was published twice on the cover of Science Robotics. He also received a collaborative NSF Foundational Research in Robotics grant for a morphing arial robotic device to be used in sewer systems, and invented a multi-modal mobility morphobot that was published in Nature. He joined Northeastern in 2018 and received a PhD from the University of Michigan in 2014.
Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University
Alireza Ramezani
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
Aatmesh Shrivastava
DARPA Young Faculty Award, Analog Ultra-Low-Power Machine-Learning Hardware
RESEARCH
Aatmesh Shrivastava, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing very low power (nano-watt level), analog-based machine learning hardware that will result in sophisticated vision applications that would not be feasible with digital technology. Digital technology has limitations in processing, size, and power consumption, and cannot match the efficiencies of analog computing. His research, supported by a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency Young Faculty Award for up to $1 million, will create an integrated system-on-achip (SoC) and the work will include machine learning hardware with robust and precise analog computing circuits, an analog computing model, and an adversarial attack detector.
In initial phases, the SoC will recognize simple images, such as animals and characters, with the goal to scale the technology to identify and categorize sophisticated imaging. While the research will initially apply to military applications, it could eventually have an impact on a variety of industries such as autonomous driving, target recognition, and machine vision for drones. The work will include machine learning hardware with robust and precise analog computing circuits, an analog computing model, and an adversarial attack detector.
BIOGRAPHY
Shrivastava’s research focuses on ultra-low power circuits and systems, analog computing, precision circuits, and hardware security. He has led or is co-principal investigator of several grants from the National Science Foundation, DARPA, and the National Institutes of Health that focus on analog computing and creating processing efficiencies with ultra-low power consumption. Additionally, he holds numerous patents and received a CAREER Award from the NSF. Shrivastava joined Northeastern in 2016 and earned a PhD from the University of Virginia in 2014.
Aatmesh Shrivastava
Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Photo by Bella Martinez/Northeastern University
Photo by Bella Martinez/Northeastern University
Lili Su
NSF CAREER Award, Developing Resilient, Scalable Distributed Algorithms for Federated Learning
RESEARCH
Federated learning is a communication-efficient distributed machine learning approach that enables training global models without sharing raw local data. Used in commercial applications such as autonomous vehicles, internet of things, industrial automation, and more, federated learning has seen a recent upswing due to increased demand for faster data processing and better privacy. Widely implemented distributed machine learning algorithms, however, have faced recent criticism that they don’t work as well as they should.
With a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Lili Su, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, seeks to quantify the effectiveness of existing algorithms and design new and more efficient ones, all with a focus on enhancing resilience against three main challenges: data heterogeneity, inherent system faults, and external attacks. The research addresses a wide spectrum of problems, from theoretical analysis to casting algorithms on real-world data and cyber-physical systems.
TEACHING/OUTREACH
Su plans to increase knowledge of machine learning to women and underrepresented students in grades K-12. Students in higher grades will be involved in projects to see how algorithms can be implemented in real-world contexts like connected and autonomous vehicles. For younger students, mini courses will be created that illustrate the power of distributed system solutions, as well as the importance and usefulness of mathematics and rigorous reasoning.
BIOGRAPHY
Su’s research focus is distributed machine learning, security and fault-tolerance, neural computation, bio-inspired distributed algorithms, blockchains, autonomous cars, and algorithm design. She joined Northeastern in 2020 and received her PhD from the University of Illinois in 2017.
Photo by Bella Martinez/Northeastern University
Lili Su Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
With over 240 tenured/tenure-track faculty and 20 multidisciplinary research centers and institutes with funding by eight federal agencies, the College of Engineering is a leader in experiential education and interdisciplinary research focused on discovering solutions to global challenges to benefit society. Northeastern’s global university system—with engineering programs on campuses across the U.S. and in multiple countries—provides flexible academic offerings, innovative partnerships, and the ability to scale ideas, talent, and solutions.
About Northeastern
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experiential lifelong learning. Our approach of integrating real-world experience with education, research, and innovation empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create worldwide impact.
Northeastern’s personalized, experiential undergraduate and graduate programs lead to degrees through the doctorate in 10 colleges and schools across our 13 campuses worldwide. Learning emphasizes the intersection of data, technology, and human literacies, uniquely preparing graduates for careers of the future and lives of fulfillment and accomplishment.
Our research enterprise, with an R1 Carnegie classification, is solutions oriented and spans the world. Our faculty scholars and students work in teams that cross not just disciplines, but also sectors—aligned around solving today’s highly interconnected global challenges and focused on transformative impact for humankind.