Research · Rossin College of Engineering
Engineering research at Lehigh
Lehigh University holds an R1 Carnegie Classification, the designation reserved for universities with the highest level of research activity. Behind it is a Rossin College research enterprise that grew 41% between 2021–2025, on a path to triple research funding over the next decade.
- Research expendituresNearly $32M (2025)
- Growth 2021–202541%
- Research institutes3
- Academic departments8
- Full-time faculty155
Overview
Interdisciplinary by construction
Complex global challenges — population health, sustainable energy, climate change, the impact of online misinformation — require interdisciplinary team science: intellectually diverse experts from a wide variety of fields addressing pivotal issues from every angle.
Lehigh is hardwired for work of this nature. Applied, boundary-dissolving research and education is the foundation of the institution, and examples run through the college’s educational programs, the achievements of its alumni, and the research agendas of its faculty.
By the numbers
The research enterprise
- Nearly $32M in research expenditures in 2025.
- Grew 41% between 2021–2025, on a path to triple research funding over the next decade.
- 155 full-time faculty across 8 academic departments.
- More than 77% of faculty are tenured or on the tenure track.
- About 30% hold one or more Fellow titles from bodies such as NAE, IEEE, ASME, ASCE, AIMBE and NAI.
- 100% of first-year PhD students are funded from College sources.
Lehigh University holds an R1 Carnegie Classification, the designation reserved for universities with the highest level of research activity.
Resolve magazine
Engineering research and educational innovation
Resolve® magazine is devoted to Lehigh engineering research and educational innovation, highlighting exciting partnerships, projects and academic programs at our University.
Published twice a year by the Rossin College with Lehigh’s Office of University Communications and Public Affairs, Resolve is a tribute to the people, the teams, and the breakthroughs that define the Lehigh Engineering community.
Recent issues have covered:
- The college’s investment in the “New Space” economy, including the new MS in Aerospace and Space Systems Engineering, student rocket teams and liquid-fuel propulsion research.
- The Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies, one of the three University Research Centers.
- Energy research spanning traditional and renewable technologies, and microgrids for data centers.
- Bioengineering in women’s health: wearable diagnostics, regenerative strategies and 3D tissue models.
- Safety systems for transportation, and research briefs across materials science and biomedical engineering.
- FYRE, the first-year experience that starts undergraduates on hands-on engineering from day one.
Interdisciplinary Research Institutes
Three institutes, built to cross boundaries
Lehigh’s IRIs are communities of scholars that catalyse research in areas where Lehigh can take a leading position nationally and internationally.
Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy
Research within I-CPIE underpins all aspects of modern society. The demands and impacts of society’s reliance upon energy, communications, structural, and transportation systems require a broad approach focused not only on engineering systems but on improving people’s lives.
Institute for Data, AI, Society, and Computation
I-DISC is devoted to the study of problems that involve massive amounts of data, large-scale computations, or both, and seeks to develop the science that enables the extraction of useful and actionable information across disciplines and research fields.
Institute for Functional Materials and Devices
I-FMD focuses on synthesis, fabrication, processing, and characterization of materials, devices, and related systems. Research interests include photonics and electronics, metals, ceramics, biomaterials, polymers, and composites, with devices ranging from the nanometer and micrometer scales and beyond.
Incubating research centers
How a research community becomes a center
Institutes and centers are the mechanism by which interdisciplinary work at Lehigh is convened and grown. We are producing new centers, not just sustaining old ones. Lehigh established three University Research Centers in the year leading up to its R1 designation, each formed around a problem that no single department owns.
- Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience — Risk and resilience for natural and man-made disasters.
- Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies (CDAT) — Assistive technology designed with the communities that use it.
- Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES) — Electrification solutions built around community need.
More than thirty centers and institutes across all of Lehigh’s colleges, including the Rossin College’s own long-established centers and its shared instrumentation, contributed to the development of Lehigh's evolving research enterprise.
Research by department
Disciplinary depth across 8 departments
Interdisciplinary work only holds together when the disciplines that support it are strong. The institutes supply the connective tissue; the departments supply the depth—the faculty, the laboratories, the doctoral training and the specialist knowledge that a cross-cutting problem draws on.
Bioengineering
- Biocomputations and Modeling
- Diagnostics, Sensors and Devices
- Materials and Therapies
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Biomolecular Science and Engineering
- Energy and the Environment
- Functional Materials and Nanotechnology
- Colloids, Emulsions, and Interfacial Science
- Computations, Systems, and Machine Learning
Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Water Resources Engineering
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering
- AI and Robotics
- Machine Learning and Data Mining
- Human Computer Interaction & Social Computing
- Systems
Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Bio-Electrical Engineering
- Communications and Signal Processing
- Computer Engineering
- Electric Energy
- Electronics and Photonics
Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Mathematical Optimization
- Stochastic Models and Optimization
- Data Science and Machine Learning
- Applied Operations Research
- Quantum Computing Optimization
- Uncertainty Quantification and Complex Systems
Materials Science and Engineering
- Materials for Advancing Human Health
- Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing
- Advanced Characterization Using Machine Learning
Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
- Mechanical Systems
- Control Systems
- Robotics and Autonomous Systems
- Nuclear-Fusion Plasma Control
- Solid Mechanics
- Mechanics for Optimized Design
- Biomechanics
- Molecular Mechanics and Fundamental Mechanisms of Stress Generation
- Thermo-Fluids
- Bio-Inspired Flows
- Biomedical Flows
- Renewable Energy
- Fundamental Flows
Partner with us
Work with Lehigh Engineering
Companies, foundations and government partners work with the Rossin College on sponsored research, access to shared facilities, and talent pipelines into their own organisations.
- Sponsored and collaborative research with faculty across 8 departments and three institutes.
- Access to shared instrumentation, including the Integrated Nanofabrication and Cleanroom Facility and the Materials Characterization Facility.
- Recruiting from a graduate community spanning 21 master’s programs and 11 PhD programs.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Lehigh a top-tier research university?
Lehigh University holds an R1 Carnegie Classification, the designation reserved for universities with the highest level of research activity. Within it, the Rossin College research enterprise grew 41% between 2021–2025, reaching nearly $32M in expenditures in 2025.
What are Lehigh Engineering’s main research areas?
Research is organised around three Interdisciplinary Research Institutes: the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE); Institute for Data, Intelligent Systems, and Computation (I-DISC); and, Institute for Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD). Research initiatives are led by internationally recognized faculty across 8 academic departments.
What are the Interdisciplinary Research Institutes?
Lehigh’s IRIs are communities of scholars that catalyse research in areas where Lehigh can take a leading position nationally and internationally. The three are Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE); Institute for Data, Intelligent Systems, and Computation (I-DISC); Institute for Functional Materials and Devices (I-FMD).
What research centers and institutes does Lehigh have?
Lehigh maintains a central directory of more than thirty research centers and institutes across all of its colleges, including the three University Research Centers established in the year leading up to its R1 designation. See Lehigh research centers and institutes for the full list.
How large is the research faculty?
155 full-time faculty in the Rossin College. More than 77% are tenured or on the tenure track, and about 30% hold one or more Fellow titles from professional bodies such as NAE, IEEE, ASME, ASCE, AIMBE and NAI.
Can companies partner with Lehigh Engineering on research?
Yes. Lehigh works with industry on sponsored research, shared facilities and talent pipelines. Corporate and foundation partnerships are coordinated centrally — see Lehigh partnerships for the routes in.
Is doctoral research funded?
Yes. 100% of first-year PhD students are funded from College sources, typically through research or teaching assistantships. Funding sources vary by department after the first year.
Where can I read about current research?
Resolve, the college's flagship publication, covers engineering research and educational innovation at Lehigh, while the Rossin College News Center keeps readers abreast of breaking news from our classooms and labs. Also, be sure to follow us on social media.
Contact
Keep up, or get in touch
Resolve magazine » — the college's flagship publication, published twice per year online and in print.
Rossin College News Center »— keeps readers abreast of breaking news from across Lehigh Engineering's classrooms, labs, and research centers.
General enquiries go to engineering@lehigh.edu.