Faculty & Programs

The modern power grid is no longer a straightforward, one-way system. 

Just 20 years ago, demand strictly dictated generation. Today, the grid is a massive, nonlinear web driven by distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar arrays, wind farms, and battery storage. These resources rely on power electronics to interface with the grid, creating bidirectional flows where customers (including communities and even individual households) can both consume and supply electricity.

Lehigh University researchers have built the first “AI for Science” software tool designed to support the entire project workflow for research scientists.

Dan M. Frangopol, the inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture Emeritus and professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Lehigh University, has been selected to receive the 2026 Arthur M. Wellington Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Critical congenital heart diseases, or CCHDs, are a group of life-threatening structural heart defects present at birth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 4 babies born with a heart defect has a CCHD, and treatment—medication and/or surgery—must take place within the first year of life. 

Today, all babies born in U.S. hospitals are screened for these conditions using pulse oximetry, a noninvasive test that measures blood oxygen levels. 

Natasha Vermaak, associate professor in the Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics Department, was named the 2026 Acta Materialia Mary Fortune Award winner.

The Mary Fortune Award honors demonstrated global leadership, technical excellence, outreach, and mentoring from academic, industry and public sector leaders.

We are very pleased to report that Jennifer K. Ryan joined Lehigh, with a main appointment at the College of Business (COB) as the Frank L. Magee Professor and a joint appointment at Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE). At COB, Jennifer is serving as Chair of the Decision and Technology Analytics Department. At ISE, her research appointment augments our critical mass in applied stochastic modeling, including supply chain and inventory models.

Lehigh University bioengineering researcher Anand Ramamurthi has been inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows in the Class of 2026.

Ramamurthi, the Peter C. Rossin Professor of Bioengineering and chair of the Department of Bioengineering at Lehigh, conducts discipline-crossing research in nanomedicine and regenerative technologies aimed at non-invasive tissue repair.

Two materials science and engineering faculty will be featured in Rutgers University's upcoming 2026 Malcolm G. McLaren Symposium.