Labs and Groups

The Algorithms and Foundations Group at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering is composed of researchers interested in applying mathematical and theoretical tools to a variety of disciplines in computer science. We study problems in machine learning, geometry, computational biology, computational mathematics, and beyond.

Levicky Group — The Bio-interfacial Engineering and Diagnostics Group’s research focuses on quantitative characterization of biomolecular interactions, with technological connections to diagnostics for medical and fundamental biology applications. The group seeks to dissect the fundamental equilibrium and kinetic aspects of biomolecular reactions at surfaces and in solution, elucidate the role played by the molecular organization, and apply this understanding to advance bioanalytical technologies.

The laboratory of Professor Jef Boeke is well known for foundational work on mechanistic and genomic aspects of retro-transposition in both yeast and mammalian systems. After more than three decades, they continue to scrutinize their favorite genomic parasites. In addition, the Boeke lab is heavily involved in the development of novel technologies in genetics, genomics and synthetic biology.

David Truong’s lab uses principles from synthetic and systems biology, cell fate reprogramming, epigenetics, and immunology. He and his team perform large-scale genome engineering in human and mouse stem cells towards cell therapies and regenerative medicine. The group currently focuses on developing programmable off-the-shelf dendritic cells from human iPSCs as a cancer immunotherapy platform. They are also building universal “personalized” iPSCs as an off-the-shelf cell for making living therapies.

Professor Dan Sodickson’s research primarily addressed the development of new techniques for biomedical imaging to improve human health. He leads a multidisciplinary team that develops new methods for rapid continuous imaging, taking advantage of recent developments in parallel imaging, compressed sensing, and artificial intelligence. This work extends to clinical applications of MRI, PET and CT.

The overarching goal of our research is to develop the principles needed to incorporate unstructured, Internet and mobile data into a better understanding of population-level health. We primarily develop computational methods across data mining, natural language processing, and machine learning to generate features for spatio-temporal population-level public health models.

Professor Andreas Hielscher’s team focuses on developing clinically relevant optical tomographic imaging systems. They apply these devices and wearable electronics to the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, such as breast cancer, arthritis, peripheral artery disease, diabetic foot syndrome, and real-time monitoring of brain activities.

The research in Professor Sage Chen’s lab aims to find solutions for real-time brain-machine interfaces, pain management, and psychiatric disorders. Developing a better understanding of memory and sleep is another goal. To accomplish all this, they advance and integrate the fields of computational neuroscience, neural engineering, and machine learning.

C2SMART is a U.S. Department of Transportation Tier 1 University Transportation Center for research, education, workforce development, and technology transfer activities. Rather than just focusing on developing technologies to make a city smarter, C2SMART is dedicated to a related critical step: how to connect these disparate technologies with cities of different population and infrastructure scales and different systems of systems.

Professor Lukasz Witek’s research group performs in vivo and in vitro evaluations of a wide range of (bio)materials that can be used as implants for dental and orthopedic applications. A special focus is on 3D printing of bio-ceramic materials for tissue regeneration.

Cybersecurity for Democracy is a research-based, nonpartisan, and independent effort to expose online threats to our social fabric — and recommend how to counter them. We are part of the Center for Cybersecurity at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Using advances in computer vision and machine learning, Professor Guido Gerig’s team develops image analysis methodologies related to segmentation, registration, atlas building, shape analysis, and image statistics. Collaboratively with clinical research, this work is driven by medical problems covering research in autism, Down's syndrome, eye diseases, Huntington's disease, and musculoskeletal disorders.

The Hartman Research Laboratory investigates the kinetics of chemical reactions and the design of the reactors in which they take place. Catalysis and reaction engineering is at the heart of virtually every process or system in which a chemical transformation occurs.

Sahu Group — Our research investigates the transport phenomena in new and novel classes of nanostructured hybrid materials that have promise for optoelectronic and thermoelectric energy conversion. Our group has expertise in colloidal synthesis, advanced characterization, and device implementation of such materials.

Located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the IDM XR Lab provides access to the latest XR equipment and informational workshops and tutorials.

INTERCEP is the first academic center dedicated to organizational resilience and agility. The center maintains a global outreach with a special focus on multi-party collaboration including business-to-business and public-private partnerships. Acknowledging that "risk and reward" are at the core of all undertakings in both the public and private sectors, the Center focuses on the development of strategies to most effectively address uncertainty so as to achieve targeted objectives — in essence addressing "risks" to achieve "rewards".

The ultimate goal of Professor Kirsch’s research is to define novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of osteoarthritis and other joint diseases and injuries. To this end the laboratory studies mechanisms involved in the regulation of cartilage homeostasis, maintenance and pathology. In addition, research is performed on how cells and the joint environment interact.

Professor Alesha Castillo and her team study the interactions between mechanobiological cues and musculoskeletal systems with the long-term goal of developing novel biophysical, pharmaceutical, and stem cell-based interventions to improve musculoskeletal health

Professor Jeremy Teo and his LIBRA team study the mechanobiology of single immune cells and the implications of microenvironmental cues in down-stream immune biology. They are interested in depicting the mechanisms of these signals and modulating the immune outcome using bioengineering strategies. The overall goal is the development of technologies for translational therapeutics.

We try to understand the fundamental principles for robot locomotion and manipulation that will endow robots with the robustness and adaptability necessary to efficiently and autonomously act in an unknown and changing environment.

We are involved in inventing cutting-edge photonic techniques for detecting individual virus particles. We recently detected single Influenza A virus in-vitro and is pushing its patented Whispering Gallery Mode Biosensor to higher sensitivity in order to detect single HIV virions.

mLab is broadly interested in real-world security and privacy threats in healthcare and consumer technologies. Led by, Assistant Professor Danny Yuxing Huang, mLab builds systems to measure these threats at scale.

Our research lies at the interface of multifunctional material development and electrochemical engineering. Electrochemical devices are ubiquitous to a broad range of energy conversion technologies and chemical processes.

Our lab designs, develops, and applies nanoscale and bioengineering tools to understand and manipulate cell fate and function. Our ultimate goal is to help the body regenerate better.

Blending theory with experiments, Professor Andras Gyorgy’s team focuses on the behavior of networks with particular emphasis on synthetic biology applications.

The team of Professor Shy Shoham works at the interface of neuroscience and engineering, developing and applying modern bidirectional neural interfaces for observing and controlling neural population activity patterns. Their goal is to better understand sensory-motor information coding and to advance medical neurotechnology.

CCS is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to training the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and to shaping the public discourse and policy landscape on issues of technology and security. The Center is a collaboration among NYU Tandon School of Engineering and other NYU schools and departments.

Our research team studies the physics of electronic materials and their application in building devices and circuits. We are an experimental group with experience in the synthesis of layered materials, nanofabrication of electronic devices, and electrical measurements at both room and cryogenic temperatures.

The human experience of pain is incredibly complex. Understanding how pain affects patients, and how best to manage it, is Prof. Jing Wang’s goal. His research interest is centered on the role of brain circuits in the regulation of acute and chronic pain. Of particular interest are the cortical mechanisms of pain processing and regulation.

Advances in miniaturized sensors and actuators, as well as artificial intelligence (AI), have broadened horizons for assistive and rehabilitative technologies. The team of Professor JohnRoss Rizzo, MD, is leveraging these innovations to help patients with conditions such as blindness and stroke, enhancing their ability to interact physically with their environment.

Professor Chakravarti’s research group tries to understand how the extracellular matrix (ECM) regulates cellular functions and tissue homeostasis. In their work they use cell cultures and mouse models to gain a better understanding of the role of neutrophil, macrophage and dendritic cell functions in bacterial and viral infections. In addition, they explore the ECM changes and the underlying genetic causes in corneal diseases.

The Silverman Laboratory conducts research to understand and design sustainable and appropriate wastewater treatment process, in an effort to protect public health and environmental quality. Our research is focused on water quality, wastewater treatment, detection and control of waterborne pathogens, design of natural wastewater treatment systems (e.g., treatment ponds and constructed wetlands), and the safe reuse of human waste.

How is language produced and perceived in the human brain? What are the network dynamics that allow us to fluently communicate? These questions are still poorly understood and collaborations between scientists, clinicians, and engineers are crucial for making progress in this fascinating field. Adeen Flinker and his team are using unique human neurosurgical recordings and advanced data processing algorithms to elucidate these questions.

We are focused on creating new data-driven methodologies to observe, model, and analyze the urban environment. Our work is grounded in solving real-world problems and providing decision-makers with a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between physical infrastructure systems, natural systems, and human systems.