Our industrial partnership programs are designed to facilitate faculty and student connections and collaborations with leaders in academia, industry, and government. The ultimate goal is to foster future discoveries and scientific applications.

Part of our mission as a school of engineering is for both our faculty and students to be engaged in hands-on problem solving with an impact for society.

Renewal and Growth

Sponsored research has increased more than 60 percent over the past ten years. Grants have ranged from government awards for interdisciplinary initiatives, such as the NSF-sponsored Materials Research Engineering Center (MRSEC) and the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), to Harvard-initiated efforts like the seed-funded Center for Research on Computation and Society (CRCS).

BASF and Harvard University have jointly established the “BASF Advanced Research Initiative at Harvard University.” While based at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences the initiative benefits from having strong ties with departments and schools throughout the University. Set up as a fully collaborative, integrated partnership among Harvard and BASF researchers, the agreement represents a novel model for university-industry collaborations and is designed to foster a vibrant and dynamic intellectual exchange. Projects are in areas including: applied physics, physics, applied mathematics, chemical biology, systems biology, bioengineering, and materials science. For more information contact rieger@seas.harvard.edu / jens.rieger@basf.com

Another particular success was the development of the Crimson Grid. IBM partnered with faculty members to create an innovative computing platform designed to support collaborative research and sharing of data. (See the case study here.)

Over the past few years, we have also hosted student-oriented talks and recruiting events with leaders from major companies such as Agilent, Applied Materials, Corning, Google, IBM, and Microsoft. Contact j_casasanto@seas.harvard.edu for information on participating.

Finally, the recently established, mutli-disciplinary and cross-school Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, created thanks to a gift from entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjorg Wyss in the fall of 2008, will solidify one of the most important, emerging areas of research for SEAS and for the University in the coming decade. Contact mtolikas@seas.harvard.edu for more information.

New Ventures

Harvard also serves as an "incubator" for new ventures. Below are example start-up ventures that were formed over the past several years based upon student and faculty research.

SiEnergy Systems: A spin-off that aims to commercialize solid oxide fuel technology.

SiOnyx: A spin-off dedicated to commercializing black silicon.

Lebônê Solutions: A student-based social entrepreneurship company, is a social enterprise working in off-grid energy delivery and lighting technology in Africa.

Raindance:The recently formed company is devoted to discovering, developing, and commercializing the precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids in microfluidic devices.

Liquid Machines:Computer scientists created this leading provider of Enterprise Rights Management (ERM) solutions to protect critical business content and audit usage while enabling collaboration.

Pulmatrix:Grown from a novel course, this venture- funded startup develops products that diagnose, treat, or prevent or inhibit the spread of airborne infectious diseases.

Research Highlights

Some of our key areas for industrial collaboration include:

Applied Physics, Materials Science, and Nanotechnology
Harvard's research in these areas is facilitated by the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center; the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center; and the Center for Nanoscale Systems. To learn more go here.

Bioengineering
Harvard's efforts in bioengineering spans various FAS departments (such as Chemical and Chemical Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Physics , and Statistics) as well as University initiatives such as the Wyss Institute and  FAS Science initiatives such as those in Neuroscience, Genomics, Imaging and Mesoscale Structures, and the Rowland Institute. In addition SEAS has strong ties to the Harvard Medical School Quad, particularly departments such as Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Neurobiology, and Systems Biology as well as the teaching hospitals. To learn more go here.

Computer Science
Harvard's faculty in computer science investigate a wide range of topics, including ground-breaking work in provably secure cryptography, the implementation of sensor nets, developments at the interface of economics and computer science, and discoveries in VLSI. To learn more go here.

Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering (EE) at Harvard covers a range of topics, from devices to systems. The emphasis on practice infused with fundamental science and mathematics offers ample research opportunities, both theoretical and experimental, at the forefront of the field and its interdisciplinary applications. Traditionally preeminent in control theory and robotics, EE at Harvard has actively grown to incorporate new research programs and advances in information technology. To learn more go here.

A complete list of our faculty, listed by specific research areas is available online and in print.

Technology Transfer and Licensing

The Office for Technology Development is responsible for University-wide industrial partnerships and technology licensing at Harvard.

>>For more information contact: Alan Gordon, Director of Business Development.

Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard

The Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard (TECH) is a resource open to Harvard students and faculty who are interested in exploring how value to society is created from ideas, research, and inventions.

>>For more information contact: Paul Bottino, Executive Director of TECH.

Recruitment and Job Postings

Companies and other organizations interested in recruiting undergraduate and graduate students on campus should work with the Harvard Office of Career Services (OCS). The DEAS job board is available here and OCS also has extensive online resources.

>>For more information contact: Wilson Hunt, Jr., Assistant Director of Career Services.