School of Engineering

Theory. Practice. Impact.

At WPI, students are involved in engineering projects and research from the very beginning. Our pioneering project-based learning approach means our undergraduate and graduate students learn in the classroom and then can immediately apply their skills to solve real-world problems.

Students work alongside our world-renowned faculty, many of whom bring invaluable industry experience to their work. WPI graduates become proficient and agile engineers able to adapt to a constantly changing global environment. They’re prepared to collaborate with peers across disciplines—from engineering to the arts and sciences to business—to develop innovative and effective solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

This groundbreaking approach establishes a foundation for career success and life satisfaction.

Students working together on a project at WPI

Education

The School of Engineering gives students opportunities to solve real-world problems through team-based projects, immersive research experiences, rigorous independent study, and close student/faculty mentorship.

Engineering Departments and Programs

WPI Plan

Grand Challenges Scholars Program

Network of Global Project Centers

Got Potholes? This Student Team Has a Solution

Professor Eric Young talking with a student in a chemical engineering lab

Research

Our well-funded research projects showcase the breadth and depth of the engineering advances at WPI. A research-with-purpose mindset across the university applies many perspectives and collaborations to meet the biggest challenges we face.

Interdisciplinary Groups

Metal Processing Institute

PracticePoint

Center for Wireless Information Network Studies

Center for Advanced Research in Drying

Jessica Rosewitz and Nima Rahbar at Commencement

Alumni & Students

With a devotion to life-long learning and a commitment to make the planet better, WPI’s students and alumni produce boundary-pushing results with the widest impact. They approach their work with a careful balance of improving technology and humanity.

Jessica Rosewitz '07 (BS), '16 (MS), '20 (PhD) [Civil Engineering]

Stephen Rusckowski ’79 [Mechanical Engineering]

Yatao Liu ’08, PhD [Chemical Engineering]

Leila Carvajal Erker ’96 [Chemical Engineering]

Scenes from the ASEE-NE Conference

This fall welcomed engineering educators and students from 28 different schools to WPI’s campus as host of the American Society for Engineering Education – Northeast Section (ASEE-NE) regional conference. Over three days, nearly 140 college faculty, staff, and student participants from around the region joined workshops, poster presentations, research paper sessions, and lightning talks. Keynote speakers were Dr. Pamela McCauley from NCSU, who spoke on the role of faculty as mentors and allies to foster success for students from underrepresented groups, and singer-songwriter and Berklee College of Music professor Livingston Taylor, who reflected on the similarity between a performer connecting with, and caring for, an audience--and an educator connecting with, and caring for, their students.

In his keynote address, Livingston Taylor describes how a performer connecting with audience members is similar to a professor connecting with students.

A student team from UMass Dartmouth presents “Relational Justice & Collaborative Self-Determination in Engineering Education.”

WPI engineering students presenting poster

WPI student Anna Eng describes her work on a smartphone app to teach free body diagram concepts.

Attendees gathered at WPI’s historic Higgins House for a welcome reception on the opening night of the conference.

Dean of Engineering John McNeill introduces keynote speaker Livingston Taylor.

Singer/songwriter Livingston Taylor describes how he constructs a song—and since all design involves compromise, how creators need to advocate for their compromises.

WPI ECE alum Sam Francois's paper describes a novel mentoring program at his company, CommScope.

Project-based learning was a common theme for posters and papers from WPI and from other institutions at ASEE NE.

The opening welcome reception was held at WPI’s historic Higgins House on Thursday, October 21.

“Delivering and Teaching Hybrid/Remote Chemical Engineering Labs” panel discussion was featured at ASEE NE on October 21.

Presenters at the ASEE NE student poster session

Conference attendees enjoy interactive workshop discussions in WPI’s Innovation Studio’s active learning classrooms.

WPI’s Kathy Chen and Martha Cyr led a workshop on “What Engineering Looks Like in PreK-12 STEM and How Higher Education Can Support."

Student poster session at ASEE NE

WPI’s first in-person conference in 18 months welcomed over 100 participants from 28 institutions across the northeastern United States.

News

SEE MORE NEWS

Researchers to Develop Glove to Tele-operate Robotic Systems

December 15, 2021

WPI Welcomes More Than 30 New Faculty Members

December 07, 2021

Yu Zhong Leads Project to Improve Hydrogen Production

October 28, 2021

WPI Runs an NIH Study on Stress Factors Leading to Stress Fractures in Female Runners

September 28, 2021

Researchers Expanding Development of Oxygen Sensor for Babies to also Monitor COVID-19 Patients

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at WPI is expanding their previous work to develop a small wireless mobile sensor that will measure a baby’s blood oxygen levels to also create a similar sensor that can act as early detection device for COVID-19 infections.

Learn more

Researcher Leads $2.4 Million Project to Manufacture Low-Cost, Fast-Charging Lithium Ion Car Batteries

WPI will lead a team of industry and university researchers in a $2.4 million project to manufacture cheaper, faster-charging lithium ion car batteries. The researchers will reduce the cost and charging time of lithium ion car batteries by building on previous research to manufacture battery electrodes with a solvent-free approach.

Learn more

Chemical Engineers: “Why Not Make Waste Work for Us?”

Two WPI chemical engineering research projects investigating sustainability and waste reduction received nearly $540,000 stemming from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) 2026 Idea Machine competition. The work will explore finding applications for nitrogen-rich waste products and converting marine plastics into ship fuel.

Learn more

Tessa Lytle '23

BS/MS Mechanical Engineering

Tessa’s college career, both on and off the skating rink, has provided her many opportunities to get involved and make an impact.

Jeremy Trilling '22

BS in Robotics Engineering

Jeremy came to WPI because he knew he’d have opportunities to explore, create, and discover in areas that interested him—especially things like flying cars and electric vehicles.

Jordan J

PhD, Biomedical Engineering

Jordan's work with value creation in his biomedical engineering research taught him to apply his scientific breakthroughs in a way that makes a positive impact on humanity.

Elizabeth (Elzani) van Zyl ’17 (BS), ’19 (MS)

PhD, Biomedical Engineering

At WPI, Elzani has found a welcoming community where she can match her interests with the research she wants to do.

Reisya I.

MS, Materials Science and Engineering

Learning about other cultures has only enhanced Reisya’s experience as a Fulbright Scholar studying materials science and engineering at WPI.

WPI Journal Stories from the School of Engineering

Ryan McDevitt '03 and Matt Shea '03 - Alumni Success Story

Ryan McDevitt '03 and Matt Shea '03 grow a satellite propulsion business from seeds planted 20 years ago.

JNL-F21_A-Space-Dream.jpg

Matt Cugno '22 - Student Entrepreneur

Cugno has discovered a passion for building something entirely different—as an entrepreneur. He partnered with his best friend, Josh Kim, to cofound The Cubby, an art marketplace for college students to sell and showcase their work to the public.

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#3

Best Colleges in Massachusetts by Salary Potential

PayScale (2019)

Top 25

STEM colleges

Forbes (2018)

140%

increase in research funding from FY16-20

Top 50

best colleges for engineering in America
Niche (2021)

Spotlight on Engineering

Hardware Security Research at WPI

Patrick Schaumont, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is an expert in hardware security. As part of the Vernam Lab, where several key experts are working on various perspectives of secure system design, he aims to develop designs and prototypes and methods and tools. Partnering with WPI experts in this field can help industry collaborators transfer their own ideas into viable products.

The Medical and Manufacturing Innovation Lab at WPI

Yiaho Zheng, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, innovates in the area of biomedical manufacturing and medical devices. He credits the integration of state-of-the-art facilities with experimental investigation, and in collaboration with his team and other partners, as the key to research that informs both fundamental science and industrial application.

Urban Fire Research Group at WPI

James Urban, assistant professor in fire protection engineering, researches advances in wildland fire, visual-based fire protection, and fundamental fire phenomenon. His team is especially skilled at finding low-cost ways to measure fire and provide collaborators access to state-of-the-art fire labs, easily allowing for multi-scale experiments.

PracticePoint: Advancing Innovation at WPI

Research scientist Christopher Nycz and the team at PracticePoint uncovered a need in the market for a space where engineers could better access clinical spaces. Corporate partners are welcome to integrate their industry know-how and WPI’s academic expertise to create new products—and accelerate those products to market.

Media Coverage

SEE ALL MEDIA COVERAGE

WBUR 90.9

Mass. startup transforms old electric car batteries into better-than-new ones

WBUR spoke with WPI Mechanical and Materials Engineering Professor Yan Wang about his work to recycle lithium-ion batteries, the company he co-founded, and how his research has shown that recycled batteries can often perform better than new lithium-ion batteries, by being able to be charged more times, and by lasting longer.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Plastic-collecting ships could use the waste for fuel while cleaning up the ocean

The CBC Radio program Quirks & Quarks spoke with Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Michael Timko about his research to have ships remove plastic waste from the world’s oceans, and then chemically convert that waste into fuel that could power the plastic-collecting ships. Timko says this could significantly reduce the emissions associated with efforts to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.