WPI Experts

This academic year, WPI is celebrating 50 years of our Global Projects Program. Through this program, roughly 85% of our undergraduate students travel off-campus for at least one term to conduct an academic research project at one of our more than 50 project centers on six continents. Most of our students will conduct their off-campus project work in teams with students from other majors and in conjunction with a community-based sponsor. 

Mimi Sheller, Dean of The Global School, is an expert who can share insight on WPI’s global education programs and the impact of team-centered project-based learning. Sheller can also speak with media about her areas of research expertise, which include Caribbean migration, Haiti, the movement of people, objects, and information; and the complex new mobilities (and immobilities) that are afforded by changing technologies and infrastructures.

WPI spent a record on research and development activities during the 2024 academic year, up 8% over the previous year, as expenditures grew on projects funded by federal agencies and nonprofit organizations.

University researchers also launched 234 multiyear projects in 2024 and received a record $60 million in public and private awards for research activities.