Princeton Engineering researchers are combining their expertise in chemical engineering, materials and computation to design crystalline materials that can be used to mitigate pollution or make sustainable cements. In bioengineering, another project aims to unravel how dormant bacteria resist antibiotics and incite intractable infections.

These are among 21 projects funded by the latest round of innovation grants from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, totaling more than $3 million. Since 2008, innovation awards have enabled engineering faculty members to take their research in bold new directions that address critical issues in technology, health and the environment. The grants often fuel initial discoveries that lead to larger awards from external funding agencies.

Princeton Engineering’s Innovation Research Grants come from the University’s own resources, including Princeton’s endowment other gifts for initiatives in engineering.

Addy Fund for Excellence in Engineering

The Addy Fund for Excellence in Engineering was established in 2017 by Lydia B. Addy and William M. Addy, a 1982 Princeton alumnus. In 2025 these funds were awarded to:

• Reza Moini, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, for the project “‘Soft’ hard materials by design: Engineering compliance in brittle concrete” (also supported by Project X)
• Alejandro Rodriguez, professor of electrical and computer engineering, for the project “Optimal photonic communication: Designs and limits to optical information processing” (also supported by the Katzson Fund and by funds from an anonymous donor)
• Dhruv Shah, a visiting research scholar in electrical and computer engineering, for the project “Guiding the robotics data flywheel via epistemic scaling curves”
  

  Assistant Professor Reza Moini (left) and Ph.D. student Shashank Gupta pose with some of the Moini group’s bone-inspired designs for tougher concrete.

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  Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

J. Insley Blair Pyne Fund

Established in memory of physics and electrical engineering professor and Princeton graduate J. Insley Blair Pyne, this fund supports research bridging engineering and neuroscience. Blair Pyne funds were awarded to:

• Amir Ali Ahmadi, professor of operations research and financial engineering, and Pravesh Kothari, assistant professor of computer science, for the project “AI-assisted algebraic proof systems with engineering applications” (also supported by the James Mi *91 Research Innovation Fund for Data Science and the Yang Family Fund)
• Jonathan Cohen, the Robert Bendheim and Lynn Bendheim Thoman Professor in Neuroscience; Tom Griffiths, the Henry R. Luce Professor of Information Technology, Consciousness, and Culture of Psychology and Computer Science; and Margaret Martonosi, the Hugh Trumbull Adams ’35 Professor of Computer Science, for the project “A quantum approach to modeling perception, decision making and control”
• Kenneth Norman, the Huo Professor in Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience, and Peter Ramadge, the Gordon Y.S. Wu Professor of Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering, for the project “Neural mechanisms of how prior knowledge promotes new learning: An OPM-MEG study”
  

  Professor Amir Ali Ahmadi teaching the course “Computing and Optimization for the Physical and Social Sciences.”

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  Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy

Helen Shipley Hunt Fund

Made possible by Helen Shipley Hunt, who earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Princeton in 1971, this fund supports engineering research with a focus on applied projects. Shipley Hunt funds were awarded to:

• Christine Allen-Blanchette and Alison Ferris, both assistant professors of mechanical and aerospace engineering, for the project “Toward accelerated sustainable aviation fuel design: A data-driven framework for fuel design and discovery”
• Mark Brynildsen, professor of chemical and biological engineering and bioengineering, for the project “Turning a strength into a weakness for Pseudomonas aeruginosa treatments” (also supported by the O’Brien Family Health Research Fund)
• Navroz Dubash, professor of public affairs, and Anu Ramaswami, the Sanjay Swani ’87 Professor of India Studies and professor of civil and environmental engineering, for the project “Democratizing zero-carbon modeling with metropolitan policy actors in New Jersey and Global South urban regions”
• Yasaman Ghasempour, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, for the project “Accurate and computation-efficient digital twin for wireless networks in 6G and beyond”
• Rodney D. Priestley, dean of the Graduate School and the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, for the project “Hydrophobic self-hardening hydrogels for infrastructure durability and safety”
  

  Researchers Néhémie Guillomaitre and Xiaohui Xu with samples of a recyclable hydrogel they developed as part of a team led by Professor Rodney Priestley.

  Photo by

  Dan Komoda

Project X Fund

Project X funding enables Princeton engineering faculty members to pursue exploratory research geared toward “creativity, tinkering and risk-taking.” The fund is made possible by G. Lynn Shostack in honor of her late husband David Gardner, a 1969 Princeton graduate. Project X grants were awarded to:

• Joshua Atkinson, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, and Jürgen Hackl, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, for the project “Clean water for all: Biosensor enhanced digital twins for water quality management”
• Luc Deike, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, and Martin Wühr, associate professor of molecular biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, for the project “Unveiling the physics behind electrospray ionization to engineer more sensitive and quantitative mass spectrometry”
• Ning Lin, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Michael Oppenheimer, the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, for the project “Adaptive flood protection design for climate adaptation”
• Marcella Lusardi, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and the Princeton Materials Institute, Andrew Rosen, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, and Claire White, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, for the project “A combined experimental and computational approach for accelerated zeolite discovery via pre-nucleation building units” (also supported by the David T. Wilkinson Innovation Fund and by funds from an anonymous donor)
• Aditya Sood, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Princeton Materials Institute, for the project “On-chip photo-switches for ultrafast electrical stimulation” (also supported by the Morton and Donna Collins Fund and the Samberg Family Fund)

Additional Engineering Research Funds

Princeton’s Center for the Decentralization of Power Through Blockchain Technology (DeCenter) has funded grants to Maria Apostolaki, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, for the project “Routing security for Ethereum;” and to Andrés Monroy-Hernández, assistant professor of computer science, and Janet Vertesi, associate professor of sociology, for the project “OpenCourier: Designing a decentralized ecosystem of community-owned food delivery platforms.”

Yiguang Ju, the Robert Porter Patterson Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, was awarded funds from an anonymous donor for the project “Plasma-assisted catalytic decomposition of N2O from ammonia oxidation.”

Andrew Rosen, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, received support for the project “Democratizing the computational discovery of clean energy materials” from the Wilke Fund for Innovation.

David Wentzlaff, professor of electrical and computer engineering, will pursue the project “The new nuanced Moore’s Law” with support from the Samberg Family Fund for Innovative Engineering, established by Deborah and Jeffrey S. Samberg ’88.