UMass Lowell’s six-week RAMP summer program gives incoming Francis College of Engineering students an early start on college through coursework, research, industry mentoring and community-building.

Over the past four years, the National Science Foundation has recognized 12 UMass Lowell faculty researchers as some of the nation’s best junior, tenure-track scholars by awarding them prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grants.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Hualiang Zhang is part of an international research team that has won National Science Foundation funding to develop faster wireless communications in the terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Alkim Akyurtlu was recently named a NextFlex fellow for her leadership and contributions to the field of hybrid electronics manufacturing.

Computer science graduate Jessica Vu ’26 created Hawk Advisor, an AI-powered website that helps UMass Lowell students explore career paths and choose electives that align with their professional goals.

UMass Lowell students from majors spanning computer science, engineering, economics and business are gaining hands-on experience through co-ops at Fresenius Medical Care, contributing to the development of home dialysis technology.

Eight students completed a mechanical engineering directed study during the spring semester, which included a one-week trip to Sosúa, Dominican Republic, where they installed solar panels for those without reliable electricity.

UMass Lowell’s chapter of the international honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu, has won national recognition for its activities and impact on campus.

UMass Lowell has named a newly renovated Ball Hall lecture hall and established a professorship in honor of computing pioneer Edson deCastro ’60, ’78 (H), funded by a gift from his family.

Nearly 100 Francis College of Engineering seniors took the Order of the Engineer oath at a ceremony where plastics engineering alumna Charlotte Ward ’13 urged them to lead with integrity.

A team of engineering and physical therapy faculty and students is collaborating to on research to evaluate the accuracy of how augmented reality technology tracks joint motion and hand gestures.

A device that makes permanently mounted window bars fire-safe by allowing residents to release them instantly in an emergency won the annual Francis College of Engineering Prototyping Competition, hosted by the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute.

UMass Lowell’s Shah Academy of Innovation and Leadership welcomed a new cohort of engineering scholars as the inaugural class reflected on a transformative first year of mentorship, professional development and leadership training.

Siblings Martin, Justin and Jasmin Marwad, who earned bachelor’s degrees in 2023 and master’s degrees in 2024, recently made it on to the Guinness World Records list for their degree-earning prowess.

The Celebration of Industry Partnerships, held in the heart of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor, recognized more than 160 organizations that work with UMass Lowell.

Electrical Engineering Assistant Professor Anhar Bhuiyan has won two National Science Foundation grants for his research into better materials and electronic devices for high-voltage power components used in space – and here on Earth.

New Francis College of Engineering Dean Susan Roberts, a chemical engineer with a distinguished career advancing interdisciplinary research and graduate education, is excited to lead the college through a new era of research, innovation and collaboration.

Thirteen UMass Lowell undergraduate students are participating in a paid summer internship program with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a global leader in technology integration and a partner in the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor.

One of the newest members of the university’s electrical engineering faculty, Assistant Professor Anhar Bhuiyan, has won a prestigious seed grant to support his research into better materials for the components that power satellites and unmanned spacecraft.

The MassRobotics Jumpstart Fellowship Program provides opportunities for high school girls in Massachusetts to learn about careers in robotics. The program, which originated in Boston in 2021, expanded to UMass Lowell in 2024 with support from the Massachusetts Tech Collaborative.

UMass Lowell students have a new place to flex their skills and imagination, thanks to Brooks Automation Inc., which has committed to create a new makerspace at the university.

The Shah Academy of Innovation and Leadership is helping select engineering students to develop into future industry leaders through scholarships, mentorship and professional skill-building opportunities.

UMass Lowell student teams, including Mock Trial, a cyber security team, Model United Nations (U.N.) and an investment class, are on a winning streak this year.

Nearly 130 seniors and alumni from the Francis College of Engineering were inducted into the Order of the Engineer, a national association that emphasizes pride and responsibility in the engineering profession.

David Laurello ’81, ’88, former CEO of Stratus Technologies, has returned to his alma mater as executive in residence at the Manning School of Business, mentoring students, teaching courses and bridging the gap between academia and industry.

Students showcased innovative solutions to real-world problems at the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s annual Engineering Prototyping competition, with winning projects addressing classroom feedback, adjustable prosthetics, blast detection and human rights monitoring.

Philosophy Chair Nicholas Evans and Criminology Assoc. Prof. Neil Shortland are researching the future of artificial intelligence in warfare and policy under a pair of Department of Defense Minerva Grants worth $4.2 million, leading teams that include paid student researchers and other UML and outside faculty.

Prof. Hengyong Yu of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been elected a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).

The Kennedy College of Sciences’ Undergraduate Design Project, which connects students with companies to work on real problems, sets up a pathway for students to get full-time jobs.

Ten students recently completed UMass Lowell’s Innovative Fellows Training (LIFT), a new program supported by a five-year, $1.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging that is designed to diversify career opportunities for early-career scientists in the field of aging and aging-related diseases.

The Robotics Club is looking to make a difference in people’s lives with its robotic guide dog invention, which the club has entered into the SICK $10K Challenge and the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s $50K Idea Challenge.

A $4 million state grant will pay for the university to set up broadband internet access in disadvantaged areas of Lowell, Fitchburg and Haverhill. The grant, part of a state effort to promote digital equity, is also paying UMass Lowell students to teach basic computer skills to older and low-income residents.

The state has awarded UML a $500,000 grant to help establish the Massachusetts Electronics Manufacturing Evolution (MEME) Laboratory to train students and industry workers in the design and fabrication of PCBs.

The National Science Foundation has awarded a three-year, $1 million grant to a team of researchers led by Electrical Engineering Prof. Yan Luo to develop a data analytics platform that uses biosensors to detect harmful organisms such as Vibrio and Pseudomonas in aquaculture farms and coastal waters.

Prof. Hengyong Yu of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been awarded a four-year, $2.3 million grant by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to help improve the image quality and resolution of photon-counting computed tomography (CT) scans.

UMass Lowell is leading a project to establish a first-of-its-kind advanced manufacturing technologist training program to support the workforce needs of the aerospace and defense industries in Massachusetts.

A team of researchers led by Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof. Hengyong Yu is developing technology that would greatly improve cardiac CT scans, which doctors currently use to diagnose cardiovascular diseases.

Siblings Martin, Justin and Jasmin Marwad will be receiving bachelor’s degrees in computer science and electrical engineering when they cross the Commencement stage.

Assoc. Prof. Neil Shortland and a team of interdisciplinary researchers are looking at using artificial intelligence modeled after human attributes to make decisions in extreme situations.

A team of researchers headed by Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof. Kavitha Chandra is developing interdisciplinary programs that target graduate education and future workforce training in using digital technologies for automotive and manufacturing industries.

ARTritech Digital Health, a startup that is developing a patch for continuous blood pressure monitoring, won UMass Lowell’s inaugural Sensor Challenge at the Innovation Hub.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has named Lara Thompson ’03 as one of three recipients of this year's Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation's highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers.

A team of faculty researchers led by Biomedical Engineering Asst. Teaching Prof. Yanfen Li has been awarded a six-year grant totaling nearly $1.5 million by the National Science Foundation to create a diverse and competitive pool of students who could become future faculty candidates in engineering.

A team of electrical and computer engineering students set out to develop a more user-friendly version, or distribution, of Fedora, a popular open-source software operating system, as part of its senior capstone project.

Asst. Prof. Yuzhang Lin was recently awarded a five-year, $500,000 faculty early-career development grant by the National Science Foundation to conduct a study that will help better predict and visualize power distribution capacity and consumers’ power demand in real time.

The Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy has awarded 2021-22 fellowships to Assoc. Prof. of Electrical and Computer Engineering Cordula Schmid, Analytical Chemistry Ph.D. candidate Elizabeth Farrell and chemical engineering major Andrew Parker.

Assoc. Prof. Joyita Dutta of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has been awarded a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research that could help shed light on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

SPACE HAUC, UMass Lowell’s first satellite, recently passed a critical test that cleared the way for its upcoming launch into Earth orbit. The satellite was designed and built by more than 100 students from the Kennedy College of Sciences and the Francis College of Engineering over the course of five years.

The UTeach program, which turns science, math and engineering majors into classroom teachers, is now in its 10th year at UMass Lowell. Graduates are in great demand at local high schools, and one was named a finalist for Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year.

Mechanical Engineering Prof. and Dept. Chair Christopher Niezrecki has been named the 2020 Distinguished University Professor for exemplary teaching, research and service to the university.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded researchers from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering a three-year, $500,000 grant to develop a new, wireless high-temperature sensor network for smart, coal-fired boilers used in industry.

Students who miss being on campus — and incoming freshmen who want to meet fellow River Hawks outside of the remote classroom this fall — can connect virtually on HawkCraft, the university’s official Minecraft server.

Two dozen incoming first-year and transfer students got a jump on their engineering studies — and a preview of college life during the coronavirus pandemic — through the Francis College of Engineering’s Research, Academics and Mentoring Pathways (RAMP) program.

The River Hawk Rising program provides structured support and a personal connection to students of color, transfer students and first-generation students during their time at the university, setting them up for success in college and beyond.

Rover the River Hawk, an Industrial Capstone Senior Design project that Engineering students are building to clean debris from the city’s canals, received a Green Design award from the Lowell Sustainability Council and a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan.

To help protect medical information from cyberattacks, the National Science Foundation has awarded a three-year grant totaling nearly $1 million to a team of researchers led by Prof. Yan Luo of UMass Lowell’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to develop a secure cyberinfrastructure for translational research.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan learned about the latest technology used in parachutes and other battlefield innovations while touring the HEROES lab on Feb. 20.

The National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million in grant to a team of researchers led by Prof. Yan Luo to develop a secure and compliant cyberinfrastructure for translational research.