Million Dollar Ideas

Tandon researchers are working at the cutting edge of technology across the entire engineering field.

And big ideas need big funding. Multiple projects from our researchers earned grants over $1 million, including:


sunny view of Brooklyn Bridge with downtown Manhattan in the background

New York City skyline at dusk

 

 

15 million total commitment that includes $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for C2SMARTER to continue its work as a Tier 1 University Transportation Center, leading a consortium of universities that will address the U.S. DOT’s priority for reducing traffic congestion.

students in lab working on floodnet sign

7.2 million from New York City for FloodNet, the flood sensor network that monitors street-level flooding and flood threats in real time across the City and shares the data through an open dashboard. The project is set to expand across all five boroughs.

students in Thz lab with electrical equipment

3 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Terahertz (THz) Measurement Facility, a laboratory to support basic measurements of devices, circuits, materials, and radio propagation channels at the highest reaches of the radio spectrum.

wireless tower with mountains in background

million from DARPA to develop approaches for real-time measurements of auxiliary signals that can be used to detect the existence of malicious/anomalous elements such as kernel rootkits, ransomware, and keyloggers.

water rushing through dam

1.9 million from the United States Department of Energy to develop methods of securing the U.S. power grid from hackers and help the grid survive and recover quickly from cyberattacks.

close up of synapse

1.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to study programmable dendritic cells and their potential uses in immunotherapy.

bridge with traffic on it at night

1.3 million from the New Jersey Institute of Technology to understand how highly plastic collective systems regulate themselves in the face of changes, and unravel how information transfer between individuals and their contribution to the emergence of a functional, distributed regulation network, all using energetic regulation in ants as a model.

urban construction site with tall cranes

1.3 million from the NSF to study the Intermeshed Steel Connection as a new quick, snap-together connection to construct buildings with the existing work force and possibly on-site robotics. The research unites micro-economists, robotics experts, and computer scientists with structural engineers and site-safety leaders in the United States, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland.

closeup of hands folded on panel with microphones

1.2 million from the NSF to develop new technologies to secure the “digital legal supply chain” — the processes by which official laws and legal information are recorded, stored, updated and distributed electronically.

drone in air with consruction guy flying it in background

million from the NSF to develop better perception and navigation for the robots used to monitor construction job sites.

a robot on building roof

million from NSF and the Department of Homeland Security to support their development of AI-driven technology that identifies building envelope leaks through robot and drone scans, offering a cost-effective and efficient alternative to traditional inspections.