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The Power of Academic and Industry Collaboration Comes to Life through Student Research Projects at WPI

cbwamback — Fri, 02 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000

On April 25, student teams representing every academic department on campus presented the results of their senior theses during WPI鈥檚 annual Undergraduate Research Project Showcase. This signature event showcases the culmination of WPI鈥檚 distinctive project-based undergraduate education, where students engage in team-based professional-level design and research that mirrors the challenges they will likely tackle in their careers. Known as major qualifying projects (MQPs), these yearlong experiences provide students with both technical skills and 鈥渟oft鈥?skills like communication, leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking.

Industry support is vital to this process. Every year companies are invited to sponsor projects that introduce corporate-specific scenarios, offering students invaluable problem-solving experience while providing companies with bold new thinking and proposals for innovative solutions. Here are just a few examples of the exciting projects, conducted by graduating seniors, made possible by sponsors鈥?support this year.

Draper

L-R: Emma DeMartino; Fatimah Daffaie; Adeline Fede

Project: Investigating Endothelial Responses to Tissue Under In-Vitro Flow: System Development for the Preclinical Evaluation of Draper鈥檚 LEAP Valve
Department: Biomedical Engineering (BME)
Students: Fatimah Daffaie; Emma DeMartino; Adeline Fede
Advisors: Kristen Billiar, professor (BME); Corin Williams (Draper)

This project focused on helping children who have had heart valve replacements. Currently, replacement heart valves don鈥檛 grow as a child grows, which often means multiple surgeries. Draper has designed a new kind of heart valve鈥攖he LEAP Valve鈥攖hat鈥檚 made to grow with the child. The WPI team built a special lab setup that mimics how blood flows through the body, specifically how cells that line blood vessels react when the LEAP Valve is in place. This is a critical step in studying the efficacy of the valve and identifying how it affects the body prior to clinical trials.

鈥淲orking with Draper鈥檚 biotechnology department鈥攁nd learning from both the bio team and other departments鈥攚as an incredible experience,鈥?said Emma DeMartino. 鈥淥ur sponsor gave us so much helpful advice, and getting to see and understand the full scope of the project made it really fun and rewarding.鈥?amp;nbsp;

Draper advisor Corin Williams said, 鈥淚鈥檝e been really impressed with this team and the amount of work they put into the project. They essentially built this system from scratch鈥攏o one had created anything like it before. Watching it all come together from an initial concept to a fully realized system was incredibly exciting.鈥?lt;/span>

L-R: John Chau, Halim Faker

Fidelity Investments

Project: Creating the Metric Store for Business Performance Metrics
Departments: Computer Science (CS), Data Science (DS), Financial Technology (FT), Industrial Engineering (IE), Management Engineering (MGE)
Students: John Chau (DS, MGE, IE); Halim Faker (IE, FT); Mansi Gera (DS); Harshith Iyer (CS); Sophia John (CS)
Advisors: Marcel Blais, professor of teaching (mathematical sciences); Joshua Cuneo, senior instructor (CS); Kwamie Dunbar, associate professor (The Business School); Xin Gao, assistant professor (The Business School); Renata Konrad, associate professor (The Business School)

An interdisciplinary team of students worked with project sponsor Fidelity Investments to develop a prototype for a user-friendly web-based application for employees to view, search, and easily understand business performance metrics. The students said the partnership with Fidelity provided them with valuable connections who helped them gain technical expertise and a greater understanding of how data are used to inform business decisions.

鈥淲orking with Fidelity was one of the best experiences in my four years at WPI,鈥?said Halim Faker. 鈥淭his project was an opportunity to work in a company and learn how the financial world works and how important data are to customer analysis.鈥?lt;/span>

General Dynamics Electric Boat

L-R: Sofia Eckerson; Marc Donahue, MS 鈥?5 (CS); Samantha Germano; Taniya Crosby; Mir Valentine; Benjamin Perrin

Project: Designing an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle and Updating a Parametric Design Tool
Department: Mechanical and Materials Engineering (ME)
Students: Taniya Crosby; Marc Donahue, MS 鈥?5 (CS); Sofia Eckerson; Samantha Germano; Benjamin Perrin; Mir Valentine
Advisors: Ahmet Sabuncu, assistant teaching professor (ME); Shubbhi Taneja, assistant teaching professor (CS)

The team continued research started by the 2024 MQP team into the design of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), focusing on design features, materials, structural strength, and control systems. A key part of the work involved testing a new computer-based design tool and comparing its results to the 2024 team鈥檚 version. The students recommended refining the tool鈥檚 input settings, improving its ability to model water flow, and enhancing its real-time adaptability. Modeling is essential when working with large and complex systems like UUVs because it allows engineers to test designs virtually before anything is built. Another team will continue the sponsored project next year.

鈥淚t was a big responsibility to build on the work of last year鈥檚 team鈥攚e wanted to honor what they created while also making it our own and moving it forward,鈥?said Taniya Crosby. 鈥淲orking closely with our corporate sponsor helped us really understand the project鈥檚 full scope, and as we grew more confident, we focused on setting it up for success so next year鈥檚 team can launch it even further.鈥?lt;/span>

L-R: John Clendenin, Bora Hurst, Sara Kelly, Eli Budde, Dominic Brunetti

Honeywell

Project: GaN-based DC/DC Converter for Fuel Cell Applications
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
Students: Dominic Brunetti; Eli Budde; John Clendenin; Bora Hurst; Sara Kelly; Vanessa Narciso
Advisor: Gregory Noetscher, assistant teaching professor (ECE)

The team worked with project sponsor Honeywell to design and develop a prototype for a compact and lightweight power converter for use in unmanned autonomous vehicles that utilize hydrogen fuel cell power. The students said the opportunity to work with Honeywell provided a valuable real-world experience, and they praised their project partners in the company for providing consistent feedback and information on industry standards.

鈥淚t was wonderful working with them,鈥?said John Clendenin. 鈥淭hey really helped show us their standard way of doing things. They mentored us through the printed circuit board layout schematic part of the project. We got insight from them on the whole manufacturing process, from simulation to schematic to printed circuit board to ordering it.鈥?lt;/span>

NVIDIA

L-R: Alexander Samra; Owen Rago

Project: Performance Architecture Team鈥擯owerSense
Department: Computer Science
Students: Owen Rago; Alexander Samra
Advisors: Mark Claypool, professor (CS); Lane Harrison, associate professor (CS)

NVIDIA, a top company known for making GPUs鈥攖he computer chips that help run advanced AI programs鈥攐pened its door to the MQP team at WPI鈥檚 Silicon Valley Project Center. The students worked on systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) within the Tegra division鈥檚 Performance Architecture Team, analyzing and improving how these chips perform so teams across Tegra can better understand and improve their technology.

鈥淲orking with a corporate sponsor at their headquarters gave me real-world experience鈥攚e were in the office from 8 to 5 every day, just like a full-time job. Being fully immersed in that environment helped me learn a lot about how I work best, what I value in a company, and what I鈥檒l be looking for as I start my career,鈥?said Alexander Samra. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just a class project鈥攊t was real work, with real expectations, and it gave me a true sense of what my future could look like.鈥?lt;/span>

L-R Aidan Eldridge; Abigail Stack; Lauren Mitcheson; Sean Sullivan

Saint-Gobain

Project: Optimizing the Finishing Process in Bond Plant 7
The Business School
Students: Aidan Eldridge, MS 鈥?5 (management); Lauren Mitcheson, MS 鈥?5 (business analytics); Abigail Stack, MS 鈥?5 (management); Sean Sullivan, MS 鈥?5 (management)
Advisor: Walter Towner, teaching professor (The Business School)

It鈥檚 no small task to increase the productivity of a manufacturing line, but that鈥檚 what four students set out to do for global company Saint-Gobain. The team members focused on improving the finishing processes on a production line in Worcester that makes large, circular abrasive wheels for cutting steel and other hard materials. The students, all of whom are graduating this year with BS degrees in industrial engineering plus MS degrees in business fields, proposed steps such as adding laser technology, organizing tools, and standardizing operating procedures to make the line more efficient. They estimated their proposed changes could increase production and revenue for Saint-Gobain.

鈥淚t was really cool. All the concepts we used in this project were concepts we had learned in courses,鈥?said Lauren Mitcheson. Added Aidan Eldridge, 鈥淎lmost everything we suggested, Saint-Gobain is trying out.鈥?lt;/span>

Open-Source Platform Transforming Robotics Engineering Education

mlumsden — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000

It鈥檚 been a year since young roboticists from around the world were introduced to the small open-source device that could revolutionize robotics engineering and help democratize global STEM access. And what a year it鈥檚 been.

During the 2022 FIRST Global Challenge in Geneva, Switzerland, WPI and DEKA Research & Development Corp. distributed nearly 200 beta versions of the Experiential Robotics Platform (XRP), a kit that makes it possible for novice engineers to build and program a simple, powerful, and affordable robot. The small but mighty device even caught the eye of music superstar will.i.am, a staunch STEM supporter who attended the event.

Superstar will.i.am examines XRP during the 2022 FIRST Global Challenge.

鈥淲e started with the idea that we would create this prototype for an open-source engineering education platform,鈥?says DEKA chief development officer David Rogers, who worked hand in hand with WPI鈥檚 Brad Miller to debut the original XRP in 2022. Miller is a senior fellow with longtime experience collaborating with DEKA and FIRST Robotics through WPI鈥檚 Robotics Resource Center. 鈥淚n Geneva we got a lot of validation that this kind of product was something people were excited about.鈥?lt;/p>

The excitement surrounding XRP followed WPI folks back to the States and the project really took off. WPI and DEKA developed new partnerships with Raspberry Pi and ST Microelectronics to supply the microcontroller and the inertial measurement unit (IMU) chips, respectively, as well as with SparkFun Electronics to manufacture the electronics. And with DigiKey distributing finished devices to secondary schools, community colleges, and universities across the country, educators have begun integrating the XRP into STEM courses.

Officials from both DEKA, based in Manchester, N.H., and WPI are starting educational endeavors in their own backyards.

Thanks to a state grant, high school students at an engineering-focused charter school in Manchester are pioneering what Rogers calls a 鈥渃ommunity manufacturing concept.鈥?The principal at Spark Academy gave up his office so that teacher Dan Larochelle 鈥?5 could set up two dozen 3D printers, which students are using to manufacture XRPs that get shipped around the globe, all while getting valuable hands-on experience.

At the same time, FIRST New Hampshire is working with leading STEM educators from across the state to establish teacher training and professional development workshops centered around XRP. The external relations team at WPI is also exploring pilot programs with Worcester Public Schools.

鈥淭he XRP is leveling the playing field for STEM education and I鈥檓 proud that WPI is one of the founding partners of this project,鈥?says WPI President Grace Wang.

Parts for the beta XRP kits, 3D-printed at WPI.

Makers outside the classroom are getting in on the action, too. Nearly 2,500 units have sold to hobbyists, educators, and suppliers since the commercial units went on the market in August, according to Dave Ortendahl, WPI鈥檚 executive director of corporate partnerships, who is managing the university鈥檚 role in this project.

The current version of the XRP looks and works much the same as the original kits, which were 3D-printed in WPI鈥檚 Innovation Studio. Thanks to some design innovations that happened at WPI, however, the manufacturing is now much simpler. A single-piece chassis has replaced the original body made up of many separate parts, allowing users to spend less time constructing the unit before they start programming.

That programming is key. It鈥檚 the difference between building and engineering. It鈥檚 also the part of the project where WPI鈥檚 expertise lies, and Annie Hughes 鈥?1 will consult to build out curriculum that one day will accompany the XRP kits.

During an event this week hosted by the British Consulate in Boston, representatives from WPI and DEKA will thank regional educators and politicians for being early adopters of the XRP. Potential new partners will also be introduced to the device in an effort to galvanize additional interest in this groundbreaking technology.

2022 Year in Review: Media Coverage

cbwamback — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000

With the start of a new year, please enjoy some of the stories the media covered throughout 2022; these feature WPI鈥檚 amazing research, expert analysis, faculty and student activities, project-based learning, and our focus on global STEM education.

RESEARCH

The New York Times worked extensively with Fire Protection Engineering professor and department head Albert Simeoni and post-doctoral researcher Muthu Kumaran Selvaraj to create 3-D fire and smoke models of the building in the Bronx where 17 people were killed in January 2022. (7/8/22)

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation spoke with Chemical Engineering professor Michael Timko about his research to have ships remove plastic waste from the world鈥檚 oceans, and then chemically convert that waste into fuel that could power the plastic-collecting ships. (1/21/22)

Popular Mechanics highlighted the groundbreaking research of William Smith Foundation Dean鈥檚 Professor of Mechanical Engineering Yan Wang to develop a method to recycle lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. (8/26/22)

WBUR featured English professor Michelle Ephraim and her popular 鈥淚nfected Shakespeare鈥?class that studies how the famed playwright understood and wrote about pandemics and infectious diseases, as part of the station鈥檚鈥淏rilliant Boston鈥?series. (7/29/22)

The Boston Globe and GBH showcased how science and the arts came together for the 鈥楤lack Hole Symphony鈥?鈥?a musical piece composed by adjunct professor of Music David Ibbett, that features a live chamber orchestra, recorded electronic music, a narration, and visual elements. The symphony was based on the sonification of the electromagnetic spectrum of a black hole, which Ibbett used as the basis for the music. (6/21/22, 7/22/22)

USA Today and the Telegram & Gazette toured Worcester with Steve McCauley, The Global School associate professor, to discuss his research on the city鈥檚 heat islands 鈥?areas of Worcester that can be as much as 17 degrees warmer than other neighborhoods during the hottest days of the summer. (7/29/22)

EXPERT ANALYSIS

The New York Times spoke with Fred Bianchi, director of the Glacier National Park project center and professor of Music, about a report from UNESCO that warns the world鈥檚 glaciers are disappearing. Bianchi talked about the report鈥檚 potential effects on tourism and the steps the park must take to protect the glaciers. (11/7/22)

The New York Times also interviewed Alex Wyglinski, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Electrical & Computer Engineering professor, about the new 5G towers that are being built across New York City, how the technology works, and how the towers will allow for more equitable access to the faster wireless network. (11/5/22)

The Washington Post asked Rob Krueger, professor and department head of Social Science & Policy Studies, what it means for a hotel to be carbon neutral. Krueger told the Post how the way people use a building can affect its environmental impact, even if the building is carbon neutral once its constructed. (6/29/22)

The Associated Press talked with Crystal Brown, assistant professor of Social Science & Policy Studies, about how Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine threatens democracy, and how Vladimir Putin has used the appearance and infrastructure of democracy to gain, and hold on to, power. (2/28/22)

On the same day he testified before a panel on Beacon Hill about a new blockchain workforce development bill, The State House News service spoke with The Business School professor Joe Sarkis about the future of the blockchain industry in Massachusetts. (9/21/22)

STUDENT STORIES

CBS Boston highlighted the internship Alyssa Magaha 鈥?3 had on the NASA DART mission that redirected an asteroid. (10/11/22)

NBC Boston covered the Farm Stay Project Center in Paxton 鈥?speaking with project center director and The Global School associate professor of teaching Lisa Stoddard, as well as Zane Mollins 鈥?2 and Shannon Henderson 鈥?3, about how WPI students are helping young learners at the farm get excited about environmental education鈥痶hrough the university鈥檚 project-based education. (8/4/22)

Spectrum News 1 spoke with head football coach Chris Robertson and Frank Almeida 鈥?4 about the football team鈥檚 annual bone marrow drive, and how Almeida donated his bone marrow 鈥?likely saving the recipient鈥檚 life. (4/7/22)

Worcester Magazine shared the volunteer work of Maggie Gunville 鈥?2, who had leadership roles in a student-run organization that recovers unserved food from Morgan Dining Hall and delivers it to Friendly House. Gunville was also instrumental in helping the organization to pivot to help the homeless community, and in restarting food delivery operations in fall 2021, following a pandemic-induced disruption. (5/31/22)

TechRaptor, a video game news site, wrote how it sees a 鈥渂right future鈥?for the video game industry, after speaking with associate professor and department head of IMGD Gillian Smith, as well as Justin Gaborit 鈥?2 and Brendan Horack 鈥?1. (6/21/22)

THE HIGHER EDUCATION SPHERE

The Boston Globe highlighted WPI as a 鈥渃ritical academic player鈥?in robotics, in an article detailing the robotics ecosystem in Massachusetts. (8/15/22)

The New York Times, The Washington Post, and NBC News spoke with Vice President of Enrollment Management Andy Palumbo about WPI鈥檚 test-blind status following MIT鈥檚 decision to reinstate the SAT/ACT requirement for its applications. (3/28/22, 3/29/22, 3/30/22)

NPR asked Health Services director Lisa Pearlman how COVID-19 restrictions were changing as the 2022-2023 academic year began. (8/16/22)

Insight into Diversity spoke with Dean of The Business School Debora Jackson and PhD student Scorpio Rogers about the Executive PhD program and how it is helping executives become thought leaders and support of social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. (9/19/22)

The Boston Globe covered CDC Director Rochelle Walensky鈥檚 commencement address where she advised the graduating class of 2022 to 鈥渆mbrace the gray鈥?鈥?the uncertainties of life - and praised their resiliency during the difficulties of the pandemic. (5/14/22)

GLOBAL ISSUES

The BBC covered how Venice, Italy is sinking and could be underwater in a matter of decades, as climate change causes sea levels to rise. Fabio Carrera, director of the Venice project center and The Global School professor, told the BBC how Venice needs to be forward-looking, and find future-proof solutions to save the city, rather than relying on short-term fixes. (9/27/22)

The Christian Science Monitor spoke with The Business School associate professor Renata Konrad about how she and her colleagues at WPI to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. Konrad also talked about how she and other faculty members have been remotely advising students in Ukraine. (4/7/22)

GBH and WBUR also highlighted the efforts of Konrad as well as Dmitry Korkin, professor of computer science, associate professor in The Business School, to help people affected by the war in Ukraine. Korkin opened his home to the family of a Ukrainian professor and is working to help the professor find work in the United States once he鈥檚 able to leave Ukraine, while Konrad organized donations of first aid and medical supplies. (3/21/22, (3/11/22)

The Financial Times included analysis from professor Jennifer Rudolph, an expert on modern Chinese political history, about the potential impact of Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 visit to Taiwan. (8/3/22)

California Awards +$500,000 to WPI Researchers to Develop New Wildfire Defense Tools

leckelbecker — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0000

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) researchers Albert Simeoni and James Urban have been awarded $514,981 by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to develop a model to predict how fire spreads from burning wildlands to communities so that fire protection engineers can design homes and surrounding landscaping to better withstand destructive blazes.

Simeoni and Urban will focus on how physical distance, wind, specific vegetation, and other factors impact the spread of fire from wildland vegetation to ornamental vegetation and from vegetation to buildings. Their three-year project, 鈥淒evelopment of Engineering Tools for Exposure Analysis at the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI),鈥?will lead to tools that could help communities protect buildings and create fire-safe roadways.

Albert Simeoni

The researchers鈥?work for CAL FIRE will address the critical problem of ongoing wildfire threats in California, where blazes have burned millions of acres, destroyed thousands of homes, and left more than 100 people dead in recent years. In 2021, more than 8,000 fires burned more than 2.5 million acres across the state.

鈥淭he fire protection engineering community has developed tools to design structures to resist fire, but disastrous wildfires in California and elsewhere have demonstrated that communities remain vulnerable to destruction,鈥?said Simeoni, a professor in the WPI Department of Fire Protection Engineering.

Simeoni will be principal investigator (PI) of the project and will collaborate with co-PI Urban, who is an assistant professor in WPI鈥檚 Department of Fire Protection Engineering. They will simulate fires under controlled conditions in laboratory experiments with vegetation found in California during dry summer conditions and then use data from the experiments to develop computational models that predict how fire spreads among separate and specific fuel sources.

James Urban

鈥淣ew tools are needed to determine necessary defensible space around homes and fire breaks so that engineers can develop strategies to reduce exposure of communities and structures to wildfires,鈥?said Urban.

Simeoni is a former firefighter who has studied how wind impacts wildfires and how burn patterns across landscapes can point to the origin of wildfires. He was recently awarded $399,999 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop technology to simulate wildfires near communities, reconstruct how wildfires burn, and determine hazards to communities by wildfires.

Urban focuses his research on how flying showers of burning embers and intermittent winds impact the spread of wildfires. The National Science Foundation has awarded him $200,000 to determine how wind gusts impact the spread of wildfires and $399,095 for experiments aboard the International Space Station to understand the impact of dynamic fire processes on wildfire spread.

鈥淔ire has been and will always be a factor in how we live,鈥?Simeoni said. 鈥淚t is critical for researchers to think about what we can do to prepare for the next fire season and what can we do over the next five or 10 years to ensure that we are developing a way to coexist with fire.鈥?lt;/p>

鈥淒evelopment of Engineering Tools for Exposure Analysis at the WUI鈥?is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment鈥攑articularly in disadvantaged communities. The cap-and-trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. California Climate Investments projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, more sustainable agriculture, recycling, and much more. At least 35 percent of these investments are located within and benefiting residents of disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households across California. For more information, visit the California Climate Investments website at https://www.caclimateinvestments.ca.gov.

Sustainability Moves from Passion to Vocation

jlevy2 — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +0000

As the effects of climate change become ever more visible and impactful on our daily lives, there is a rapidly growing need for skilled people dedicated to finding ways to help the world mitigate and adapt to those changes. Fortunately, that need is being matched by the passion of college students and recent graduates who show a strong desire to tie their careers to a cause. A recent Pew Research Center report found that 76% of Gen Z (young people born from the late 1990s to 2010, now in their teens to early 30s) are overwhelmingly worried about climate change, and 32% of that age group participated in at least one major climate action during a one-year period.

Gen Z鈥檚 concerns surrounding climate change are translating to the job market, with combating global warming becoming not only a passion, but also a vocation: The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects environment-related jobs 鈥渢o experience above-average growth鈥?through 2026.

This spring, Environmental & Sustainability Studies faculty and alumni partnered with the Career Development Center (CDC), the university鈥檚 Public Interest Technology initiative, and the STEM Education Center to hold the first-ever Careers in Sustainable and Just Communities Networking Event. It was part of the "Spring into Action!" series in spring 2022, which also included climate-related events organized by The Global School and the university's Office of Sustainability.

The idea for the event, held on March 30 in Unity Hall, originated with Associate Professor of Teaching Lisa Stoddard, who is in the Department of Integrative and Global Studies (DIGS). Stoddard also teaches classes in the Environmental and Sustainability Studies program. The idea also originated with Michelle Mestres 鈥?9, who works in corporate sustainability at Greenbiz. While fueled by Stoddard, the event鈥檚 creation was also supported by Rob Krueger, head of Social Science & Policy Studies at WPI, and by student interest; Hannah George 鈥?4 and Eugena Choi 鈥?4 were instrumental in developing and implementing the event.

Boston Scientific Joins Worcester Polytechnic Institute鈥檚 PracticePoint Medical Technologies Research & Development Center

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 12:00:00 +0000

Boston Scientific, a global medical technology company, has joined PracticePoint, a membership-based research and development and commercialization alliance founded by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to advance healthcare and patient wellness technologies through accelerating development of medical cyber-physical systems.

PracticePoint is an agile, scalable collaborative research facility featuring point-of-practice clinical suites鈥攊ncluding a residential suite, rehabilitative care suite, controlled care suite, and surgical imaging suite鈥攃o-located with engineering and manufacturing capabilities and test equipment, where devices and systems can be researched, developed, and tested.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited to have Boston Scientific recognize the potential for PracticePoint to further its research and development program and more quickly develop, iterate, and perfect medical technologies that can have a truly meaningful impact on patients,鈥?said Greg Fischer, PracticePoint director.

Through PracticePoint, members鈥攊ncluding public and private universities, research institutions, clinical partners, industry, and innovators鈥攃an collaborate on developing and incorporating cyber-physical systems (CPS) into medical devices and equipment. These new products and systems can improve performance, security, accuracy, timeliness, costs, and outcomes in human healthcare.

PracticePoint members gain access to its facilities and to research support and WPI faculty expertise. Members also have an opportunity to work with student teams on long-term research projects. Through WPI鈥檚 distinctive project-based curriculum, student teams conduct a range of professional-level research and design projects with corporate sponsors. These specific, goal-focused projects鈥攊ncluding Interactive Qualifying Projects and Major Qualifying Projects conducted in the third and fourth years of undergraduate study and required for graduation, along with master's capstone projects and PhD research鈥攐ften produce significant advances for WPI鈥檚 partner organizations.

PracticePoint fosters professional collaborations among its members and partner institutions through shared, coordinated use of state-of-the-art test beds, secured project pods, collaboration suites, and shared tool bays. The ongoing PracticePoint Collaborative Forums, held at WPI Seaport in Boston, bring together key stakeholders from industry, academia, healthcare, and user/patient groups to help identify, discuss, and address challenges in various healthcare technology fields.

Housed at WPI鈥檚 Gateway Park campus, PracticePoint is an applied research and education center designed to accelerate development and translation of cyberphysical system (CPS)-enhanced technology and to develop the talent pool and accompanying ecosystem that can help Massachusetts companies attain market dominance in the state鈥檚 medical device industry cluster. PracticePoint was launched in 2017 with a $5 million matching grant from the Massachusetts Baker-Polito Administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). Founding partners are the MTC, GE Healthcare, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and WPI.