Catalyze Signature Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives
Research
The College of Engineering is a research powerhouse with signature strengths in key areas that can be optimized more effectively by leveraging existing UIC expertise and the wealth of current and potential partners in Chicagoland, such as industry, national labs, health care institutions, colleges and research universities and more.
Given
Through thoughtful collaboration and targeted investments, COE will pursue a small set of bold, ambitious and achievable initiatives that apply emerging technologies to address salient and pressing problems that affect the human condition. Each research initiative will integrate diverse perspectives from across disciplines and communities, engage stakeholders through meaningful partnerships, and incorporate educational programs that prepare students and graduates to contribute to and lead these transformative research efforts.
Plan Goals
Accelerate quantum engineering for Chicago
Quantum information technology is expected to deliver a quantifiable technological advantage with promising applications in various sectors in the next decade.
The City of Chicago is positioned to be a global leader in quantum technology. The State of Illinois has invested over $500 million in the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a multibillion-dollar, 128-acre facility located in Chicago’s Quantum Shore. IQMP is projected to generate $60 billion in economic impact and thousands of new jobs over the next decade. Industry and government partners already at IQMP include IBM, PsiQuantum, Infleqtion and DARPA — and the list is growing. With recent investments in faculty, COE and UIC have vital resources to contribute to this initiative.
Strengths, Goal, Impact
Our Strengths, Goals, and Impact
Our Strengths
COE has established itself as an emerging contributor to the national quantum engineering ecosystem. Quantum engineering — a field that merges quantum physics, information theory and supporting disciplines like materials science, artificial intelligence and photonics — encompasses the design, fabrication and scaling of all quantum technologies, including quantum computers, sensors and communication systems.
The College is central to UIC’s quantum research funding portfolio, with active participation in two of the five U.S. Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Centers and national (and regional) quantum communications testbed development. As the only host of a multi-institution quantum engineering consortium in the United States, COE has pursued a coordinated expansion of its quantum engineering faculty, resulting in a cluster hire of five faculty across quantum photonics, computing, materials, and error correction — an investment motivated by long-term strategic priorities that extend well beyond the original education grant.
The college has established a strong foundation for a comprehensive educational pathway, introducing an undergraduate quantum engineering course sequence alongside existing graduate programs in quantum computing, optics and error correction. These quantum initiatives are complemented by strong computational expertise in high-performance computing, post-quantum cryptography and algorithms.
Our Goal
COE will spearhead a university-wide effort to coordinate and amplify the synergies of quantum engineering activities, both within COE and across the campus, including the Colleges of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Medicine, Law, and Business. Potential focus areas include:
- Quantum-centric and hybrid quantum-classical supercomputing
- Scalable quantum computing architectures, testbeds and device manufacturing
- Quantum computing and sensing for healthcare applications
- Midwest quantum education and workforce development
Desired Impact
This initiative will advance scalable solutions in computing, communications, networking, healthcare and workforce development — strengthening Chicago’s quantum leadership. It will also showcase UIC’s unique scientific and educational strengths and lay the foundation for transformative research, innovation and workforce development in quantum engineering that contributes to city and state efforts.
Advance AI and engineering solutions for health and beyond
Advance AI and engineering solutions for health and beyond
Healthcare systems worldwide face pressing and evolving challenges that demand innovative approaches.
AI-powered healthcare solutions represent one of the most promising pathways to address these challenges, yet there remains a critical gap between AI’s theoretical potential and its practical implementation in improving human health. Similarly, complex challenges beyond health require integrated approaches that combine AI capabilities with engineering expertise and domain knowledge.
Strengths, Goal, Impact
SGI
Our Strengths
COE is well positioned to lead breakthrough research at the intersection of AI, engineering and healthcare by bringing together expertise from the College of Engineering, College of Medicine, Retzky College of Pharmacy, College of Dentistry, and the School of Public Health, leveraging UIC’s distinctive advantage as one of the few institutions housing world-class engineering and computing programs alongside top-tier health sciences schools on a single campus.
The College also possesses significant strengths in areas that address critical challenges. This same model of integrating AI, engineering, and domain-specific expertise could help address those challenges.
Our Goals
With health as the initial focus area, COE will lead the creation of a UIC Health AI Data Trust — a secure, centralized system where researchers can easily access and analyze anonymized health data. This would include patient records from UI Health, medical images, and information from devices like wearables and clinical sensors.
The College will also create an AI-Health Incubator, where strategically selected projects are defined, supported, and implemented by multidisciplinary teams of AI and engineering experts, domain specialists, administrators, and patients. The team will have access to the Health AI Data Trust.
Once these approaches demonstrate success, they will be applied to other areas where the integration of AI, engineering, and other disciplinary strengths across UIC can address a range of challenges.
Desired Impact
The Health AI Data Trust will transform how health data is accessed and used at UIC. Success will be defined by improvements in speed, usage, research output, safety and long-term impact. This system will cut wait times for researchers from months to just days, giving UIC a secure, compliant and fast way to analyze large amounts of real-world health data — while keeping patient privacy protected. By using consistent data formats and built-in privacy tools, the system ensures that studies are safer, repeatable, and faster to turn into healthcare solutions.
The AI-Health incubator will support the systematic development of AI methodologies to create proof-of-concept demonstrations prior to patient testing. The AI-Health Incubator will foster a synergistic environment where AI researchers, engineers and healthcare domain experts work together to maximize collaborative potential.
Success with these approaches will serve as models to apply AI and engineering solutions to grand challenges within and beyond Chicago — positioning UIC as a leader in applying integrated AI and engineering approaches to complex societal problems.
Drive innovation in energy systems and infrastructure
Drive innovation in energy systems and infrastructure
Energy underpins every aspect of modern life — from public health and economic opportunity to American competitiveness and national security.
Yet, aging infrastructure, rising power demand and environmental pressures threaten reliability and affordability. UIC is positioned to address these challenges through its urban Chicago location — a national hub for energy innovation and policy that provides unparalleled access to industry, government and community partners.
Strengths, Goal, Impact
SGI
Our Strengths
COE brings substantial assets to advance energy and infrastructure solutions, including expertise from its six departments and the following specialized research centers: Energy Resources Center, Center for Urban Policy and Planning Analysis, Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, and the Great Cities Institute. These assets are complemented by advanced facilities for energy systems and materials testing, extensive federal funding for fundamental and applied energy research, and strong partnerships with industry leaders and national laboratories.
Our Goal
COE seeks to modernize energy systems and infrastructure to support the national energy priorities of energy affordability, reliability and resiliency, and independence. This initiative will convene interdisciplinary teams to tackle critical energy-related priorities:
- Modernizing and expanding the electric grid to support increasing demand, distributed energy resources and microgrids.
- Deploying scalable energy generation and energy efficiency technologies and strategies.
- Advancing strategic energy storage technologies, including next-generation batteries and thermal storage technologies.
- Investigating and developing alternative liquid fuels for application in hard-to-carbon-abate sectors such as aviation, long-distance land transportation, maritime shipping, heavy industrial processes and chemical processing.
- Accelerating advanced transportation system technology solutions.
Desired Impact
UIC will become a national leader in driving innovation in energy science, systems and infrastructure. It will deliver technological breakthroughs in grid resilience, energy storage, alternative fuels and energy-efficient end-use technologies. The initiative will provide community benefits through reduced energy costs and increased energy access while developing a diverse pipeline of skilled energy professionals. Results will influence energy policy at all government levels and catalyze economic growth through new science, partnerships, startups and commercialization opportunities.
Propel next-gen manufacturing for innovation and impact
Propel next-gen manufacturing for innovation and impact
The manufacturing sector is of critical importance due to its transformative potential for society, from improving public health and quality of life to driving economic growth and developing well-compensated, accessible employment opportunities.
This potential also translates into promoting innovative thinking and breakthrough discoveries at the intersection of engineering, life sciences and data-driven systems. This creates a direct impact on stakeholders ranging from industry partners to the federal government by promoting further collaboration, advancing commercialization efforts and driving technological leadership, transforming cutting-edge research into measurable impact for both the Midwest and the nation.
Strengths, Goal, Impact
SGI
Our Strengths
UIC brings unparalleled strengths to this area, including its proximity to over 10,000 manufacturers, Argonne National Laboratory, mHUB and World Business Chicago; a highly diverse and skilled student population; academic departments within COE that specialize in manufacturing-related fields; prominent programs and research facilities; and the presence of both a U.S Department of Energy Industrial Training and Assessment Center and the NASA MIRO Center for In-Space Manufacturing. UIC also operates the Research Resources Center core facilities, which include a state-of-the-art nanofabrication laboratory.
Our Goal
COE will lead a comprehensive initiative spanning multiple disciplines across UIC aimed at enhancing smart and clean manufacturing through the incorporation of advanced materials, biomedical innovation, process improvements, automation and more efficient and sustainable fabrication strategies that collectively outline and define the forthcoming era of industrial and social advancements.
Desired Impact
The integration of next-generation innovation will advance educational excellence for students and support faculty discovery, positioning UIC as a nationally leading institution for advanced manufacturing research. Key societal impacts include fostering a skilled labor force and creating more lucrative employment opportunities in manufacturing. This impact extends to industry, boosting the competitiveness of local and national manufacturing through the adoption of new, effective concepts and the implementation of automation practices. By bridging fundamental research and applied solutions, UIC can help deliver transformative impacts on healthcare, energy use, and material development.
