Xin Zhang, Irving Bigio, and More Featured in “Best of The Brink 2025” Inventions List
From soft robots that could make cancer surgery safer to an algorithm that boosts hearing aid performance, how BU research made a difference this year
Welcome to Our Center
Center Statistics
Publications per Year
200
+
216 articles in AY 2024
Active Faculty Members
52
Ranging across the CoE, CAS, MED School, and beyond.
BIC Tenants
10
Funded R&D Projects in FY25
123
News & Media
Building Mini-Brains, Advancing Big Ideas: How Kate Herrema Uses Organoids to Model Neurodevelopment
Whether in her home state of Michigan, her high school years in Virginia, or in the city of Boston, Kate Herrema has always had an aptitude for science and math.
Professor Ji-Xin Cheng Elected NAI Fellow
"The Uses of Invention"
ENGineer Magazine Fall 2025 is Live!
“Community, Friends, and Future Connections” | REU 2025 Recap
Minjung Son Awarded DOE Early Career Research Award
Recently, Assistant Professor Minjung Son (CHEM) and team received a major grant from the Department of Energy: the Early Career Research Award. The award promises $875,000 over five years, which, in the DOE's words, allows recipients "to pursue new ideas and harness the resources of the user facilities to increase the potential for breakthrough new […]
10 Ways BU Researchers Could Revolutionize Cancer Care
Researchers across Boston University are working on innovative and potentially lifesaving projects that could transform cancer prevention, treatment, and care. We picked 10 that bring hope for the future.
A Polymer That Defies Nature: The First Molecularly Impermeable Plastic
For decades, scientists believed all plastics shared one unavoidable weakness: no matter how dense or strong, gases could always slip through. Even the toughest polymers, from bulletproof Kevlar to everyday food packaging, may look solid, but at the molecular level, tiny gas molecules can still sneak through. That’s why potato chips go stale and packaged […]
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In the Media
2025 Annual Report
“In light of evolving strategies both University-wide and across federal institutions, it is heartening to share that Photonics Center Faculty were able to secure $36.3MM this year in new grant awards.” – Dr. Thomas Bifano, Center Director
Recent Faculty Publications
