Computational Imaging

Computational Imaging jointly designs optics and algorithms. This field of research is inherently interdisciplinary, combining expertise in imaging science, optical engineering, signal processing and machine learning. Computational imaging can overcome physical limitations and achieve novel capabilities, from advancing experimental observation techniques used in biology, to highly novel imaging system methods to atomic force microscopy. Computational Imaging serves a broad range of scientific, defense and security, biomedical, and neuroscience applications.

BU Researchers Showcase the Future of Systems Engineering at CGSW 12.0

Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE) student researchers at Boston University took center stage to demonstrate how they are solving the world’s most complex problems, sharing ideas from cutting-edge soft robotics. On Friday, January 30th, 2026, CISE hosted its 12th annual Graduate Student Workshop (CGSW 12.0). The event provided a dynamic platform for students […]

CCSS: Reimagining Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave Lidar

Three-dimensional representations of scenes are of growing importance. For example, robots and autonomous vehicles rely on 3D mapping for path planning and safe navigation, and augmented reality systems use 3D scene models when they create visual overlays with useful information. These representations are also used in many other fields, such as surgical planning, architecture, and […]

CIF: Small: Atmospheric Absorption-Based Computational Sensing

Humans and machines make sense of their surroundings first and foremost using vision, and vision is limited when there is a lack of light in the familiar visible spectrum, with wavelengths from 380 nm (violet) to 750 nm (red). However, light is often plentiful in situations when visible light is lacking (such as at night), […]

Lei Tian Named Provost’s Scholar-Teacher of the Year for Innovative Teaching and Research

Boston University engineering professor Lei Tian, a faculty affiliate of the Center for Information and Systems Engineering (CISE), has been named the 2025 Provost’s Scholar-Teacher of the Year. The award, which includes a $5,000 stipend, honors faculty who excel both as researchers and as teachers. Tian, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, emphasizes […]

CISE Hosts 11th Annual Graduate Student Workshop (CGSW 11.0)

Over 100 student and faculty attendees gathered on January 24th, 2025, for the 11th Annual Graduate Student Workshop hosted by the Center of Information and Systems Engineering (CISE). The day-long symposium featured doctoral students from different disciplines across Boston University’s College of Engineering presenting their original research.   “CGSW aims to bring together CISE students, faculty, […]

Cheng & Tian’s Newest Microscopy Advance Published by Nature Communications

Professor Ji-Xin Cheng’s research group has made notable strides in improved chemical  imaging technologies, especially for medical purposes, over the last few years. Their latest, the development of a new type of mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) microscope, was published by Nature Communications in December. The paper, co-authored by collaborator and CISE affiliate Professor Lei Tian, Post-Doctoral Associate […]

Two BU Researchers Receive over $1 Million Each in Funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Imagine being able to watch the smallest units of life—like cells and molecules—working together in real time. Seeing and measuring biological processes, a field called dynamic imaging, can help scientists unlock tremendous knowledge for treating diseases, from cancer to Alzheimer’s. In an effort to take biological imaging to the next level, two Boston University College […]

Metasurface Photodetectors for Computational Imaging

Traditional image sensors used in photography and microscopy can only visualize the intensity distribution of the incident light, whereas all information related to the local direction of light propagation and phase profile is lost in the image acquisition process. To address this limitation, the proposed research will develop a new class of image sensors based […]

Powerful Updates to Novel Computational Imaging Device Featured in Optica

Prof. Lei Tian (ECE, BME) and his team, led by PhD students, Yujia Xue (PhD, ECE, 2022) and Qianwan Yang (PhD student, ECE) published their paper “Deep-learning-augmented Computational Miniature Mesoscope” that describes advances to their Computational Miniature Mesoscope (CM2) project. This paper, published in the prestigious journal Optica, presents the CM2  V2, a more powerful […]