BU Task Force on Convergence Outlines New Strategy to Boost University Research Impact
After a year of fact-finding, the BU Task Force on Convergent Research and Education has submitted a 48-page report outlining several recommendations the University can follow to embrace convergent research, building upon its strong foundation of interdisciplinary collaboration for future impact. The task force identified eight major convergent research themes that engage faculty across the University and where BU already demonstrates strength and clear potential for national leadership.
BU Biomedical Engineer Ji-Xin Cheng Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow
Engineer Ji-Xin Cheng has been named to the National Academy of Inventors’ latest class of fellows. To qualify, researchers must have played a major role in “outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.” An expert on manipulating photons—the particles that carry electromagnetic energy and make up light—Cheng is a former BU Innovator of the Year, serves as a scientific advisor to companies in the US and Europe, holds more than 30 patents, and is the cofounder of multiple companies. He has pioneered a microscope that enhances cancer detection, a device to zap away antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and a technique for mapping cells that could help take on Alzheimer’s disease.
Two Boston University Bioengineers Win Prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships
Assistant Professors of Biomedical Engineering Brian DePasquale and Michael Economo (ENG’12) have both won 2026 Sloan Research Fellowships. DePasquale’s research promises tangible help for injury patients. He develops mathematical models to characterize how neurons in the brain generate movements, decisions, and perceptions of the world. Economo builds tools to observe the brain and studies how the brain plans and controls movement—work that, among other findings, has gleaned new information about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Terriers Show Their School Pride for BU’s First Spirit Day
In February, Boston University launched the first of its Terrier Spirit Days. Students, faculty, staff, and alumni were encouraged to wear their BU gear and the school colors—scarlet and white—in a show of Terrier pride.
Boston University Ranks 41st in Time’s Inaugural Ranking of World’s Top Universities
Time—in partnership with consumer data company Statista R—ranked Boston University 41st in its list of the World’s Top Universities of 2026, the publication’s first such ranking. BU’s global footprint, measured by both its economic impact and its community of international students and scholars, drove the impressive showing in Time’s compilation of the 100 top universities.
President Gilliam Outlines Her “North Star” Vision for the University’s Future
In her first Presidential Address, Boston University President Melissa Gilliam laid out a bold vision for the future of BU—one that draws upon the institution’s long history of innovation, collaboration, and openness and its strength in interdisciplinary, convergent research—to point the University in a direction that will enable it to meet the current moment and to excel for generations to come.
BU Women’s Hockey Heads to Belfast for Inaugural Women’s Friendship Series
The Boston University women’s hockey team rang in the new year abroad, traveling to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to play in the inaugural women’s Friendship Series—the only NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey tournament held outside North America. The Friendship Series celebrates the official sister-city relationship between Boston and Belfast, blending elite hockey with cultural and community engagement.
School of Theology Receives $1 Million to Build a Support Network of New England Churches
A new Boston University School of Theology initiative seeks to give churches across the region a boost of hope by convening groups of ordained and lay leaders to share resources and feel more connected. The New Wineskins Network, funded with a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow initiative, will create small groups of church leaders from congregations across New England—with support from School of Theology students, staff, and faculty—to address contemporary challenges facing congregations and their local communities.
BU Biomedical Engineer Christopher Chen Elected to National Academy of Medicine
Boston University biomedical engineer Christopher Chen has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the nonprofit institution founded to provide objective advice to the US government. Chen is the founding director of BU’s Biological Design Center, which studies cells and biological systems with the goal of better controlling them to benefit human health and the environment. His research could lead to lifesaving new regenerative medicines to treat disease. The founder of three successful biomedical businesses, Chen was also recently named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow. In 2022, Chen cofounded the biotechnology company Satellite Bio to develop tissue implants to repair or replace diseased organs.
BU Community Defines Eight Values That Will Shape the University for Generations
In a year-long process that began after the Living Our Values initiative was announced in fall 2024, faculty, staff, students, and alumni agreed on a set of eight values for Boston University. These guiding principles will shape the University community and its campus life and amplify the impact BU is making in the world. The approach included nearly 100 meetings with various community members and extensive research into peer colleges and universities to learn how they define and share their own values. These eight values are: integrity, excellence, learning, community, global, inclusion, service, and collaboration.
