At Northwestern, research sparks change.
Our faculty, students, and partners team up across disciplines to ask big questions, solve tough problems, and turn bold ideas into real solutions. From breakthroughs in medicine, engineering, and AI to advances in sustainability, the social sciences, and the arts, Northwestern is deeply connected to the world it serves. Welcome to where innovation meets what matters.
Discover how our work makes a difference.
Northwestern's 22 interdisciplinary research institutes and centers produce groundbreaking discoveries with real-world impact.
From nanotechnology to biological sciences, energy, sustainability, and policy, their pioneering research transcends boundaries, sparking collaboration across disciplines and schools to solve problems and improve lives.
Northwestern’s institutional priorities advance cutting-edge research to address global challenges.
Our scientists and researchers deliver cutting-edge treatments and cures through their pathbreaking work.
Northwestern's expertise in sustainability is driving impactful solutions to the climate crisis.
Data science and AI drive innovation across STEM, the arts and the humanities.
Our social science and global studies hub will nurture research collaborations in liberal arts, policy and beyond.
Northwestern faculty are pioneers in team science and interdisciplinary research, tackling urgent challenges to create new knowledge and meaningful innovation.
Professors Eli Finkel ’97 and Nour Kteily have spent years working to understand—and find solutions to—polarization, misperception and conflict. In February 2024 they co-founded the Center for Enlightened Disagreement, an innovative University-wide research hub, to bring together leading thinkers, conduct research and help us all have healthier conversations.
Professor Vicky Kalogera and her colleagues have been advancing innovation at the intersection of AI and astrophysics for years, positioning the University as a leader in this area. Northwestern’s ascent is reflected most recently in its leadership of the NSF-Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI Institute), which will develop AI astronomy tools that will allow researchers to make breakthrough discoveries.
Materials scientist Cécile Chazot and her team are striving to boost the functionality of polymers and design new, more sustainable materials — ones that not only are functional and high-performing but also can be manufactured with a far lower carbon footprint and recycled more easily.
Professor Andy Papachristos is working alongside those most affected by gun violence in order to reduce shootings, understand risk factors and empower communities. His team's research shows that violence intervention efforts are making a difference.
Northwestern cultivates a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem for faculty and students, driven by the Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO). INVO manages intellectual property and assists faculty in launching companies through the state-of-the-art Querrey InQbation Lab. Students thrive at The Garage, a dynamic hub for incubating ideas and accessing essential support.
Empowering innovation, elevating excellence.
The Office for Research enhances Northwestern's research programs by fostering interdisciplinarity, collaboration and innovation. It provides the enabling infrastructure—including core facilities and University-wide research institutes and centers—to support thematic research communities and strategic priorities while empowering researchers to drive discovery with societal impact.
At Northwestern, student research starts on day one. The Office of Undergraduate Research awards funding to hundreds of students each year; a majority of these students are engaged in independent research and creative projects.
Water molecules form bridges between mineral and carbohydrates to lock in moisture, study finds
Study finds a new biological trigger for anaphylaxis and a drug — Zileuton — that stopped it
Twenty-five years of SuperAger research show cognitive decline is not an inevitable part of aging