Biomedical engineering at Michigan Tech is supported by a robust network of biomedical research centers and interdisciplinary institutes that drive health innovation, translational research, and industry collaboration. These centers connect faculty, graduate students, clinicians, and external partners to advance biomedical engineering research, medical device development, biomaterials, biosensors, data-driven health technologies, and computational modeling. Through institutes such as the Health Research Institute (HRI), Translational Health Engineering Research Center (THERC), Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC), and Institute of Materials Processing (IMP), researchers gain access to shared facilities, cross-disciplinary expertise, and pathways for technology transfer and commercialization, strengthening Michigan Tech’s role as a leader in collaborative biomedical and healthcare research.
At Michigan Tech, researchers in the Health Research Institute (HRI) are tackling a variety of health-related challenges, whether that is developing material for better wound care, creating vaccines, studying alcohol’s effects on the nervous system, designing a magnetoelastic sensor for use in an artificial knee, or growing heart muscle cells faster and stronger with less chance of rejection. The research is translational, interdisciplinary, and increasingly convergent.
Mission
The mission of the Health Research Institute is to establish and maintain a thriving environment that promotes translational, interdisciplinary, and increasingly convergent health-related research and inspires education and outreach activities.
Visit the HRI website to learn more!
Translational Health Engineering Research Center (THERC)
The Translational Health Engineering Research Center (THERC) at Michigan Technological University in West Michigan will become a nationally visible research hub, promoting on- and off-campus collaborations with industry, researchers, and clinicians, and creating an environment that enhances external funding. THERC is a part of Michigan Tech’s Health Research Institute (HRI) which has 59 members from 14 academic departments across campus. This is a cooperative research community which sponsors activities to improve community health, graduate fellowship programs, along with a robust faculty mentoring program.
Mission
The mission of the Transitional Health Engineering Research Center (THERC) is to create, expand and accelerate research activities to improve health.
Mission
The mission of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) is to promote research and learning experiences in the areas of cyber-physical systems, cybersecurity, data sciences, human-centered computing, and scalable architectures and systems for the benefit of Michigan Tech and society at large.
Objectives
- Bring faculty and students together to discover innovative new knowledge in the field of computing
- Foster interdisciplinary collaborations and enable faculty to develop multidisciplinary proposals and conduct impactful research which otherwise would not be possible
- Create a platform for broad sets of national and international collaborations to make valuable contributions to the field
- Promote The Alliance for Computing, Information, and Automation (ACIA) external visibility
Centers
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Culture and Technology (CIRCT)
- The Elizabeth and Richard Henes Center for Quantum Phenomena (CQP)
Visit the ICC website to learn more!
The Institute of Material Processing (IMP) exists to provide, maintain, and encourage partnerships for the use of facilities supporting synthesis, processing, and the manufacture of a wide range of engineering materials and product prototypes. IMP-maintained capabilities include several variants based on melt processing, various deformation-processing strategies, particulate (powder)-based methods, and emerging capabilities in metal-based additive manufacturing. The facilities support a wide range of university activities, including production of advanced and experimental materials for faculty-led research, industry-led process development, support of instructional labs, interdisciplinary collaboration, outreach, and serves as a means to advance the “maker environment” at Michigan Tech by enabling the transition of entrepreneurial concepts into pilot-scale production. When coupled with the university's core Materials Characterization Fabrication Facility (MCFF) and Michigan Tech's suite of material processing and complementary characterization facilities represents an impressive breadth of capabilities enabling advanced in-house experimentation, discovery, and development at a level and scale that is unique among universities nationally and internationally.
Visit the IMP website to learn more!
The Research and Innovation in STEAM Education (RISE) Center provides services for faculty and staff interested in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education at all levels.
Purpose
The purpose of the Research and Innovation in STEAM Education (RISE) Center is to recognize, strengthen, and encourage collaboration in STEAM education pedagogy through fundamental and discipline based education research (DBER), and to establish Michigan Technological University as a leader in Michigan, the nation, and the world in the area of STEAM education research. RISE is aligned with the vision for Institutes and Centers on the Michigan Tech campus, which is to help to promote interdisciplinary work that involves faculty from several different departments on and off campus.
- Culture: The RISE Center promotes a culture that values teamwork and collaboration, and recognizes all contributions of faculty, staff, and students to meet our mission. To facilitate this culture, the RISE Center provides support to the University community through programming directed towards implementation of outreach, scholarship and educational research.
- Vision: A collaborative, interdisciplinary community fostering excellent STEAM opportunities for all.
Mission
Maintain a robust community of stakeholders at Michigan Tech, who will serve as the bridge from proposal preparation and submission through empirical activities to outreach and dissemination by engaging in the following activities:
- Serve the research and scholarship activities of the community of educational researchers at Michigan Tech
- Build capacity in STEAM disciplines through networking, scholarly pursuits and interdisciplinary research related to innovative pedagogy, transformative learning, and cutting-edge teaching and learning practices
- Maximize inter-department collaboration to eliminate program duplication, enabling effective use of resources while maximizing the impact made on the Michigan Tech community
Visit the RISE website to learn more!