Recently, WPI was designated an R1 institution, joining the ranks of the nation’s top-tier research institutions.

The R1 designation caps a decade of efforts to expand research and innovation at the university.

Research like that of Haichong (Kai) Zhang, associate professor of robotics engineering and biomedical engineering, and Xihan Ma, a robotics engineering PhD student.

A new robotic technology they’re developing may help save lives by improving the process of matching kidney donors with people awaiting a transplant. Their approach seeks to advance medical evaluations that determine whether a donated kidney is viable to be transplanted.

“Our motivation is to think about how we can streamline the process used to evaluate the viability of donated kidneys to be more reliable and accurate, and to not waste kidneys that potentially can be used to save lives of patients,” said Zhang.

Over the past decade, nearly two dozen start-up companies with unique technologies invented by faculty and students have launched, creating over 500 jobs and raising nearly $1.7 billion in capital.

WPI’s Areas of Greatest Need streamlines support for budding entrepreneurs, like Daniel Pelaez ’20, Noah Parker ’20 and Noah Budris ’20. 

The three friends co-founded Cyvl.ai (formerly Roadgnar), which uses AI to improve the upkeep of public roadways and infrastructure. In the past few years, the company has raised $10M and has worked with more than 300 towns and cities across the world.

“We’re building a technology to solve real problems in this country,” shares Pelaez.

The company first got its start at WPI in 2019, using $1,500 in prize money the team had won during WPI’s Strage Innovation Awards. The Cyvl team also participated in the National Science Foundation-funded I-Corps program, a seven-week entrepreneurial training experience, and Tinkerbox, which provided seed money, mentorship opportunities, and educational workshops to further develop their ideas.

“Honestly, the programs that WPI offered really helped us hit the ground running,” Parker says. “It was a much smaller scale back then, but they really helped us direct our focus.”

This fund invests in pathways for this important work and streamlines support for our faculty, students, and staff.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen impressive growth in research developments and great potential in budding entrepreneurs and startup companies.

Recently, a number of companies with WPI ties were named to TIME magazine’s list of America’s Top Green Tech Companies of 2024. Ascend Elements, co-founded by Yan Wang, the William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical Engineering, came in at No. 10 on the list. Beyond battery recycling, the company produces a sustainable source of domestic lithium-ion battery materials.