Big Ideas
We believe in the potential of engineering to lead the way in solving some of our biggest challenges, creating a better future for both people and the planet. We are the inheritors of a long tradition of excellence and innovation, tasked with stewarding an incredible wealth of resources in terms of faculty, staff, students, and facilities.
Frontiers of Excellence
Focused efforts often make the biggest difference. At Columbia Engineering, we’ve identified a number of areas where we are positioned as global leaders with the ability to make a significant contribution, leveraging our resources for maximum impact.
We start from foundational areas of expertise. Through contributions from leading researchers and collaborative centers engaging every department at the School of Engineering, we are making true breakthroughs in AI & computer science, the development of novel materials, and the design of the sophisticated sensors and devices that are yielding startling new information about the world around us.
We then draw on this expertise to empower interdisciplinary research. We are focusing our attention on places where our greatest advances interface with the world’s most pressing problems, particularly in the areas of sustainability & climate and medicine & health.
Finally, we look outward. We seek to touch the world beyond campus through the intentional fostering and support of an entrepreneurial ecosystem that is moving discovery out of the lab and into the marketplace. Moreover, we are investing in the future of the discipline by re-envisioning engineering education and harnessing the potential of the latest technologies to make learning more accessible and impactful.
Engineering for Humanity
Researchers may set out to answer a specific question, or address a need in the market. At Columbia Engineering we have made a decision to set our sights higher, to see our work in service of the ultimate goal of improving life for all.
This not only gives us an enhanced sense of purpose, but provides a strategic focus, helping us to prioritize research that advances human well-being, creating a future that is:
- Sustainable: where a growing population can enjoy a high quality of life while stewarding our resources and the natural environment for the generations to come.
- Healthy: where medicine is increasingly personalized, precise, and focused on a holistic view of the health of individuals and populations.
- Secure: where we are better able to anticipate risks and shape the complex physical, financial, digital, and other systems of the modern world to be robust, resilient, and sensitive to the interests of the individuals impacted by them.
- Connected: where the abundance of data streaming from ubiquitous and networked devices is mined for insights that improve life while privacy and security are carefully guarded.
- Creative: where tools and techniques developed by engineers fuel discovery and expression across the disciplines and facilitate collaboration in pursuit of novel solutions to the biggest problems.
Columbia Student Support Initiative
We know the power of a Columbia education to transform a life and set a career in motion that will impact many. We also know cost can be an obstacle that prevents some of the most promising students from being able to take advantage of this opportunity.
Launched in 2021, the Columbia Student Support Initiative is a bold effort to close the gap, making the best education accessible to the best students, no matter their financial resources.
Innovation, Design & Entrepreneurship
Engineers are problem solvers, looking for ways to translate cutting-edge research into practical solutions that can start making a difference in the real world.
It’s no surprise, then, that Columbia engineering plays a vital role in a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurial activity, serving as a catalyst for discovery and a pipeline for talent in New York’s bustling startup sector.
Our comprehensive programming includes training, mentorship, and venture funding for students to pursue their ideas, as well as specialized maker spaces and innovation labs serving both campus and the wider community.