Innovation & Research

Red tractor trailer parked beside solar and wind power facilities
All amenities in the docking terminal of PITT OHIO’s Harmar facility — including lights, electric forklifts, computers and battery chargers — operate from power supplied by an on-site microgrid designed by Pitt’s Gregory Reed and a cohort of Swanson School of Engineering graduate students.
Ng wearing red framed glasses and a dark coat
A team led by engineer Carla Ng has developed a computer model to predict the presence of pollutants in farmed salmon. She found that fish, too, are what they eat.
Evan Facher headshot in suit jacket shirt and tie
Under the leadership of Evan Facher, Pitt innovators started a record 23 new companies in FY18. Facher now moves into the new position of vice chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Sharma head shot
It seems like something from a sci-fi movie: humans wearing bionic technology to move more easily. But Pitt researchers are turning fiction into a reality, aiming to help people with paraplegia.
Fiedler in a checkered shirt
Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, Goeran Fiedler’s two-year study is researching the effectiveness of a new type of prosthetic socket liner for individuals with below-knee amputations.
Carvunis, with dark hair and red lipstick
Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis studies the parts of DNA that were once thought to be junk. What she found there overturned a fundamental assumption of cellular biology.
Many social situations involve alcohol, but little is known about why people drink and how drinking might affect perceptions of others. A study by Pitt psychologists offers the field next steps for answering those questions.
Pitt–Bradford’s Rebecca McHugh, an assistant professor of developmental psychology, returns to Anthrocon to study identity and stigma among furries — a global community of anthropomorphic fans.
Mark Nordenberg speaking at microphone
Pitt is taking a leading role in tackling the public health crisis by strengthening its prevention, treatment and recovery programs to bring meaningful change to the lives of students.
The Modeling and Managing Complicated Systems Institute will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze massive data sets, helping to find new solutions to national security challenges, the aging process and the opioid epidemic.