Research is at the core of scientific breakthroughs and the engine of technological innovation. In its first decade, NYU Shanghai has made advances towards becoming one of the world’s elite research universities. NYU Shanghai has leveraged the unique strengths of its founding partners, New York University and East China Normal University, by establishing joint research institutes in areas with potential for significant impact, including Mathematical Sciences, Brain and Cognitive Science, Computational Chemistry, and Physics. It also formed an interdisciplinary platform - Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning.
Mathematical sciences are a foundation of development in science and engineering. The NYU-ECNU Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU Shanghai, established in 2013, has been working intensely on theories and applications of probability, nonlinear partial differential equations, mathematical applications in fluid dynamics, biology, materials science, and computational neuroscience. Nobel Laureate and NYU Professor of Economics and Business Thomas J. Sargent joined the Institute in September 2021, initiating a new research direction in mathematical finance.
There is also a strong emphasis at NYU Shanghai on another important frontier, the study of the brain. The NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai conducts interdisciplinary research in cognitive science and neuroscience while educating the next generation of scientists in these fields. Scholars are focused on foundational and transformative research in auditory and visual processing, speech and language, learning and memory, and decision making, using behavioral, neuroscience, brain imaging, and computational modeling approaches. They are also expanding into new frontiers such as deep integration of AI and cognitive neuroscience.
Today’s rapid developments in physics and chemistry introduce new opportunities and challenges. The NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai directs its resources towards exploring quantum information, condensed matter physics, atomic-molecular physics, and fluid physics. The NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai takes the study of theoretical and computational chemistry as its focus, conducting research on quantum chemistry, computation and simulation of biomolecular systems, molecular dynamics of complex systems, and photochemistry.
The University is also building an interdisciplinary research platform, integrating data science and artificial intelligence. Three research clusters have been established, focusing on advancing AI and deep learning, especially algorithms and applications of fluid intelligence, “people-oriented” AI and deep learning for metaverse; exploring mathematical foundations of machine learning and AI; and applying deep learning approaches in biochemistry, neuroscience, and smart cities.
NYU Shanghai’s faculty members enjoy a nurturing and collaborative academic environment and are making important research breakthroughs. Even in its early years as a research institution, NYU Shanghai’s research has already been published in prominent journals such as Science, Neuron, Physical Review Letters, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Inventiones Mathematicae.
