The 10th anniversary of Celebrate Princeton Innovation, about which you can read more below, presented an opportunity to reflect on the University's efforts to expand its commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship and economic impact, under the guiding principle of making advancements in the service of humanity. Faculty collaborations with technology corporations such as Google and Microsoft support cutting edge research in artificial intelligence and health and bring major technology investment to the state. Partnerships with New Jersey biomedical companies and organizations, like Celgene and the NJ Health Foundation, will lead to new types of medical treatment and other new technologies. New connections between researchers and industry are forming through tools such as the Research with Princeton website that feeds into EDA's Research with New Jersey database.

This issue of @princeton.edu highlights many of these partnerships and other initiatives to benefit society, from protecting democracy to improving artificial intelligence and removing carbon from the atmosphere. You can follow Princeton's news and announcement in real time by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.

We, at the Office of Public Affairs, thank you for your interest in research and innovation at Princeton University and wish you a happy holiday season.

 

GOVERNOR MURPHY ON CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION IN NJ

Innovation key to NJ climate, economic future, Gov. Murphy tells Andlinger meeting at Princeton

Declaring clean energy central to New Jersey’s economic future, Gov. Phil Murphy addressed a gathering at Princeton University in November and sketched his plan to bring a range of new technologies to the state. Read more.

Learn more about the work of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment to meet the challenges of a changing climate.

 

PARTNERSHIPS AND PROGRAMS

Google to open artificial intelligence lab in Princeton and collaborate with University researchers

Two Princeton University computer science professors will lead a new Google AI lab opening in January in the town of Princeton. The lab is expected to expand New Jersey’s burgeoning innovation ecosystem by building a collaborative effort to advance research in artificial intelligence. The work in the lab will focus on a discipline within artificial intelligence known as machine learning, in which computers learn from existing information and develop the ability to draw conclusions and make decisions in new situations that were not in the original data. Learn more.  And thanks to Governor Murphy for the shout out about the lab!

 

Princeton Catalysis Initiative and Celgene sign 10-year, $6 million partnership

The Princeton Catalysis Initiative (PCI), an effort to accelerate interdisciplinary collaboration on catalysis across the University and with industry, is flexing its muscles. PCI's first industrial partnership, a 10-year, $6 million commitment from Celgene was signed Nov. 1. Catalysis is a key technological driver for solutions to many outstanding problems of increasing social concern, including the development of alternative energy technologies, environmental remediation strategies, access to novel pharmaceuticals and antibiotics, sustainable agriculture, and renewable soft materials. Learn more.

 

NJ Health Foundation and Princeton enter into agreement worth up to $10 million

Princeton University and the New Jersey Health Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that supports health-related research and education, have entered into an agreement that potentially provides $10 million over the next five years to support healthcare and drug discovery-related technology projects, and the start-up companies that hope to build upon the groundbreaking research for public use and benefit. Learn more.

 

 

Gift expands impact of Center for Information Technology Policy

With the help of recent anonymous donation, Princeton will establish a new technology and democracy program within the University’s Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP). The program will include a first-of-its-kind technology policy clinic that will help inform federal, state and local policymakers about emerging digital technologies, particularly potential technology threats to the democratic process. Learn more.

 

 

 

Princeton and Microsoft collaborate to tackle fundamental challenges in microbiology

Microsoft is helping Princeton to better understand the mechanisms of biofilms - surface-associated communities of bacteria – that are the leading cause of microbial infection worldwide and kill as many people as cancer does. They are also a leading cause of antibiotic resistance, a problem highlighted by the World Health Organization as “a global crisis that we cannot ignore.” Understanding how biofilms form could enable new strategies to disrupt them. Learn more.

 

 

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Merging memory and computation, programmable chip speeds AI, slashes power use

By shifting a fundamental property of computation, Princeton researchers have built a new type of computer chip that boosts the performance and slashes the energy demands of systems used for artificial intelligence. The chip, which works with standard programming languages, could be particularly useful on phones, watches or other devices that rely on high-performance computing and have limited battery life. Learn more.

 

 

Pacala chairs national committee calling for immediate push for CO2-removal technology

The escalating effects of climate change now demand a substantial research initiative to develop and launch “negative emissions technologies” (NETs) that remove and sequester carbon dioxide directly from the air, according to a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Learn more.

 

 

 

Celebrate Princeton Invention honors faculty inventions and entrepreneurial spirit

Technologies and discoveries with the potential to make a difference in everyday lives lined the tables and booths at Princeton University's 10th annual Celebrate Princeton Innovation reception. Among the technologies on display: A genetic test that can determine your dog's sociability level, a system for providing fast Wi-Fi downloads for people on the go, a low-cost water purification system, and a new screening platform for new drugs to treat hepatitis. Learn more.

Thanks to Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake and the 34th district for sending along a proclamation acknowledging the University’s “steadfast commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship.” 

 

ICYMI

Politics & Polls

This weekly podcast, produced by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, features professors Julian Zelizer and Sam Wang, who debate and discuss a broad spectrum of topics related to politics and current events. Recent podcasts include “Conservatism Today” with Arthur Brooks, President of American Enterprise Institute, “Midterms Reactions” with Valerie Jarrett, former Senior Advisor to President Obama, and "The Politics of Climate Change" with author Jeff Nesbit.