3 tech solutions to societal needs will get help moving to market
3 tech solutions to societal needs will get help moving to market
© 2020 Feinknopf Photography / Brad Feinknopf
Projects targeting heart health, data demands, quantum computing win Grid Accelerator awards
Three research projects that address urgent societal challenges — cardiovascular health, rising data demands, and the future of quantum computation — have won awards from the Harvard Grid Accelerator.
The Grid Accelerator offers funding, mentorship, and hands-on venture development to help academic projects steer emerging technologies toward commercialization. The 2025 awardees:
Help managing blood pressure
A research team in the lab of Professor Katia Bertoldi — led by postdoctoral students Adel Djellouli and Giovanni Bordiga — is developing a novel soft, stent-like device that could help regulate dangerous spikes in blood pressure. Designed to respond to changes in the vascular system, the device represents a potential solution for patients living with hypertension, who often struggle to manage sudden and unpredictable blood pressure fluctuations.
Redefining data networks
In the lab of Professor Kiyoul Yang, a research team led by postdoctoral student Tianyi Zeng is developing an integrated chip-scale optical circuit switch and amplifier — technology with the potential to increase the speed and efficiency of AI data centers. Not only does this technology push hardware limits at a data center scale, expanding internet traffic capacity and enabling high-performance computing, it also shrinks these capabilities down to a size compatible with tomorrow’s miniaturized devices.
Unlocking scalable quantum processing
Yang’s lab is also collaborating with the lab of Professor Mikhail Lukin on a project that could lay the foundation for quantum computers orders of magnitude more powerful than those in use today. Led by postdoctoral fellows Brandon Grinkemeyer and Shankar Menon, the team is developing advanced optical interconnect technology — ultra-high-bandwidth links that will enable hundreds of separate quantum processors to function as one large, unified machine.
The Grid Accelerator builds on a proven track record of the Office of Technology Development Physical Sciences and Engineering Accelerator. Since 2013, projects supported by the Grid/OTD Accelerator have led to the launch of 19 startups that have collectively raised nearly half a billion dollars, along with technology licenses to established companies and sponsored research agreements. The Harvard Grid was launched as a joint initiative of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and OTD.
“These awards exemplify Harvard’s commitment to transforming academic research into innovations with broad, real-world impact,” said Isaac Kohlberg, senior associate provost and chief technology development officer at Harvard. “By supporting promising technologies at this pivotal stage, the Grid Accelerator helps bridge the gap between discovery and meaningful societal benefit.”
SEAS Dean David Parkes also emphasized the program’s impact. “At SEAS, we are committed to fostering translational research and entrepreneurial thinking. Innovation requires the ability to pursue solutions that create meaningful change. The Grid Accelerator helps our researchers in transforming bold ideas into practical solutions that benefit society both locally and worldwide.”
Learn more about the Grid Accelerator awardee projects, previous awardees, and the mission of the Harvard Grid.