Penn Engineering
This deep reservoir of creativity has the potential to redefine health, sustainability, intelligent systems and the very way we educate the next generation of engineers. What these ideas need is timely, flexible support at the moment they matter most.
The Futures Fund Partnership for Innovation is designed to provide exactly that. Through this philanthropic collaboration, we unlock leading-edge research and bold educational advancements, ensuring that breakthrough concepts do not wait for opportunity, but are propelled toward it.
Together, we are building a durable, agile framework that accelerates discovery toward major external grants, new research centers, novel startups and industry partnerships. At the same time, we are developing new models of teaching and learning that prepare engineers to lead responsibly and creatively in a rapidly changing world.
By placing philanthropic resources at the precise point of opportunity, you help turn early promise into lasting progress. In doing so, we create not only breakthroughs, but a shared legacy of impact.
Vijay Kumar Nemirovsky Family Dean Penn Engineering
Penn Engineering combines depth of talent, world-class infrastructure and a uniquely cross-disciplinary culture that spans all 12 schools at Penn and Philadelphia’s growing innovation ecosystem. This proximity to experts in medicine, business, education, law, design and public policy fosters collaborations that produce outcomes that no single discipline can achieve alone.
Penn Engineering consistently ranks among the nation’s leading research institutions. Strategic recruitment has strengthened expertise in AI, energy, health, robotics and advanced materials, infusing fresh vision into critical fields. Our facilities include modern wet labs, fabrication spaces, nanoscale research laboratories and next-generation computing capabilities. Our students are drawn from around the world by Penn Engineering’s reputation for academic excellence, a collaborative culture and its commitment to responsible innovation.
For more than 170 years, Penn Engineering has been a pioneer in research and technological innovation. From the invention of ENIAC at The Moore School in the 1940s to today’s Nobel Prize-winning mRNA vaccine technology, many important breakthroughs began here as bold, unproven ideas. The Futures Fund carries this legacy forward by ensuring that our most promising ideas have the support they need to mature into revolutionary outcomes.
Breakthroughs begin with collaborative, exploratory research, yet due to the tightening of federal support and increased competition, early-stage discovery is facing growing pressure. As a result, high-potential ideas and the researchers who drive them have fewer resources at the moment they matter most.
Penn Engineering is built for this moment. As reflected in Penn’s In Principle and Practice framework, the University has made leadership on grand challenges a central priority. The Futures Fund responds to this call by establishing a resilient funding model that reduces reliance on traditional sources while keeping bold research and educational innovation at the forefront.
The Futures Fund serves as a catalyst and a proactive engine for emerging research initiatives.
Our philanthropic partners join us as lead investors on the ground floor of novel science and technology projects, where small, timely awards help promising ideas reach key proof points that unlock large competitive grants, new research centers, startup ventures and industry partnerships.
To address humanity’s greatest challenges, Futures Fund support can include seed funding to foster early-stage research, translation of lab research to validated prototypes and products, and critical infrastructure like core facilities, advanced computing and data capacity. A significant portion of resources strengthens doctoral training and research computing, ensuring that people and platforms progress together.
Building on the Big Ideas introduced through Penn Engineering 2030, the Futures Fund focuses on three scientific frontiers where the School is positioned to drive discovery, accelerate translation and expand societal impact. These areas represent powerful opportunities for philanthropic partners to catalyze breakthroughs:
When projects are realized, resulting returns are reinvested into the School, creating an ever-renewing engine for innovation.
At Penn Engineering, we recognize that research excellence and educational innovation are inseparable.
Education is being reshaped by rapid developments in AI, digital tools and shifting workforce demands. The ability to adapt, think critically and apply learning in complex, real-world contexts has never been more important. Higher education must develop and integrate new technologies responsibly, preparing students not only to master today’s tools but to lead in fields that are still emerging. Institutions that innovate in how they teach as well as what they teach will define the next era of educational impact.
Preparing engineers for the age of AI and beyond requires reimagining how engineering education must benefit society. The Futures Fund’s philanthropic partners have the opportunity to support several interconnected areas of educational innovation, including:
Together, these efforts create an environment where flexible philanthropic support enables faculty partnerships, cross-school collaborations and rapid experimentation with new pedagogical approaches that will extend Penn’s reach far beyond campus.
The Futures Fund supports bold, early-stage research and educational innovation through a rigorous, competitive RFP process aligned with the School’s strategic priorities. Faculty submit proposals that are reviewed and prioritized based on potential impact, alignment with frontier areas and a clear articulation of why Penn is uniquely positioned to lead.
Philanthropic funds are allocated to maximize the societal impact of high-risk, high-reward projects. Resources support doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, specialized staff, research supplies, advanced computing, commercialization activities and essential infrastructure. Funds are used exclusively for project-specific costs that are necessary to perform or support the work.
The Futures Fund is directed by the Dean in consultation with the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and advised by a Futures Fund Board composed of philanthropic partners, distinguished academic leaders and industry experts. This governance structure ensures strategic focus, transparency and accountability. An annual Futures Fund Impact Forum will convene faculty, students, donors and partners to showcase progress and identify additional emerging opportunities.
The Futures Fund Partnership Opportunities honor the visionary leadership and generosity of those whose commitments power this initiative. Opportunities begin at $50,000.*
Partners may choose to support the Futures Fund as a whole, giving Penn Engineering the flexibility to invest where opportunity and need are greatest, or to direct their philanthropy toward a specific research frontier or area of educational innovation that reflects their passions and vision for impact.
*Gifts may be fulfilled over a period of up to five years.
Your contribution accelerates high-impact research and educational innovation and empowers faculty, students and collaborators to pursue bold work that addresses society’s greatest challenges. A commitment to the Futures Fund positions Penn Engineering for sustained leadership in the decade ahead and beyond.
