About – Nebula Engineering Research Center

What is NEBULA?

NEBULA—the Negative Emission Bioinspired Building Alliance—is an Engineering Research Center (ERC) headquartered at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. Our partners include University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, Princeton University, UMass Dartmouth, and Cornell University, as well as members of industry and other educational institutions. Collectively, we seek to unleash innovation in diverse areas, including the physics and chemistry of materials, additive manufacturing, advanced metal alloys, carbon-negative buildings, data science, architecture, and education.

Our Vision

To enable bioinspired designs and the use of sustainable approaches to reduce carbon emissions through materials engineering. By learning from natural structures and systems, we aim to develop building materials that lower environmental impact and improve long-term performance.

Our Mission

To develop and apply new engineering methods for the built environment that leverage current technologies to help address climate change. This includes creating and testing materials, systems, and design strategies that reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and support more sustainable construction practices across industries.