Research Centers, Projects and Initiatives

In collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the AI Measurement Science and Engineering Cooperative Research Center (AIMSEC) is helping build the capabilities needed for the safe and effective real-world deployment of AI.

Housed at Heinz College, the research hub brings together experts in AI, measurement science and machine learning to address the vulnerabilities of AI technologies and ensure their reliability and trustworthiness.

The Arts Management and Technology Laboratory (AMTLab) serves as a catalyst for innovative ideas and a conduit for knowledge circulating at the intersection of arts, management and technology.

AMTLab provides current and future arts managers, technologists and researchers with knowledge of best practices and emerging technologies that allow for a direct impact on their work and their organization. 

The Block Center for Technology and Society was established to examine the societal consequences of technological change and create meaningful plans of action.

The center focuses on how emerging technologies will alter the future of work, how AI and analytics can be harnessed for social good, and how innovation in these spaces can be more inclusive. The center generates targeted, relevant solutions that reduce inequality and improve quality of life.

The Center for Behavioral Decision Research (CBDR) supports the university's new and existing research in the decision sciences. 

Behavioral decision research builds on the fields of psychology, economics, neuroscience, and public policy to answer applied and theoretical questions of decision-making. These goals are met through the CBDR's seminar series, small grants program, working paper series, and public experiment scheduling site.

The Center for Collaboration Science (CoLab) at CMU catalyzes and supports collaboration science research and education across disciplines, advancing innovative teamwork solutions that impact research, practice, and policy. Jointly housed at the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and the Tepper School of Business, CoLab connects researchers from across CMU to explore how people, teams, and technologies work together most effectively. The Center hosts seminars, workshops, and community events, and manages a digital infrastructure that fosters interdisciplinary exchange and visibility. By bridging insights from business, psychology, computer science, and beyond, CoLab builds the foundation for smarter collaboration in a rapidly changing world.

Advances in computer technology often have the unfortunate consequence of introducing and/or exacerbating security vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can harm everyone, from the home computer user to small businesses, large corporations or anyone else dependent on the nation's telecommunications and financial systems. To counter that threat, Carnegie Mellon University has launched a security initiative designed to protect all computer users from interference by cyber terrorists and hackers. The interdisciplinary team that makes up CyLab includes more than 50 researchers and 80 students from CMU's College of Engineering, School of Computer Science, and Heinz College, as well as the CERT Coordination Center of the Software Engineering Institute.

The Digital Transformation and Innovation Center, sponsored by PwC, has expanded its mission to examine the impacts of digital technologies across a variety of industries to develop viable, deployable solutions to global business challenges. Since its launch in 2017, the Center focused on innovation in regulatory compliance and the application of artificial intelligence to risk and compliance-related issues in the auditing, data analytics, information privacy and security sectors. Leveraging CMU’s world-class thought and research leadership with PwC’s strategic client-engagement expertise, current areas of focus include data analytics, cybersecurity and privacy, and safe cities research.

iLab at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College is an inter-disciplinary research center consisting of faculty and students from Heinz College, the Department of Statistics, the Department of Machine Learning, the School of Computer Science and the Tepper School of Business.

• Facilitate problem-driven inter-disciplinary research on IT management and policy problems
• Enable innovative multi-dimensional collaborations between iLab faculty, students, and organizations
• Incubate entrepreneurial culture by encouraging the creation of intellectual property by faculty and students
• Serve as a channel to create and distribute educational and research products of the school

Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College has teamed with the School of Information Systems at Singapore Management University to establish the Living Analytics Research Centre (LARC). LARC develops new approaches to understanding consumer and social behavior that will benefit consumers, producers, and distributors of digital goods and services. LARC draws on the cross-disciplinary strengths of SMU and CMU faculty and spans the two universities' campuses. It is physically anchored at SMU’s School of Information Systems in Singapore and at Heinz College's iLab in Pittsburgh.

The Digital Vaccine Project at Carnegie Mellon University develops gamified, evidence-based digital therapeutics that promote healthy behaviors and prevent lifestyle-related diseases. By combining neuroscience, behavioral science, and AI, the project creates engaging interventions—especially for children—that use neurocognitive training to shape positive habits. Through rigorous trials and data analysis, the team aims to deliver scalable, low-risk solutions that empower individuals to take charge of their well-being from an early age.

The Initiative for Digital Entertainment Analytics (IDEA) at Carnegie Mellon University conducts research into timely public policy and managerial questions raised by the emergence of digital distribution channels for entertainment content. Growth of the Internet and mobile devices has created new distribution opportunities in the entertainment industry as companies innovate to meet changes in consumer demand, and has given rise to new business challenges from digital piracy networks, bringing issues of copyright, intellectual property, and counterfeiting to the forefront. IDEA is an interdisciplinary university-wide effort led by acclaimed CMU professors Michael D. Smith and Rahul Telang from the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

The Initiative for Teaching and Education Analytics (iTEA) at Carnegie Mellon University harnesses the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to transform how students learn and how educators teach. By analyzing learning behaviors and outcomes, iTEA develops tools that personalize online education to meet the needs of individual learners. With a focus on equity and access, the initiative aims to make education more adaptive, inclusive, and effective for diverse learners around the world.