Discovery: Research at Princeton

View the 2022 edition of our annual research magazine, Discovery: Research at Princeton.
Princeton's annual magazine, Discovery: Research at Princeton, introduces readers to the innovative and multifaceted research being conducted in engineering, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities – by faculty members, staff researchers, graduate students and undergraduates.
Princeton’s dual missions of education and research are exemplified in the creative endeavors described in these pages, enabling the advancement of knowledge and the opportunity to fulfill Princeton’s informal motto, In the nation’s service and the service of humanity.

Fast-tracked adaptation
A biologist follows elephants, urban lizards and wolves in a quest to document how humans impact evolution.

Artificial intelligence enters a new era
Princeton computer scientists usher in the next era of artificial intelligence.

Beyond guess and check
Some problems are so complex, they could take trillions of years to solve.

Photo by Aude Guerrucci
Bridging the divide
Two newly hired professors bring expertise in development economics to solving global challenges.

Shariffa Ali, theater maker
When a two-week trip to the U.S. fell through, Ali created new spaces of possibility.

Art History (Hx)
A Princeton-led project brings together scholars and artists to examine the intersection of colonialism, medicine, and works of historical and contemporary art.

Bouncing back from adversity
Princeton neuroscientists Lindsay Willmore, Annegret Falkner and Ilana Witten found that mice that fight back display greater resilience.

Photo by Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy
Soaking up the sun
The Princeton Space Physics Lab sets its sights on the heliosphere. David McComas, Vice President for Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and professor of astrophysical sciences, and postdoctoral researcher Jamie lead graduate and undergraduate students in building flight instruments for NASA.

Do today: Find something new about the universe
Princeton physicist Isobel Ojalvo looks to tiny particles to answer life’s big questions as she explores the building blocks of matter at the world’s largest particle collider.

Our fusion future
The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory aims to harness the sun’s power to achieve climate goals.