Aerial view of the Hopkins Whiting Campus in Baltimore

Johns Hopkins Connection

APL: The Nation’s Largest University Affiliated Research Center

University affiliated research centers are independent, not-for-profit organizations that conduct essential research, development, and systems engineering to support national security needs. The centers serve strategic national priorities, free from conflicts of interest or competition with commercial industry. Collaboration with leading research universities allows these organizations to provide the U.S. government with access to our nation’s most highly skilled scientists, engineers, and analysts to tackle vital national security and scientific challenges.

As the nation’s largest university affiliated research center and a division of Johns Hopkins University (JHU), we regularly partner with other Johns Hopkins divisions to solve some of the nation’s—and the world’s—toughest problems.

These interdisciplinary collaborations enhance education and research, strengthen the university’s intellectual outreach, and facilitate ties with the larger scientific and technology community.

Explore Cross-Divisional Collaborations

Engineering for Professionals →

APL provides critical support to the part-time and online graduate programs offered through Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals.

Learn more about Engineering for Professionals

SURPASS →

In spring 2022, JHU announced the creation of SURPASS, a joint multimillion-dollar collaboration initiative with the Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) and APL to foster continued collaboration between engineers and scientists for groundbreaking, life-improving innovation. This open-call proposal program leverages WSE’s and APL’s unique technical strengths and research and development communities. The initiative supports cross-divisional teams dedicated to using innovative, multidisciplinary approaches to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. In the first cycle, SURPASS invested over $3.7 million to fund four projects for 18 months of research. Leadership awarded projects they felt would make great inroads in establishing JHU as pioneers in these fields and could lead to $100 million in external support. SURPASS seeks to boldly reimagine what is possible with streamlined collaboration across JHU, through mission-driven research and breaking down barriers.

Learn more about SURPASS

Space@Hopkins →

APL is connecting with Johns Hopkins divisions, departments, and partners in a common pursuit of space research. Space@Hopkins highlights the wide scope of JHU’s space-related activities to foster collaboration among university-affiliated researchers and provide access to new partnerships. Focusing on eight initial research fields, including heliophysics, planetary science, and spacecraft engineering, the work features collaborations with affiliates such as the Space Telescope Science Institute and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Learn more about Space@Hopkins

An APL staff member and intern collaborate

RISE@APL →

The RISE@APL program is for Johns Hopkins University students majoring in engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, or physics who want to better prepare for a technical career. As a part of RISE@APL, you’ll work alongside experts in your field, focus on professional development, and make critical contributions to our mission.

Learn more about RISE@APL

Partnering for Health

Through APL’s Global Heath Mission Area, we are teaming with Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Whiting School of Engineering on an initiative to apply rigorous data analysis and systems engineering practices to the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The partnership leverages the medical and systems engineering expertise resident at the institutions to create a learning health system that will speed the translation of knowledge to practice while enabling new discoveries through the development and application of advanced analytic tools. Johns Hopkins Medicine has identified several challenging conditions for which precision medicine centers of excellence will improve efficiencies and patient outcomes, while fostering new research and treatment platforms.

Ph.D. Pathways

APL and the Whiting School of Engineering continue their partnership of providing a path for more Whiting School doctoral candidates to conduct their research at APL while offering flexibility for APL staff members seeking doctorates through the Whiting School. APL and JHU are currently exploring how to further increase the number and types of opportunities and reduce real and perceived bureaucratic impediments.

Joint Faculty Appointments

To make sure we provide sponsors with access to the most current and innovative thinking and research, APL supports joint academic appointments with many JHU schools and academic divisions—with the Whiting School of Engineering receiving the largest number. These collaborative efforts enable APL staff members, who hold appointments ranging from assistant professor to full professor, to spend up to 20% of their time collaborating and teaching with JHU faculty and graduate students.