Research in the CEMSE Division clusters into three main areas:

• Electrical engineering, including the development of communication networks; CMOS integrated circuits; electronic and optics/photonics devices; micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS); various types of sensors, measurement and detection devices; as well as functional- and nano-materials.
• Mathematical analysis, including modeling and simulations with applications to physical, chemical, biological and environmental processes; materials science; oil exploration and reservoir management.
• Computer science and big data, including bioinformatics; statistics; and visual and extreme computing.

Research in the CEMSE Division is driven by independent faculty labs and three Research Centers with which Faculty can affiliate to perform applied, goal-oriented research. Centers affiliated with the Division include:​

• Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC)
• Extreme Computing Research Center (ECRC)
• Visual Computing Center (VCC)

In addition, from time to time, the Division undertakes additional exploratory and collaborative research initiatives, with current activity in the following areas: Numerical Porous Media and Uncertainty Quantification.