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Graduate Study Research and Projects

As RIT transforms into an innovation university, research is becoming an integral part of the learning experience. As a result, you’ll have abundant opportunities to be involved in and contribute to meaningful research and to interact with leaders in your field on campus and around the country.

Three key research programs are offered by RIT—research services, corporate research and development and sponsored research.

The Research Services program includes short-term research projects involving evaluation or analysis, conducted by undergraduates with supervision of faculty or staff. Intellectual property in these projects is not anticipated. The Printing Applications Laboratory in the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences is working with substrate suppliers, under Research Services agreements, to evaluate the performance of different types of media on HP Indigo printing technology.

In the Corporate R&D program, research projects address a specific company problem and typically involve master’s students working directly with the company with mentoring from faculty. Under these agreements the company owns the intellectual property, but RIT retains the right to publish and present the research findings. For example, Kathleen Lamkin-Kennard, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and two mechanical engineering students are working with Johnson & Johnson Ortho Clinical Diagnostics on a Corporate R&D project to develop a modular simulation platform to better simulate antibody/antigen reactions.

Sponsored Research addresses long-term research goals, which advance a specific field or technology and usually involve Ph.D. students working with faculty. All intellectual property developed through the research is owned by RIT and licensed to the sponsor. For the past five years, Karl Hirschman, Micron Professor of Microelectronic Engineering, and a team of graduate students have been conducting a sponsored research project with Corning Inc. to advance the development of silicon-on-glass technology for use in flat-panel displays.

Research at RIT is often inter-disciplinary, giving faculty, staff and students the chance to work with their colleagues in one or more of RIT’s eight colleges. This provides students greater exposure to other disciplines and experience working in a collaborative approach often preferred by business and industry.

In addition to research, RIT’s graduate students also participate in projects pertaining to their academic studies.

Click here for information on international centers, research projects and fellowships being conducted by RIT faculty and staff.

Research Centers and Labs

As a growing research University, RIT has 50 research centers supporting applied research, consulting and innovation.

Imaging Science

Microsystems Engineering

Astrophysical Sciences and Technology

Access and Learning Technologies

Printing and Graphic Media

Computing and Information Sciences

Sustainable Systems

Multidisciplinary Research and Training Centers

The Institute’s research structure, partnerships, opportunities, current projects and publications are described on the main research web site at http://www.rit.edu/research/

Research at RIT

Graduate student honored for his electronic thesis work about ASL

Jeffrey Cougler, an RIT graduate student in computer graphics design, has won an award from The Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations for his exemplary electronic thesis. Cougler’s thesis, ASL Finger... [more]

Grad student designs potential life-saving alert application for South Africans

Many take safe drinking water for granted, but in developing countries like South Africa, 40,000 people die each year from contaminated drinking water. Children and those with weak immune systems are... [more]

Wall Street visit takes students inside America’s crisis

The financial crisis on Wall Street has hit home for many Americans, but eight students from RIT gained a unique perspective as their learning experience shifted from classrooms to New York... [more]

The EA-6B Prowler jet first saw action more than three decades ago in the Vietnam War. They are still in service, but,... [more]

Grad student to utilize alternative-energy sources

One need look only at current gas prices to recognize the need for alternative-energy sources that will reduce dependency on oil while also improving the quality of the environment. However, Cory... [more]

Students at work in RIT’s Center for Nanolithography Research are making big discoveries in a very small world. The researchers have succeeded in producing a 26-nanometer image resolution smaller than one-twentieth the... [more]

Professor takes methodical approach in smoking study

Research at RIT is seeking to enhance knowledge surrounding the impact of smoking on human health. Risa Robinson, associate professor of mechanical engineering, is utilizing computational modeling, medical imaging and mechanical... [more]

RIT engineers use nature to enhance performance of micro devices

When a drop of water or piece of debris lands on a lotus leaf it would appear to the naked eye that nothing unusual was occurring. However, if one were to... [more]