News by Topic: Grants

Saunders College of Business was awarded a $4.7 million grant from New York state as part of the Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program. The grant will support the planned major renovation and expansion to Max Lowenthal Hall, home of Saunders College, made possible by a transformational gift from serial entrepreneur and philanthropist E. Philip Saunders.

School of Individualized Study student Harrison Canning and his business partner, Colin Fausnaught, a 2019 software engineering graduate from RIT, formed the BCI Guys, which stands for brain-computer interface technology. They recently launched an online educational series to lower the barrier of entry and inspire others to join the field.

A team of researchers that develops artificial intelligence systems is putting its work to a unique new test: creating machines capable of playing the popular video game Starcraft II. Researchers think it could be an important stepping stone to advancing practical solutions such as self-driving cars, service robots, and other real-world applications.

Assistant Professor Pratik Dholabhai from RIT’s School of Physics and Astronomy received an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award and grant for his five-year project to conduct fundamental physics research on complex materials in solid oxide fuel cells.

An RIT faculty member is creating new artificial intelligence systems that could empower agricultural researchers, breeders, nurseries, and other users to analyze the roots of their crops with the power of their smartphones. Assistant Professor Guoyu Lu is receiving a $450,000 New Investigator grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct the research.

Research activities for the three-year, field-based research project will be organized and led by Kelly McCauley Krish, IPI preventive conservation specialist. The study will apply data from temperature, relative humidity, and pollutant monitoring to comprehensively balance these known risks to collections when implementing energy-saving mechanical system operations.

RIT Professor Jan van Aardt from the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science is receiving more than $357,000 in funding from the United States Department of Agriculture to help grape growers make data-driven nutrient-management decisions.

RIT engineering faculty-researcher Panos Markopoulos recently received an Air Force Young Investigator Program award to develop a more robust sensor analysis system to better evaluate data simultaneously from sources such as cameras, oscilloscopes, and other sensors.

Several School of Physics and Astronomy faculty secured large grants as principal investigators during a banner summer.

RIT’s behavioral health program is expanding in new directions with a clinic on campus and federal funding to deliver addiction treatment in rural communities in upstate New York and New Hampshire.

Shaun Foster is leveraging $160,000 from an Epic Games MegaGrant to explore and develop dynamic virtual content that is opening the eyes of RIT faculty and students—and many others—to Unreal Engine’s myriad, multi­disciplinary possibilities.

RIT had its best year ever for sponsored research funding. For fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, RIT received 382 new awards totaling $82 million. The record funding follows almost $58 million in research expenditures in fiscal year 2019, also a record.