RIT Research Initiatives Log 20 Percent Increase in Sponsored Funding

A significant increase in financial support highlighted the success of Rochester Institute of Technology’s sponsored research programs during the recently completed fiscal year.

The university received a record total of $58.4 million in funding during that period, a 20 percent increase over last year according to RIT’s Sponsored Research Services. The university received $51.4 million in new research grants and contracts, $3 million in gifts supporting research, and $4 million in support of research at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf.

“This growth reflects the continued efforts of a growing body of principal investigators and the support of numerous faculty and staff at RIT,” says David Bond, director of Sponsored Research Services. “In the past five years, the number of individuals writing research proposals has increased by nearly 30 percent, while the number of proposals has grown by 50 percent.”

The largest sponsor of research at RIT is the federal government, which accounts for $36.7 million of awards received during fiscal year 2009. Agencies within the defense and intelligence community funded new awards worth $14.5 million collectively.

Additional support has resulted from the university’s Corporate Research and Development program, which completed its second full year. The Corporate R&D program is designed to encourage collaboration with industry by putting applied research needs before RIT graduate students. Industry partners include Carestream Health Inc., Harris Corp., Lenel Systems International, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) and PAETEC.

“RIT continues to lead in key areas, while growing a rich portfolio of research in many others,” states Bond.

For more information, visit the Scholarship and Research at RIT Web site.