News by Topic: Grants

Emiliano Brini, assistant professor in the School of Chemistry and Materials Science, has received an award from the National Institutes of Health to support his research on building the next generation of drugs. Brini and his team of students will develop computational tools that can predict the strength of the interaction between two proteins and how drugs will modify this interaction.

Faculty in RIT’s Modern Languages and Cultures department received an International Research and Studies grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund the development of new materials and curricula for Chinese, Italian, and Spanish courses that focus on STEAM. Associate Professor Zhong Chen, Principal Lecturer Elisabetta D’Amanda, and Department Chair Sara Armengot will spend the next three years developing, testing, and implementing the new materials in the classroom.

Astrophysicist Jason Nordhaus is breaking cultural and disciplinary boundaries by helping to grow the number of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and Hispanic researchers. And, in doing so, he is enabling these future scientists to drive discoveries in one of his areas of expertise—neutron star astrophysics.

Lucia Carichino, assistant professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, has received a Launching Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) award from the National Science Foundation for her research in computational modeling of the interaction between the eye and a contact lens.

RIT researcher Bolaji Thomas is leading a $650,000 study to compare the genetic response in cattle in sub-Saharan Africa to the parasitic disease Trypanosomiasis, or “sleeping sickness,” that attacks their blood and brain. As parasites adapt to a warming world, the biting fly that transmits Trypanosomiasis could someday migrate to northern climates.

RIT and NTID researchers have identified a critical gap between emergency services and the needs of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Now with a $1 million grant, they are working to bridge that divide.

The low-cost multispectral imaging system MISHA, or the Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts, was developed by RIT experts to uncover object details that aren’t visible to the naked eye.

A team of scientists at RIT will expand its work after receiving a large grant from the National Science Foundation to make chemistry more accessible for students who rely on American Sign Language interpreters in class. The team has been awarded nearly $380,000 for its proposal to transform chemistry for deaf and hard-of-hearing students via the design, implementation, and evaluation of a descriptive sign language lexicon.

Michael Zuzak, a faculty-researcher at RIT, is one of a growing field of engineers looking to improve computer chip security during manufacturing. Zuzak received a two-year National Science Foundation grant to use the developmental practice of logic obfuscation to enable system-wide security during the manufacturing and testing of integrated circuits.

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute has announced selections for its 2023-2024 Community Grants Program. The program provides nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and local governments both financial and technical assistance for projects that promote and implement pollution-prevention practices at the community level.

Two RIT students have won Google Ph.D. Fellowships for their work as some of the most promising young academics in the world. Emily Kuang and Allahsera Auguste Tapo—both in the computing and information sciences Ph.D. program—will receive full tuition, a stipend, and Google research mentorship as part of their fellowships for up to three years.

RIT business students and faculty have experienced a number of major enhancements to Max Lowenthal Hall since the start of the fall semester, as the home of Saunders College of Business nears completion of a multi-million dollar expansion and renovation project.