News by Topic: Grants

Researchers from RIT and six other universities are teaming up to build synthetic neurons and a programmable network of such neurons in an effort to better understand the rules of life. The project is part of the National Science Foundation’s “Big Ideas” initiative— 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering.

Making addiction treatment and mental health services accessible to homeless people via TeleHealth is the focus of a federally funded program at RIT.

Three students from the biomedical sciences program traveled with RIT Professor Bolaji Thomas to his native Nigeria to understand the impact tropical diseases such as malaria have on the population and the medical protocols used in treatment.

RIT had its second best year ever in sponsored research funding and a record year for research expenditures in fiscal year 2019. RIT received 366 new awards totaling $74 million in funding, and expenditures grew to $58 million.

NASA is awarding a team of researchers from RIT and Dartmouth College a grant to develop a detector capable of sensing and counting single photons that could be crucial to future NASA astrophysics missions. The extremely sensitive detector would allow scientists to see the faintest observable objects in space, such as Earth-like planets around other stars.

Research being conducted by RIT students and faculty will help determine if additional flowers, grasses and plants will benefit insects that help in pollination. The research is being done across the state, particularly next to roadways, and could help determine if later or fewer cuts to the vegetation next to the roads would help pollinators by allowing more time for plants to flower.

The 2019-20 renovation project will be launched with a $1 million grant from New York state’s Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program and will further advance RIT’s research in integrated photonics, quantum information technology, biomedical devices and sensors for smart systems.

The National Science Foundation awarded RIT a grant to conceptualize a new institute that would be at the forefront of quantum science and technology. RIT received $150,000 in funding from the NSF’s Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes program to create a plan for an institute that would expand quantum science and technology capabilities through quantum photonic integrated circuits.

Cybercrime is costing the world trillions of dollars, and analysts say that there aren’t enough qualified professionals to prevent those attacks. To address this problem, RIT is creating the Global Cybersecurity Institute (GCI), aimed at meeting the demand for computing security and artificial intelligence professionals, while developing future technologies, protocols and human understanding needed to address the global cybersecurity crisis.

RIT’s genomics research capabilities have evolved significantly over the past year. The university has invested heavily in revamping and equipping its Genomics Research Lab Cluster. The overhauled genomics facilities will boost capabilities for researchers in multiple disciplines, including bioinformatics, biotechnology and environmental science.

In an effort to expand science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for all, RIT is developing a new program to help other colleges compete for federal government funding that supports programming for talented, low-income students.

City Newspaper reports on work by Assistant Professor Christopher Kanan and Associate Professor Christy Tyler, both in the College of Science.