The College of Engineering has over 80 tenured / tenure-track faculty performing research focusing on solving the most pressing local and global challenges. Their nationally and internationally recognized research expertise encompasses areas such as coastal resiliency, materials for extreme environments, nanotechnology, robotics, underwater exploration, offshore wind energy, and water reuse, among others, using an interdisciplinary and user-oriented approach to integrate the discovery of fundamental knowledge and applied research to solve societal issues.
The College of Engineering hosts three research centers funded by federal, state, and private sources and two research core facilities with more than $10M on state-of-the-art characterization and analytical capabilities.
Over the past 5 years, the College of Engineering has received 6 NSF CAREER Awards (60% of all URI NSF CAREER) and 4 ONR Young Investigator Awards. Our faculty’s research activity thrives thanks to the extensive collaboration across engineering disciplines, the university at large, government, academia, and industry worldwide.
This has resulted in a doubling of external research funding from 2016 to 2022, from $6M to $18M. A $150M investment in the Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering (opened in 2019) and the recent approval of state bond to build the new Ocean Engineering building at the Bay Campus is giving URI Engineering some of the best engineering facilities in the country.
Take a look at the construction of the new Ocean Robotics Laboratory.
News in Research
International Collaboration on Arctic Research Between U.S., Norway and Canada - Dramatic changes have been observed in the Arctic Ocean in the past decades in terms of ocean temperature and salinity structure and ice-cover. Because sound travels long distances underwater, scientists have been able to use acoustic signals to localize oceanographic platforms and vehicles underwater and ice, but the way sound travels depends on the oceanography. […]
ASME honors URI mechanical engineering professor - The American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s honored University of Rhode Island professor Arun Shukla at this year’s annual International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition in Portland, Oregon. The event, which attracts leaders from academia, government and industry, is one of the largest conferences for mechanical engineers. Shukla was invited as a 2024 plenary speaker to […]
URI researchers head international team exploring wearable technology to help stroke survivors - The three-year project is backed by a $500K grant from National Science Foundation.
URI joins with federal, state leaders to celebrate progress of Bay Campus revitalization - University of Rhode Island President Marc Parlange welcomed more than 200 guests to celebrate progress on the $300 million, multi-phase transformation of the Narragansett Bay Campus.