University Research Initiatives

PHOTO: DAVID ETTINGER

RESEARCH INITIATIVES

Cutting-Edge Research Priorities Target Global Challenges

As part of Illinois Institute of Technology’s “Our Students tive encompasses chronic conditions, disease, the environment, and Their Success Comes First: A Strategic Plan for Illinois food safety, medical devices, medical imaging, mental health, Tech 2020–2025,” are three innovation-driven University nutrition, and sports. Research Initiatives that represent multidisciplinary faculty and student work across campus. Together, they showcase faculty Urban Futures research, how Illinois Tech is working on future national and This initiative investigates advances in the sciences, engineering, global needs, and the role of Illinois Tech as Chicago’s only business, architecture, design, and law to ensure smart, equitable, tech-focused university. sustainable, and healthy cities. Topics under exploration include

“The priorities outlined in the strategic plan signify Illinois hard and soft infrastructure, climate change resilience, landscapes Tech’s continued commitment to providing all students with the and ecology, and urban agriculture. The complexity of these issues opportunity to excel in tomorrow’s leading-edge professions,” says requires multidisciplinary efforts that address the human factors, Peter Kilpatrick, Illinois Tech provost and senior vice president social issues, and public policy and management, with the goal of for academic affairs, who worked with trustees, alumni, faculty, achieving positive social impacts. staff, and students to craft the new plan. “With cross-disciplinary endeavors such as our University Research Initiatives, we will continue to develop creative ways to renew, reinvest in, and reimagine our university’sstrategicdirection so that we can stay Video › Building Software for Tomorrow’s Big Data Challengeson the leading-edge of twenty-first-century education.”

Computation and Data This initiative includes computational research from quantum scale to commercial manufacturing scale, and permeates all disciplines. The power of high-performance computing combined with the enormous value of available data provides both an opportunity and challenge to produce new and trustworthy insight. Multiple disciplines must come together to assure that both questions and answers are correct.

Health and Wellness Across campus, Illinois Tech faculty and students are exploring how we can be healthier as individuals and as a society. This initia-