Research and Economic Development
Research & Economic Development at UNC Charlotte strives to advance the quality, diversity, and growth of research at UNC Charlotte. A special value is placed on the translation of research results that impact our social, cultural, and economic communities.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development provides direction and leadership for the development and translation of research and creative activity at the University and the infrastructure that supports those activities. The Vice Chancellor leads the research and economic development efforts of the Charlotte Research Institute and directs ten support offices: Advancing University Research Administration (AURA), Office of Proposal Development, Office of Research Services & Outreach, Office of Research Compliance, Conflict of Interest Office, Office of Grants & Contracts Administration, Office of Technology Transfer, Lab Animal Resources, Small Business and Technology Development Center, and Ventureprise.
Advancing University Research Administration
Advancing University Research Administration (AURA) is focused on improving research administration processes and supporting systems. The objective is to streamline research administration processes to improve effectiveness, efficiencies and customer service, enabling the University research faculty to increase their research endeavors. The AURA program is aligned with the University goal to reach $55 million annually in research funding by 2021 and the strategic goals of Research and Economic Development, which include improving customer service, increasing collaboration with other universities, and continuing to build the culture of research within the colleges at UNC Charlotte.
Office of Proposal Development
The Office of Proposal Development (OPD) works closely with faculty and funding agencies to identify opportunities for proposal development, facilitate the formation of proposal teams, and provide a wide range of services to help faculty achieve their research goals, including consultation on writing and funding strategies, and proposal editing.
Office of Research Services and Outreach
The Office of Research Services & Outreach (ORSO) provides services for the review and submission of proposals to funding agencies, including the interpretation of guidelines, preparation of budgets, and submission and tracking of proposals. ORSO also coordinates research-support efforts with college research officers and facilitates training opportunities for department and college administrators charged with helping faculty manage their grants.
Office of Research Compliance
The Office of Research Compliance (ORC) facilitates and monitors University-wide compliance with federal and state policies established to ensure ethical conduct in research. The Conflict of Interest Manager works with faculty and staff to ensure compliance with Federal, State, and university-wide regulations and policies that relate to conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment. Through its work with the Institutional Review Board, the ORC ensures respect, fairness, and safety in human subjects research. Likewise, oversight for the humane care and use of animals used in research and teaching is achieved through its work with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The ORC works with the Institutional Biosafety Committee and the Environmental Health and Safety Office to oversee biohazardous agents used in research and monitor safety concerns involving chemicals and radiation, and has responsibility for the University’s adherence to export control regulations.
Office of Grants and Contracts Administration
The Office of Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA) provides sponsored programs accounting, cash management, financial reporting, contract negotiation and approval, post-award management support, and cost analysis services. The Cost Analysis group manages the F&A and fringe benefit rate proposals to the Federal government and oversees effort reporting, cost-share reporting, recharge unit accounting, and research space inventory. The Post Award Management group works with the college sponsored programs offices to provide comprehensive grant accounting services from award setup through closeout, including final invention, equipment, and fiscal reporting and Federal financial aid reimbursement request. The Contracting unit is responsible for initiation of awards including contract negotiation and execution.
Office of Technology Transfer
The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) provides services for the review, protection, and management of University-based intellectual property, and commercializes intellectual property through licensing services. OTT builds and maintains strategic partnerships with local and state-based economic development agencies; assists and mentors faculty and students with new business start-ups; provides outreach services in the areas of entrepreneurship, new business creation, intellectual property management, and venture capital financing; oversees all aspects of patent filing, prosecution, and maintenance; and acts as a conduit to industry for sponsored research and technology commercialization.
Lab Animal Resources
UNC Charlotte’s laboratory animal veterinarians and technical staff provide primary and veterinary care to all animals housed, as well as investigator training, technical assistance and guidance, and access to health status, laboratory, and imaging services. Our goal is the maintenance of an enriched, variable-free, secure, and humane environment for our animal subjects, as well as superb customer service for our research clients.
Small Business and Technology Development Center
The Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) is one of 17 University-affiliated offices of The University of North Carolina’s business and technology extension service and is operated in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBTDC specialists provide management counseling and educational services to small and mid-sized businesses and also helps business owners and managers, economic and community development organizations, education institutions and not-for-profit organizations develop strategies and action plans to gain competitive advantage. The SBTDC helps clients successfully compete for federal, state, and local government contracts; provides assistance with export financing; and provides research and marketing support services, primary research on small business needs and economic impact, and special projects such as small business incubator feasibility studies.
Ventureprise
Ventureprise Inc. is a non-profit organization that serves as a venture development organization for the university and the Charlotte region. Its programs primarily target innovation-driven entrepreneurs, university researchers, and university students interested in entrepreneurship.
Ventureprise organizes the annual Charlotte Venture Challenge business competition, supports technology commercialization through customer discovery as a National Science Foundation I-Corps Site, and operates incubators for regional innovation-driven entrepreneurs and UNC Charlotte students.
UNC Charlotte students seeking entrepreneurial experiences and guidance can participate in multiple programs that are summarized at entrepreneurship.uncc.edu. A focal point for students is the 49er Foundry student business incubator operated by Ventureprise in the PORTAL building. Through the 49er Foundry, Ventureprise provides business advisory services, connections, and a learning community that support the launch of successful student-founded ventures. Companies have access to services including wireless internet, conference rooms, and office equipment. The space supports business-oriented social interaction and networking.
Charlotte Research Institute
The Charlotte Research Institute (CRI) is the portal for business-university-government partnerships at UNC Charlotte. The aim of CRI is to develop Partnerships, Research, and Results (PR2) that solve our customers’ problems whether they are a business, government agency, or government research laboratory. CRI strives to develop innovative solutions through interdisciplinary and cross-functional teams comprised of industry, government, and academic partners. New business and research ventures; university partnerships with regional, national, and international enterprises; and CRI spin-off companies all draw research and businesses to the region and spur economic growth.
The mission of the Charlotte Research Institute is to accelerate research, partnerships, and business development by promoting, sustaining, and focusing UNC Charlotte research on innovative solutions and emerging opportunities. It generates intellectual capital, collaborative partnerships and economic development, marketing UNC Charlotte and CRI in the Carolinas region, and beyond. As a primary source for intellectual capital and technology partnerships, CRI spans basic and applied research and research across disciplines and organizations.
Science and engineering ventures at CRI are driven by the internationally known results of its research centers in Advanced Manufacturing, Precision Metrology, Visualization, and Optoelectronics. CRI’s research vision continues to grow with emerging research initiatives that include motorsports and automotive engineering, nanoscale science, translational research, and cancer research. Key initiatives related to data science continue to expand in bioinformatics, business analytics, health informatics, defense computing, and cybersecurity. With facilities on the Charlotte Research Institute Campus and at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, CRI helps companies initiate new partnerships at UNC Charlotte and offers a variety of opportunities to engage talented researchers and make use of specialized resources available at UNC Charlotte.
The CRI sector of the UNC Charlotte campus, as defined by North Carolina legislation, offers special opportunities for collaboration with private sector partners. In particular, partner companies may contract the use of research capabilities or facilities on the CRI Campus, contract for sole-use space, and construct and manage privately owned buildings. UNC Charlotte’s latest commitment to university-industry partnerships is the PORTAL (Partnership, Outreach, and Research to Accelerate Learning) building which opened in January 2014. Located at the main entrance to the CRI campus, PORTAL offers 96,000 square feet of state-of-the art office and research lab space for lease where business partners and entrepreneurs have daily exposure to the creative mix of students, faculty, and specialized facilities that the region’s premier urban research university has to offer. PORTAL’s exceptional convening spaces support business tenants within the facility and provide venues for events and meetings with CRI area business and research partners. The PORTAL industry-university partnership facility is home to the Ventureprise business incubator and accelerator, UNC Charlotte Office of Technology Transfer, and the Charlotte Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC).
More information about the Charlotte Research Institute can be found online at cri.uncc.edu.
Industry/University Collaborative Research Centers
Six centers have been organized using planning funds from the National Science Foundation and the NSF model for industry/university partnership. These centers involve a partnership of multiple universities and industry affiliates who pool resources to pursue research of mutual interest. The centers include: (1) Center for MetaMaterials; (2) Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites; (3) Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics Research Center, (4) Center for Configuration Analytics and Automation, (5) Center for Precision Metrology, and (6) Center for Freeform Optics.
Bioinformatics Research Center
The Bioinformatics Research Center conducts multi-disciplinary research involving the physical and life sciences, computer science, and mathematics and statistics with specific focus in the areas of functional genomics, statistical genetics, and proteomics. Projects underway include work in mechanisms of alternative gene splicing, new approaches to the analysis of microarray data, and the use of systems analysis techniques to understand gene-gene interactions. The center has taken a leadership role in developing Bioinformatics programs in collaboration with the developers of the North Carolina Research Campus, a billion-dollar, 350-acre research park that will be home to the research programs of a large number of private biotechnology companies as well as university and medical research programs.
Center for Applied Geographic Information Science (CAGIS)
CAGIS is an interdisciplinary research center that focuses on using advanced space-time theories, methods, and technologies in cutting-edge Geographic Information Science for complex geographical problem-solving. Based on the synergistic coupling of spatiotemporal and computational thinking, major research themes of CAGIS consist of CyberGIS for large-scale geographical problem-solving; land use/cover change and sustainability study; complexity theory and geospatial modeling; big data and space-time analytics; remote sensing, sensor networks, and volunteered geographic information; computational intelligence for geocomputational modeling; cartography and geovisualization driven by the Internet; and open-source GIS software.
Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science (CBES)
The Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science addresses complex problems in healthcare in the Charlotte community and beyond. The center builds research and development collaborations between researchers within UNC Charlotte’s Colleges of Engineering, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Health and Human Services, and Computing and Informatics; local healthcare institutions (including Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte Orthopedic Research Center, and Presbyterian Hospital); and corporations in the Charlotte metropolitan area to solve biomedical engineering problems. The center’s research is focused in three primary areas: (1) medical therapies and technologies; (2) molecular engineering and design; and (3) biomechanics and mobility research.
Center for Configuration Analytics and Automation Research (CCAA)
The CCAA vision is to provide research for improved configuration analytics and automation capabilities and their integration for efficient, accurate and timely operations, management and defense of complex networked information technology (IT) systems and environments.
Center for Freeform Optics (CeFO)
The Center for Freeform Optics (CeFO) aims to advance research and education on the science, engineering and applications of freeform optics through a dedicated, continuing industrial partnership. CeFO constitutes a unique research environment combining the strengths of two top-tier research universities with the experiences, insights, and needs of international industrial talent specialized in building systems supporting the manufacturing, integration, and implementation of advanced optical systems. CeFO provides vertical integration of mathematics, optics, optical science, materials science, optomechanics, precision optical manufacturing and testing, and instrument design in order to transform the optics industry in the 21st century.
Center for Lean Logistics and Engineered Systems
The Center for Lean Logistics and Engineered Systems highlights solution driven projects that emphasize the best practices in Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Lean Manufacturing, and Six-Sigma Quality Management.
Center for Metamaterials (CfM)
The mission of the Center for Metamaterials is to advance fundamental and applied metamaterials research, development, and technology transfer through strong industry/university collaborations. The researchers at the Center focus on industry-relevant, precompetitive research topics jointly identified by university and industry participants, and include metamaterials processing, testing, and device development. The projects advance the knowledge base for metamaterials through precompetitive research that will directly benefit Center members through shared knowledge and intellectual property. The intent is to nurture long-term relationships and collaborations among the university, industry, and government laboratories. Members participating in the Center share in research and development, laboratory infrastructure, and the resulting economic benefits.
Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications
The Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications includes research areas in: design and fabrication of photonic devices, meta-materials, integrated optical circuitry, assembly and packaging of optical systems, optical materials, methods for precision optical metrology, and optical imaging and inverse methods for wave front synthesis. The Center has successfully allied with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Duke University, The Carolinas MicroOptics Triangle, and the North Carolina Photonics Consortium. A respected leader in the discipline, the Center has continuing support from the Defense Advancement Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Center for Precision Metrology
The Center for Precision Metrology is focused on precision engineering and measurement, including research in manufacturing processes and quality assurance for mechanical parts to within a millionth of a meter. New state-of-the-art facilities include clean rooms and multiple metrology labs. Research efforts include picometer scale positioning devices, self-aware manufacturing, large scale metrology, high-speed machining, specialized sensors, adaptive polishing and grinding. Applications have spanned many different industries from microelectronics to aerospace and attracted companies such as Caterpillar, Intel, Mitutoyo, Siemens, General Electric, and Boeing for collaboration. The Center has been recognized as a National Science Foundation Center of Excellence in New Industry Collaboration and in Nanoscale Science and Engineering.
The Center for Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites (SIBS)
Sustainably Integrated Buildings and Sites is a collaboration between leading companies, corporations, universities, government agencies, and other organizations renowned for their innovative research capabilities, with the purpose of conducting research that promotes improved energy use, water use, air quality, and productivity in buildings through the integration of appropriate subsystems and technologies. The Center develops students who are knowledgeable in industry-relevant research and prepared to develop innovative products and services that enhance global competitiveness.
Complex Systems Institute
The Complex Systems Institute is a multi-disciplinary research center that provides a home for researchers who cross disciplinary boundaries in search of holistic answers. Current faculty come from areas as diverse as: Computing, Political Science, Sociology, Business, Biology, Communications, Philosophy, Theater, Language, and Health and Human Services. Tools developed by CSI members help analysts model infrastructure and social networks, visualize and understand how individual networks behave, and understand multiple-network interdependency behavior, including second and third order effects and unintended consequences. There are three centers within the Institute: The Complexity Laboratory, Defense Computing Center, and The Center for Advanced Research in the Humanities.
Cyber Defense and Network Assurability Research Center (CyberDNA)
The CyberDNA Center has been established to be one of the leading national centers in research and education of network and information security. The CyberDNA Center includes strong and diverse expertise as well as state-of-the-art facilities to address critical network security, assurability and privacy problems of high societal-impact. The CyberDNA offers a unique environment to facilitate joint R&D programs (consortium, seminars and workshops) with the industry, financial institutions, utility service providers and government agencies. The main objective of CyberDNA is to enable assurable and usable security and privacy for smart open society by making cyber defense provable, enforceable, measurable, and automated.
CyberDNA has a unique vision and approach among other national centers including: (1) promoting automated analytics and synthesis of designing, configuration and evaluation of mission-oriented security systems; (2) offering leap-ahead research by integrating multidisciplinary research from security, networking, reliability, risk management, economical, behavioral and physical world communities; and (3) developing deployable tools to facilitate technology transfer and workforce (students) education and preparation.
Data Science Initiative
The Data Science Initiative (DSI) is an industry-university-state partnership to broaden and deepen North Carolina’s business analytics talent and stimulate strategic innovation. It directly supports high-end job creation and business investment in the Charlotte region and across the state. The lead partners on the DSI, the College of Computing and Informatics and the Belk College of Business, each have a long, successful history of fostering strategic relationships with the business community. The initiative also includes the College of Health and Human Services and its emerging leadership in health informatics. This team provides intellectual capital, academic programs, and outreach activities to meet the needs of employers in the new data-driven economy, both in developing a highly trained workforce and in providing cutting-edge research to address challenges and opportunities in the rapidly changing business environment.
Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC)
The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) targets innovation in technologies associated with generation and distribution of reliable, affordable and clean energy sources. UNC Charlotte is partnering with the energy and infrastructure industry to create a scientific and technical resource for the energy industry and a training ground for the energy workforce. EPIC is an interdisciplinary research center with a strong emphasis on collaboration among the disciplines of civil and environmental engineering, computer and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and engineering science, and systems engineering and engineering management.
Infrastructure, Design, Environment, and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center
The Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center was created to provide regional leadership to accelerate a cultural and technological shift to more sustainable practices as humans create and live in the built environment. Research topics are broad and include renewable energy, high performance building and renovation, low impact materials, material reuse and recovery, sensor applications, monitoring and long term performance assessments, greenhouse gas inventories, life cycle assessments, and low impact development.
Life Science Research
Life Science Research is now developing strongly in five focus areas. Translational Research is designed to join basic science research with patient care to develop novel treatments and therapies for diseases and healthcare problems. Health Services Research harnesses the power of visual analytics for data warehousing/mining of large scale databases (vital statistics, hospital discharges) for decision support for both clinical and public health research domains. Kinesiology Research is focused on biodynamics and exercise physiology. Nursing and Rehabilitation Research focuses on recovery from severe physical trauma. Ecology and Environmental Biology Research is geared toward toxicology, bacteriology and biotechnology. UNC Charlotte research in cancer diagnostics and treatment continues to expand.
Nanoscale Science Initiative
UNC Charlotte is the first university in the UNC system to offer a Ph.D. in Nanoscale Science. This initiative focuses on the development, manipulation, and use of materials and devices on the scale of roughly 1-100 nanometers in length and the study of phenomena that occur on this size scale. Nanoscale science offers great potential for applications in materials, medicine, optics, electronics, data storage, advanced manufacturing, environment, energy, and national security.
North Carolina Motorsports and Automotive Research Center
The College of Engineering includes a group focused on motorsports and automotive research with collaborative partnerships with area race teams and NASCAR. The Alan D. Kulwicki Motorsports Laboratory, named in honor of the famous race car driver, represents 6,800 square feet of additional motorsports and automotive research space, one of the largest in the Southeast. The Kulwicki lab also houses a water tunnel to support aerodynamics studies.
Project Mosaic
Project Mosaic, is an initiative led by Knight Foundation Distinguished Professor Jean-Claude Thill to enhance the University’s social and behavioral science research by supporting interdisciplinary teams. Initially, the work centers on two themes: (1) human and social capital, innovation and quality of life and (2) metropolitan centers, world trade, transportation. and communication. Themes that are collaborative, data-intensive and cross-disciplinary in nature will be added as the project evolves. The project will include social and behavioral science investigators from across the University, including from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, College of Education, College of Health and Human Services, and the Belk College of Business. Faculty from other colleges whose interests synergize with this initiative are welcome.
ROSE-HUB
ROSE-HUB is a multi-university NSF I/UCRC focused on applied robotics and sensing research in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, energy, transportation manufacturing, material handling, homeland security, and emergency preparedness and response. University partners include University of Minnesota (Lead University), University of Pennsylvania, University of Denver, UNC Charlotte, and the newest member, Purdue University. This is the only NSF I/UCRC focused on robotic and sensing technology for human safety and security. It replaces the NSF I/UCRC Safety, Security, and Rescue Research Center.
Visualization Center (VisCenter)
The mission of the VisCenter is to develop and promote the science of visual analytics and to advance interactive visualization as an integrative discipline that is indispensable for attacking key real world applications. The VisCenter is a highly interdisciplinary center that applies interactive visualization and visual analytics to a variety of large scale and complex problems in science, engineering, medicine, business, design, and the arts. It was established in January 2005 and includes over 30 faculty members and over 100 graduate and undergraduate students. The VisCenter faculty is truly interdisciplinary with members from CS, SIS, Engineering, English, Geography and Earth Sciences, Architecture, Ethics, and other departments. The VisCenter also has one of the deepest programs anywhere in fundamental visualization, visual analytics, and human-computer interaction research with 9 faculty members doing work in these areas. The main VisCenter Lab provides an exciting, state-of-the-art environment for visualization and HCI research and application development with an abundance of advanced displays, interaction devices, and a large, multiscreen stereoscopic projection system. The VisCenter has research funding from the Army, NIH, NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, DOE, U.S. DOT, EPA, Bank of America, and other agencies and companies.
