URI Awarded $2.4 Million For Lab-On-A-Chip Technology

The University of Rhode Island has been awarded a highly competitive $2.4 million grant by the National Science Foundation to develop this technology and identify potential applications in partnership with the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany. The grant, which will support up to 36 doctoral students over the next five years to participate in the research in Rhode Island and Germany, will build on URI’s existing International Engineering Program and form the basis for a major new strategy to prepare American science and technology students for careers in the global workplace.

“We’ve identified a cutting-edge technology where we have unique expertise, and we’re going to use it as a platform for developing a new multidisciplinary, multinational model to internationalize engineering research and education,” said Mohammad Faghri, URI professor of mechanical engineering and the principal investigator on the project.

The microfluidics technology could be used to detect biological molecules like bacteria, pathogens, or proteins that signal oncoming disease in an extremely small volume of a liquid. For instance, it could be used to monitor an individual’s health status or potential exposure to a biological agent released by a terrorist, or to conduct a simple blood analysis in the field.

A key element of the project is the international collaboration with scientists and students at Braunschweig, which already has the technical infrastructure necessary to begin the research. URI is a leader in training engineers for the global marketplace through its renowned International Engineering Program. It has partnered with Braunschweig on engineering education for undergraduates for 10 years, and 200 URI students have earned dual degrees in engineering and German language. An international engineering master’s degree program was launched in 2004, and this new grant will launch a doctoral level program beginning this year.

“We’re training students to be globally competitive in the engineering field, which will make them much more marketable once they graduate,” said John Grandin, URI professor of German and director of the International Engineering Program. “It will also help us attract the highest caliber engineering grad students in the country.”

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