Research distinction

University of Dayton continues to contribute solutions for our communities and the world through high-ranked research and scholarship. The most recently released rankings report from the National Science Foundation, for fiscal year 2020, shows UD is tops for materials engineering, ranking No. 1 among all colleges and universities in the nation for both total sponsored research and development and federally sponsored research and development. Among all U.S. colleges and universities, UD ranks No. 18 for sponsored research and development in aerospace engineering and No. 5 for industrial and manufacturing engineering. UD is No. 8 in total research expenditures among private, four-year U.S. universities without medical schools.

And the good news keeps coming. Sponsored research revenue at University of Dayton in fiscal year 2021 was $194.8 million, with 94.7% of research revenue coming from the UD Research Institute. The institute employs 764 full-time and part-time professional researchers, technicians and administrative staff. Academic departments contribute 5.3% of the University’s research revenue; 56 faculty members and 168 graduate and undergrad students were engaged in sponsored research in fiscal year 2021.

The funding keeps rolling in. Here’s a sampling of new grants awarded in 2021:

$50,852 awarded in two grants to Kenya Crosson, associate professor of engineering, in collaboration with Advanced & Innovative Multifunctional Materials for research into technology used in both self-disinfecting N95 masks and antimicrobial water filtration systems.

$1,919,513 awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of the American Rescue Plan for UD’s work with 41 community partners to address the shortage of mental health workers and improve quality and access to mental health services for children.

$395,379 awarded in 10 grants to graduate students and faculty through the Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education. The research on sensors, aerospace systems, airmen systems, and materials and manufacturing is funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and Defense Associated Graduate Student Innovators. 

$170,760 awarded to the University of Dayton Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program through UD’s Fitz Center for Leadership in Community that supports out-of-school educational efforts for Dayton families.

$156,776 awarded by the National  Science Foundation to isotope geochemist Zelalem Bedaso to
study the impact of extreme weather pattern shifts on early humans in East Africa and the ecosystems on which they depended.

$1,642,625 awarded by the National Institutes of Health to biology professors Amit Singh and Madhuri Kango-Singh to study the genetic basis of childhood diseases and birth defects in the human eye.

$2,143 awarded by the Ohio Arts Council to fund visiting artists and exhibitions in UD’s newest gallery space, The Index Gallery, located in The Hub in the Dayton Arcade.