Robert Morris University’s (RMU) School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science received nearly $370,000 in grants during the month of April, including a $68,000 HP Technology for Teaching award and several Keystone Innovation Zone and Innovation Works grants involving the School’s Center for Applied Research in Engineering and Science.

One of only 42 institutions of higher education nationwide to receive a HP Technology for Teaching grant in 2007, RMU was selected for the award from among more than 300 applications based on its proposal for "Enhanced Engineering Learning Through Wireless Tablet-PC Technology," which will allow the University to introduce PC technology into its engineering classrooms. The grant consists of $19,000 in cash and more than $49,000 in HP technology, including 21 wireless HP tablet PCs, an HP Photosmart digital camera and printer, a digital projector, and a laptop/tablet cart. RMU assistant professor of software engineering Sushil Acharya, Dr.Eng., will serve as the project’s principal investigator, with associate professor of engineering Arif Sirinterlikci, Ph.D., and professor of engineering Zbigniew J. Czajkiewicz, Ph.D., serving as co-principal investigators.

In addition to the HP grant, the School’s Center for Applied Research in Engineering and Science (CARES), headed by Czajkiewicz, was the sole recipient or a partner in several recent Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) grants. The first of these, a $75,000 award accompanied by a $122,000 direct digital rapid prototyping machine from the Center’s industry partner The Ex One Company, allows for the establishment of a Rapid Manufacturing Technology Transfer Center at the University. Through this hands-on training and testing facility, local industry will have the opportunity to test and evaluate rapid manufacturing systems and materials. In partnership with the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce, Moon Township, the Clearview Federal Credit Union, and others, CARES is also involved in a recent $30,000 planning grant aimed at exploring the possible expansion of the Beaver KIZ into Moon Township, North Fayette, and other areas.

Finally, Innovation Works has provided a $50,000 Innovation Adoption Grant to support a project between CARES and the Magee Plastics Company of Warrendale to research and integrate three-dimensional reverse engineering laser scanning into Magee’s computer-aided design systems, which will allow the company to better accommodate its clients’ requirements for customized parts. This award followed a mid-April Innovation Works grant for a $26,000 project that allowed CARES to retrofit a previously non-functional 3-D wire bending machine with a new controller for Connellsville-based Aristo-Tec Metal Forms, Inc. Sirinterlikci serves as the project’s co-principal investigator, assisted by engineering management master’s student Kuldeep Mehta and undergraduate engineering student Michael Uzl.

In March, the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science (SEMS) was awarded a two-year, $250,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation for an outreach project to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education at the middle and high school levels. Founded in 1999, SEMS enrolls 260 undergraduate and 60 graduate students through its programs in software, mechanical, manufacturing and industrial engineering; engineering management; applied mathematics; actuarial science; pre-medicine; and environmental science. In addition, the School offers the Mid-Atlantic region’s only manufacturing engineering program accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology.