Old Westbury, NY – NYIT's Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Rahmat A. Shoureshi lauded faculty this week for "going across the aisle" to partner with each other on interdisciplinary research.

At presentations in Old Westbury and the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, Shoureshi also said NYIT would grow stronger by offering advanced degrees, additional strategic global programs, and summer camps for international and regional high school students. Opportunities to develop these initiatives, he said would "move us to the next level." Some of the new degree programs that faculty members have suggested in discussions with Shoureshi include e-Health, forensic sciences, entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, and arts administration and technology.

"For all of these opportunities, we have the right faculty and schools," Shoureshi said. "All that needs to happen is for the silos to come down and for faculty to talk to each other."

At the same time, Shoureshi said NYIT would work to improve student retention, student-faculty initiatives, labs and research facilities, and community outreach.

Shoureshi announced that 24 research projects were awarded Institutional Support and Research Creativity grants and Teaching and Learning with Technology grants totaling nearly $250,000. Among the projects funded was a joint research initiative for a body area sensor network and rehabilitation system for Parkinson's Disease patients by faculty from NYIT's School of Engineering and Computing Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, and School of Health Professions.

Forty-four funding proposals were submitted—the second-highest total in the past seven years. Sixteen of the 24 funded projects involved interdisciplinary collaboration, which Shoureshi and faculty members have agreed is one of NYIT's unique characteristics. Shoureshi urged faculty to submit more proposals in future funding rounds and to seek external grants for their research projects, especially those with "interesting, exciting ideas that others are not thinking of."

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 89,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

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