2012–2013 UNIVERSITY CATALOG - Florida Institute of Technology

The university provides varsity athletics, and intramural and
recreational activities for students. Florida Tech is a member of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and
competes in the Sunshine State Conference. Men’s sports include
baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer,
swimming, track and field, and tennis. Women’s sports include
basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming,
track and field, tennis and volleyball. The new Panther football
team is slated to begin competition in 2013 as a member of the
Gulf South Conference.
Panther teams have earned regional titles in baseball, men’s and
women’s rowing, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s basketball,
and Sunshine State Conference championships in men’s and women’s
soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball,
and women’s rowing. In addition to competing at the regional
level, the Panthers hold team national championships in men’s soccer
and rowing and an individual championship in women’s golf.
Intramural team sports include flag football, softball, volleyball,
cricket, basketball, soccer and inner tube water polo. Individual
intramural sports are tennis, running, golf, weightlifting, racquetball
and badminton.
The Clemente Center for Sports and Recreation offers abundant
opportunities for a variety of sports and recreational activities (see
“Facilities” in this section).
Two residential swimming pools, a competition pool and recreational
pool, soccer fields, baseball and softball diamonds, four
regulation tennis courts and two four-wall racquetball courts are
located on campus. Nearby are two 18-hole golf courses. Students
are welcome to use these facilities and to take advantage of many
other recreational opportunities afforded by the warm, sunny
climate, the Atlantic Ocean and the natural waterways in Brevard
County. Surfing, water skiing, swimming, boating and fishing are
popular activities throughout the area.
study-abroad
Several study-abroad opportunities are available to students at
Florida Tech through the Office of Institutional Compliance
and International Programs. Some of these diverse programs are
discipline-specific and target either undergraduate or graduate students.
Consult the Florida Tech website for an overview of available
international programs.
A short-term summer program is also available for students interested
in studying at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The
Florida Tech at Oxford program offers numerous core curriculum
courses and is open to all student levels and majors. Students earn
six credit hours while studying at Oxford University. Reduced
tuition is available. Additional information about studying abroad
is available from the Office of Institutional Compliance and
International Programs.
rEsEarCh
Institutes, centers and Major laboratories
Over the past decade, Florida Tech has made major additions and
improvements to facilities that enhance the research components of
nearly all aspects of undergraduate and graduate education. Along
with these facility improvements, a number of research centers
have been established to focus on particular areas of study and in
many cases encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. These centers
and the facilities where they are located represent a significant
research capability that supplements the various department- and
program-related activities and facilities described in this catalog.
The Florida Tech campus has been transformed in the past ten
years into a world-class research center. Completed in 2009, the
Harris Center for Science and Engineering provides 29,000 square
feet for computer science, aquaculture and fish biology research
programs. The Harris Center also houses the nationally recognized
Harris Institute for Assured Information. The 22,000-sq.-ft. Scott
Center for Autism Treatment opened in 2008 and provides the
highest quality treatment, training and applied research to enhance
the quality of life of children with autism spectrum disorders.
Two teaching/research buildings were completed on the Melbourne
campus in 1999: the F.W. Olin Engineering Complex and the F.W.
Olin Life Sciences Building. The engineering complex is a 68,500sq.-ft.
facility housing 26 specialized research laboratories. The
37,000-sq.-ft. life sciences building houses 12 research laboratories
designed with flex-space to meet the needs of specific activities.
The 70,000-sq.-ft. F.W. Olin Physical Sciences Center, completed
in 2004, houses the departments of chemistry, and physics and
space sciences and includes numerous specialty and teaching labs.
Particularly noteworthy is the multidisciplinary Applied Research
Laboratory (ARL) located less than two miles from the Melbourne
campus. The ARL houses research in ocean engineering, advanced
materials, polymer flammability, lasers and electrooptics, psychology,
neural network-based autonomous sensing systems and high
magnetic-field physics.
In just the past two years the university has seen a major resurgence
in the number of proposals for funded research. The current
value of research and sponsored projects is over $94 million.
University research faculty expended $16.5 million to buy equipment,
support students, pay salaries and cover general expenses. In
addition to over a dozen research centers, five new interdisciplinary
research institutes were initiated that are the focal point for Florida
Tech undergraduate and graduate research. Brief descriptions of
Florida Tech’s research institutes and centers follow. Not included
here is research within the various degree-granting academic units,
described by department in the Degree Programs section.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)
Since 1989, students and faculty of Florida Tech have benefited
from its membership in Oak Ridge Associated Universities
(ORAU). ORAU is a consortium of 98 colleges and universities,
and a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ORAU works with its member
institutions to help their students and faculty gain access to federal
research facilities throughout the country; to keep its members
informed about opportunities for fellowship, scholarship and
research appointments; and to organize research alliances among
its members.
Institution Overview 9