2013–2014 UNIVERSITY CATALOG - Florida Institute of Technology

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 Graduate 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 Graduate 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 programrelated
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. In 2012, Florida Tech Commons
was completed and offers 2,000 sq. ft. of state-of-the-art research laboratories
for the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts. The research
area includes data analysis laboratories, subject testing areas, applied
behavioral analysis rooms and a dedicated conference room for facultysponsored
research. 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 68,500-sq.-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 $97 million. University
research faculty expended $17.3 million to buy equipment, support
students, pay salaries and cover general expenses. In addition
to over a dozen research centers, ten new interdisciplinary research
institutes provide focal points 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 105 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.
Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE),
the DOE facility that ORAU operates, undergraduates, graduates
and postgraduates, as well as faculty enjoy access to a multitude of
opportunities for study and research. Students can participate in
programs covering a wide variety of disciplines including business,
earth sciences, epidemiology, engineering, physics, geological sciences,
pharmacology, ocean sciences, biomedical sciences, nuclear chemistry
and mathematics. Appointment and program length range from one
month to four years. Many of these programs are especially designed
to increase the numbers of underrepresented minority students
pursuing degrees in science- and engineering-related disciplines. A
comprehensive listing of these programs and other opportunities,
their disciplines and details on locations and benefits, can be found
in the ORISE Catalog of Education and Training Programs, which is
available at www.orau.gov/orise/educ.htm or by calling either of the
contacts below.
ORAU’s Office of Partnership Development seeks opportunities for
partnerships and alliances among ORAU’s members, private industry
and major federal facilities. Activities include faculty development
programs such as the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement
Awards, the Visiting Industrial Scholars Program, consortium research
funding initiatives, faculty research and support programs and services
to chief research officers.
For more information about ORAU and its programs, contact Florida
Tech Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer T. Dwayne
McCay, ORAU Councilor, at (321) 674-8889; or Monnie E. Champion,
ORAU Corporate Secretary, at (865) 576- 3306; or online at www.orau.org.
2013–2014 Institution Overview 9