ARI2004 Website

Director's Message

Since opening its doors in late 1998, Virginia Tech's Advanced Research Institute (formerly the Alexandria Research Institute) has positioned itself as a prominent resource for the Northern Virginia region, Virginia as a whole and the nation. ARI provides a platform for partnerships among individuals and groups spanning academia, government and industry to tackle problems of national and global significance. ARI seamlessly unites faculty, students, and visiting researchers to create a multidisciplinary environment that fosters the emergence of new ideas and collaboration.

Over fifteen faculty members and 27 full-time graduate students (approximately half of which are PhD candidates) work on research projects within four broadly defined thematic areas listed below. During the 2002-03 fiscal year, our faculty and students conducted research sponsored by the National Science Foundation, IEEE, the Naval Research Laboratory, the US Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Additionally, our faculty and staff have been invited to give over 25 presentations at conferences and workshops across the US and internationally. Many of these presentations were subsequently published in conference proceedings. ARI faculty authored 22 technical papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals and over 50 conference papers. They have also served as guest editors for four text book chapters.

Some of the ARI projects, which broadly represent our four thematic areas, include:

Our project to develop the next-generation tactical communications network for the US Customs Service represents the Information Infrastructures theme.
Our Critical Infrastructure Modeling and Assessment Program highlights the Sustainable Society theme and digs deeper into the challenge of ensuring reliable electric power and other infrastructures to support Virginia's high-tech economy while preserving our natural environment.
Our Digital Library Network for Engineering and Technology project provides Lifelong Learning opportunities for practicing engineers in a way that brings new knowledge more directly from the research laboratory to professionals in the field.
Our Embedded Energy projects examine, and promote where practical, the deployment of distributed renewable energy systems generating power, looking specifically at solar, wind, and ground-source heat pump systems.

By establishing the Advanced Research Institute, Virginia Tech and its nationally recognized College of Engineering now offer a full-range of high-technology education, research and outreach programs in the Northern Virginia area.

Virginia Tech's motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), inspires our work at the institute, as exemplified by our various ongoing projects and new initiatives. We hope you will take advantage of the opportunities the ARI provides for innovative research, technology development and lifelong learning.