As it nears its first year of full operations, the Florida Tech Research Institute is proceeding strongly, building critical strategic partnerships, attracting externally funded research and earning high marks from government inspectors for standards and compliance at its secure operations on campus.
“Things are moving very well,” said Marco Carvalho, the distinguished computer scientist and executive director of the L3Harris Institute for Assured Information whom Florida Tech President John Nicklow appointed to lead FTRI. “We are establishing ourselves and getting very good responses from industry and government.”
Since the institute became fully operational in fall 2024, it has secured over $500,000 in externally funded research contracts. Additionally, it has established several Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, or CRADAS, with different government organizations and local companies.
“We are building new research initiatives as well as strong partnership agreements with government, local industry and other academic institutes as we continue to strengthen our recognition and reputation in this space,” Carvalho said.
FTRI is a new specialized university research institute and faculty resource that is already substantially enhancing Florida Tech’s capacity to conduct applied research for the Department of Defense and the defense industrial base sector. It is a separate legal entity wholly owned by the university and chartered with supporting and advancing Florida Tech’s applied controlled research for defense, national and industrial security.
The institute has been recently designated by President John Nicklow as the Florida Tech organization responsible for managing, operating and safeguarding key types of information for the university. That includes Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), which is the federal designation for sensitive information that is not classified but still requires safeguarding from public release due to legal, privacy or national security reasons, and information under export control, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
“With the development and early success of FTRI, the scope of research Florida Tech is approved and equipped to handle has broadened in important ways,” Nicklow said. “The institute is a powerful addition to our research operations, and I encourage eligible faculty to understand and utilize its capabilities as we continue to grow this critical asset.”
If a faculty member who is also a permanent resident or a U.S. citizen is interested in pursuing or developing research opportunities that involve controlled information, they and Florida Tech may leverage and coordinate those initiatives and opportunities through FTRI.
“FTRI provides the mechanism to put that faculty member through training to enable them to engage with potentially controlled research. They can do it seamlessly through the institute.”
The establishment of FTRI brings Florida Tech in line with other top schools that feature similar facilities, including Georgia Tech (Georgia Tech Research Institute), Carnegie Mellon (Software Engineering Institute), Johns Hopkins (Applied Physics Laboratory) and MIT (Lincoln Laboratory.)
