University of Dayton Research Institute records

Vice President and Dean of the University Father Charles Collins first started discussing sponsored research with engineers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1949. He then approached mathematics professor Dr. Kenneth Schraut with Wright-Patterson’s offer of a $10,200 contract for a data reduction project that would consolidate raw flight data into more useful media. Dr. Schraut selected 10 students and began work on the research in Zehler and St. Joseph Halls. Father Collins remained the administrative official in charge of research programs until 1956 when the university established the Research Center led by John Westerheide, who had worked with Dr. Schraut since 1941. The Research Center officially changed its name to the Research Institute in 1958 after administrators realized “center” implied a physical building.

Starting in 1960, UDRI reorganized several times in order to accommodate its expanded research presence. As of 2012, the individual departments report to the director of UDRI, who reports to the vice president for research, who reports to the provost. The current individual departments are Aerospace Mechanics, Energy and Environmental Engineering, Energy Technologies and Materials, Multi-Scale Composites and Polymers, Nonstructural Materials, Structural integrity, Sensor Systems, and Sustainment Technologies Integration Office.

UDRI has also provided the framework for some academic groups in the university to conduct advanced studies in their own fields and offer employment to students. The institute celebrated $1 billion in research revenue in 2003, and currently performs over $85 million of sponsored research annually, ranking first in Ohio and second in the nation.