History and Organization
The Advanced Research Institute (formerly the Alexandria Research Institute) was established in Old Town, Alexandria, in October 1998, in order to provide Virginia Tech faculty easier access to sponsors of funded research, government laboratories and industry research centers. More importantly, ARI was created to position the College of Engineering as a multi-disciplinary research organization in the engineering and technology R&D cluster in Northern Virginia. ARI’s proximity to multi-national development banks, overseas aid agencies, and foreign embassies provides added opportunities for international collaboration.
ARI was designed to bring together faculty, students and visiting researchers from various fields to create a multidisciplinary environment for emergence of new ideas and collaborations on cross-cutting initiatives.
Our Mission
ARI’s mission is to develop an internationally recognized research and development center in engineering and technology that provides leadership in fostering a culture of innovative research, new technology development and demonstration, high-tech manpower training, and lifelong learning. ARI collaborates with industry, other universities, government institutions, national laboratories and NGOs to tackle multi-disciplinary problems of regional, state, national, and global significance. ARI assists in putting together collaborative teams (both internal and external) that undertake multi-disciplinary research on cross-cutting issues and initiatives. We are a founding member of Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium. We help the State of Virginia with resources—both manpower and technical—to address job creation and economic developmental issues.
Saifur Rahman
Joseph R. Loring Professor
Director of ARI