Vice Provost for Research

Overseeing all aspects of the research enterprise at WPI, the Office of the Vice President for Research ensures that the university continues to reach proposal development and funding award goals while fostering and monitoring transparent and ethical research practices among faculty, staff, and partners. Faculty are supported through internal grants and seed funding mechanisms to explore new ideas and collaborations and through high-tech instrumentation to enable cutting-edge research.

Bogdan Vernescu headshot in a blue suitcoat, white shirt, and blue tie

"WPI's world-class research enterprise continues to see significant growth. In the past five years, our funding has increased by 140 percent as our research-active faculty members submit and win increasingly larger proposal funding. WPI continues in make purposeful and strategic gains in attracting outstanding faculty members, developing an internal funding programs to encourage collaboration, promoting valuable resources for faculty and staff, and reinforcing our existing campus infrastructure to support our research across WPI.”

Bogdan Vernescu
Vice President and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation

It's Official!

WPI has been designated an R1 institution and joined the ranks of the nation’s top-tier research institutions in a new classification of American colleges and universities published by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The R1 designation, which identifies WPI as one of 187 institutions with “very high research spending and doctorate production,” caps a decade of efforts to expand research and innovation at the university.

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Research at WPI

Today, the WPI research enterprise comprises $62 million in annual research expenditures, supports a diverse range of research institutes and centers and advances interdisciplinary research in these key focus areas:

WPI’s research contributes discoveries with broad impact. WPI has patented and licensed new technologies and ideas at an ever-increasing rate, expanding work that benefits society, improves lives, and creates jobs while strengthening the revenue stream for the university.

We drive and support the Research Enterprise, increase impact and visibility, and provide crucial resources for our researchers.