AFTER MAJOR SCHUMER PUSH, RIT HAS RECEIVED $4.3 MILLION IN FED FUNDING TO CONTINUE CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH TO MODERNIZE MILITARY EQUIPMENT FOR U.S. TROOPS; INVESTMENT IS A CONTINUATION OF THE GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN RIT AND DEPT. OF DEFENSE

In July 2014, Schumer Announced RIT Would Receive Up To $2.1 Million For Work Rehabbing & Upgrading Navy Equipment – Grant Kept 10-Year Public-Private Partnership Between RIT & DOD  

Now, RIT Will Receive More Than $4.3 Million To Continue Research And Equipment Modernizing Program – Schumer Has Worked To Foster The Partnership Between RIT And Navy  

Schumer: Contract Ensures RIT Can Continue Supporting Defense Department, &  Add Jobs To Finger Lakes Area 

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) was awarded a two-year, $4.3 million Department of Defense (DOD) contract to fund the laboratory’s research and support its’ efforts to rehabilitate and modernize equipment for military personnel. This contract will extend an ongoing program of research at RIT that has provided quality research and technology to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for more than a decade. With this funding, RIT will be able to grow their skilled research team that has already made progress in improving the equipment used by the dedicated members of the United States military.

“This contract is a major win for both RIT and the Department of Defense. This longstanding partnership allows one of our country’s most innovative research institutions to continue developing cutting-edge technology used to support our dedicated military men and women,” said Senator Schumer. “Funding for this groundbreaking and successful program drives economic growth in the Finger Lakes region by producing good-paying, high-tech jobs and ensures that the Rochester community will continue to develop state of the art defense equipment for our troops.” 

Schumer explained that there is a pressing need across the Armed Services to make cost-effective, sustainable improvements to military equipment in order to extend life cycles of existing equipment systems. RIT’s research has helped develop technologies that modernize and upgrade these systems, thereby reducing the costs to repair and maintain this military equipment while simultaneously enhancing the safety of our service members. 

Over the last ten years, Congress has invested millions in the manufacturing research laboratory at RIT to recondition heavily used Marine Corps equipment, such as the Light Armored Vehicles (LAV).  The funding has allowed the laboratory to develop new technologies, upgrade legacy system capabilities, modernize outdated legacy systems, and make systems operations more environmentally and economically sustainable.

Rochester Institute of Technology President David Munson said, “We at RIT are very proud of the important work that our researchers are doing to support the needs of the Department of Defense by extending the life of critical defense systems and developing innovative design solutions to address the future needs of our military.  It is an honor for us to be able to serve the nation through this research program and we are most appreciative of Senator Schumer’s outstanding advocacy and support.” 

Schumer has played a leading role in forging the partnership between RIT and the Department of Defense. In 2015, Schumer announced following his push that the U.S. Navy would award $1,028,000 from the FY2015 omnibus bill funding to RIT to research and develop ways to rehabilitate and upgrade equipment for military personnel.  In January 2014, Schumer announced that the passage of the FY2014 omnibus funding bill set the stage for RIT to land a new research contract with the Navy.  Specifically, the FY2014 omnibus funding bill included a research contract for RIT with the Navy with a contract ceiling of $2,147,000 to allow for future work. Beginning over a decade ago, Senator Schumer helped secure funding for the Department of Defense and RIT to build this state-of-the-art lab at RIT to work on critical defense modernization and sustainment initiatives. RIT developed cost-effective ways to rehab or upgrade military equipment, which extended the life of the equipment. 

###