Rochester Institute of Technology this week opened a new research building aimed at advancing research in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and more.

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rochester Institute of Technology this week opened a new research building aimed at advancing research in cognitive science, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and more.

The 39,000-square-foot building will house 19 labs filled with the tools—and a collection of researchers and scientists from across the university—to enhance RIT's position as a leading research university.
"This building reflects RIT's commitment to giving our faculty, staff, and students what they need to push boundaries, pursue bold ideas, and make an impact in the world," said RIT President Bill Sanders. "In many ways, the RIT Research Building represents the next step in our journey, from a university known for innovation in teaching and technology, to one equally recognized for research that changes lives and moves the world forward."

The labs in the new building are reconfigurable, designed to accommodate a wide spectrum of research, including in the areas of high-speed computing, artificial intelligence, wet chemistry, cognitive science, advanced manufacturing, neuroscience, and more. The spaces will also support new programs and enable the strategic recruitment of faculty researchers across disciplines.

In one state-of-the-art lab, NTID Professor Matt Dye, director of RIT's cognitive science Ph.D. program, and a multidisciplinary team of cognitive scientists will examine the human brain and how it allows people to learn, reason, speak multiple languages, and recall moments from decades past—capabilities far beyond what even the most powerful AI systems can achieve.

The cognitive science lab will be outfitted with an electroencephalogram to measure brain activity, eye tracking technology to reveal how people think and reason using vision, and augmented reality and virtual reality devices. He is looking forward to using the lab to create an environment that is diverse, welcoming, accessible, and a place where students can bring their questions, find answers, and thrive.

"The creation of these labs on the RIT campus allows us to train deaf and hard-of-hearing students in cutting-edge research facilities within a fully accessible environment. That's something no other university in the world can match," said Dye.

Upstairs from Dye, Steven Weinstein, the Harvey J. Palmer Professor in Chemical Engineering, will be working with his research team to revolutionize the design, creation, and testing of two-dimensional polymers with molecular structures that enable incredible stiffness and strength, low density, and a network of nanometer-scale pores that make them ideal for battery applications and filtration. These unique material characteristics will enable transformative changes to industries including environmental, energy, chemical, pharmaceutical, and structural engineering.

The lab that Weinstein will be using allows the polymers to be produced large-scale, in highly specialized conditions.

"To my knowledge, RIT is the only place in the world with the expertise, equipment, and facilities to enable industry partners to translate novel benchtop 2D-polymer films to commercially viable scales," said Weinstein. "Our space in the Research Building will showcase RIT's expertise and background in this new and emerging field."

According to RIT Vice President for Research Ryne Raffaelle, research awards as well as national funding sources for economic development have increased to record levels at the university, prompting the need for more research laboratory space on campus.