KINGSTON, R.I. — Dec. 2, 2025 — The Champlin Foundation awarded the University of Rhode Island $500,000 to purchase equipment and technology that will benefit more than 850 students annually in multiple departments.
The Champlin Foundation, one of the oldest philanthropic organizations in Rhode Island, has funded projects at URI for more than 40 years that cumulatively total nearly $22 million. Recently, they supported three interdisciplinary proposals submitted by faculty from URI’s Colleges of the Environment and Life Sciences, Engineering, and Pharmacy.
“These projects will place URI students at the forefront of innovation, giving them hands-on experience with technologies most undergraduates never encounter—from isolating single microbial cells, to building digital twins of bridges, to nanoscale fabrication,” said Mark Antonucci, vice president for University Advancement and CEO of the URI Foundation. “As Rhode Island’s R1 public research institution, these investments provide opportunities for students to access top-tier equipment and better prepare them to shape the future of medicine, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing in Rhode Island and far beyond.”
Projects funded this year:
Training the Next Generation of Engineers in Multi-hazard Structural Health Monitoring: Bridging Sensing, Data Analytics, and Digital Twin Systems: Establishes an interdisciplinary center that offers students hands-on training with advanced equipment and real-world projects. Using sensors, data analytics, and digital twin technology, students will learn to detect damage early and predict failures—an urgent need given Rhode Island’s aging bridges.
Submitted by: Mehrshad Amini (Primary PI), Civil and Environmental Engineering and Ocean Engineering; Christopher Baxter, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Ocean Engineering; Vahid Jahangiri, Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Aaron Bradshaw, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Sumanta Das, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Paolo Stegagno, Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering; Che-Wei Chang, Ocean Engineering; Aser Abbas, Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Ultra-High-Resolution 3D Printing Techniques for Enhanced Student Learning: Integrates state-of-the-art microscale 3D printing technology into engineering and pharmacy curricula for biomedical and advanced manufacturing applications. The technology, which is capable of printing microscopic structures 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair, enables students to design and build tiny medical devices, optical components, and lab-on-a-chip systems, skills that are increasingly valuable in health care and tech industries.
Submitted by: Yang Lin (Primary PI), Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Xinyuan Chen, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Manbir Sodhi, Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Chengzhi Yuan, Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering; Daniel Roxbury, Department of Chemical, Biomolecular and Materials Engineering.
Cultivating the Next Generation of Microbiology Education at URI: Acquisition of a high-throughput microbial isolator will enable students to gain skills in advanced microbial cultivation and genome editing techniques that will boost job readiness, and it will support new research courses and collaborations to advance innovation.
Submitted by: Amanda Alker (Primary PI), Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Marta Gomez-Chiarri, Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences; Laura Eme, Cell and Molecular Biology; David Rowley, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Patrick Sorensen, Natural Resources Science; Ying Zhang, Cell and Molecular Biology
About The Champlin Foundation
Since 1932, the Champlin Foundation has awarded more than $705 million to fund capital projects for Rhode Island nonprofit organizations. Its nine areas of focus cover arts and culture, conservation and parks, education, healthcare, historic preservation and heritage, libraries, social services, welfare of animals, and youth services. For more information visit ChamplinFoundation.org.