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UNC Charlotte’s unique integrated manufacturing and metrology (measurement) capabilities are used to advance manufacturing and realize the next generation of products to meet future energy, health care, security and transport needs.

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Advanced manufacturing enables the realization of the next generation of products to meet future energy, health care, security and transport needs. The introduction of new, innovative processes — such as additive manufacturing — and the evolution of existing processes — such as high-precision machining — rely on dimensional metrology (measurements) to quantify and evaluate the process output. UNC Charlotte’s unique integrated manufacturing and metrology capabilities are used to first assess the limitations of current manufacturing technologies and then to identify alternative more efficient and improved approaches.

Through university-industry collaborative centers, like the Center for Precision Metrology and the Center for Freeform Optics, teams of faculty tackle diverse topics ranging from measuring millimeter-scale cooling channels on turbine blades, to evaluating meter-scale gears for wind turbines, to polishing optics with nanometer form errors, to machining lightweight components for aircraft, to manufacturing and testing novel ceramic materials for biomedical applications.

Currently operating as a graduated Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC), the Center for Precision Metrology is charged with breaking new ground in precision metrology by addressing real-world industrial concerns. Through the associated Affiliates Program, industrial and Center researchers collaborate on projects that involve generic and specific manufacturing metrology problems. in support of the Center’s research efforts, affiliate members contribute funds and equipment that are directly applied to student projects and research assistantships. The CPM works closely with the UNC Charlotte Lee College of Engineering’s internationally recognized Advanced Manufacturing program as well.

Additional specific research is funded through contracts with industrial partners to address proprietary application and development projects. Government funding is solicited for sponsoring fundamental and large-scale metrology projects. Additionally, the Center is partnered with lead university UCLA as an NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for Scalable and Integrated Nanomanufacturing (SINAM) along with the University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University; University of California, San Diego; and HP labs.

UNC Charlotte has been a leader in the field of information security for decades. 

The University’s program was the first in North Carolina to be recognized by the National Security Agency (NSA) as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research in 2006. And we’re only growing stronger.Our cybersecurity research fuels innovation to understand and mitigate threats to our systems, information and lives, especially those related to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of digital information.

Migration and diaspora studies at UNC Charlotte take a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to examining a fundamental human experience: the movement from one homeland to another. More people than ever have left their native countries, driven by economics, political violence, social dynamics and climate change. Studies of these migrants, their hosts and the communities they leave behind are complex, transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, and address urgent and current topics, such as immigration policy and governance; race and ethnicity in cultural and artistic expression, violence and conflict; and equity and justice in health, education, environmental sustainability and socioeconomic mobility.

With a particular focus on African, Caribbean and Latin American diasporas, Charlotte faculty and students strive to understand the shared heritage and experience of these scattered populations and the many legacies of displacement and dispersion.

UNC Charlotte’s advanced expertise in optics, the science of light, and optoelectronics, the study and development of electronic devices to detect and control light, addresses critical needs in the areas of national competitiveness and security. Enhanced by the founding of the Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications more than 20 years ago, optics is a longtime signature strength for Charlotte. Collaborative teams study and develop electronic devices to detect and control light and to create innovative applications and novel materials for medicine, defense, energy, infrastructure, communications, virtual reality and other fields.

Central to the research are strategic investments in advanced technologies and equipment and the creation of collaborative centers that spur intensive use-inspired research with industry and government partners, particularly the Center for Freeform Optics, the Center for Metamaterials and the Center for Precision Metrology. Collectively, University researchers capitalize upon historic strengths in optics and microelectronics, while pushing forward into new and potentially revolutionary research directions, such as the development of novel materials.

Transitioning the domestic and global energy economies to low- or net-zero carbon emissions will have critical impacts in meeting society’s energy needs while promoting a healthy climate.

A pioneer and leader in energy research and education, UNC Charlotte makes significant multidisciplinary contributions to the field through six areas: (1) scientific discovery and technology development, (2) fast-paced applied research, (3) technology integration through multi-institutional projects, (4) technical and laboratory services, (5) workforce development and (6) public/private partnerships.

Led by Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), the University’s transformational energy research engages local, regional, state and federal agencies with key business and industry stakeholders to further accelerate the country’s transition to clean energy.