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ORI Annual Report

Success Stories

Last fiscal year, we helped NC State land major grants to lead research on self-driving labs, nuclear energy, textile engineering and several other subject areas of critical importance to society. Meanwhile, we also helped multiple inventors get their ideas closer to reaching the marketplace.

Winning BiG Research Grants

NIH Awards NC State $5.5M for Research Contributing to Opioid Fight

As part of its ongoing effort to combat opioid addiction, the National Institutes of Health awarded a $5.5 million grant to an interdisciplinary research team in the College of Veterinary Medicine to examine how chronic pain shapes canine cognition and behavior.

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NC State Receives $3M from ARPA-E to Advance Self-Driving Laboratory Research

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) awarded NC State the funding to accelerate the development of a self-driving lab for data-rich discovery of the solid materials that make many fuel and chemical manufacturing processes faster, more efficient and more economical.

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DOE Awards $18M to NC State for Nuclear Workforce Development

NC State received over $18 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy to create the Consortium for Reactor Safety Training (CRεST), part of the DOE’s nationwide efforts to grow the future nuclear energy workforce.

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NC State Research Works

In FY26, the Office of Research and Innovation launched Research Works — a website dedicated to showcasing how research discoveries made at NC State benefit North Carolina, our nation and the whole world. Since our founding in 1887, we’ve striven to fulfill the mission of land-grant institutions by sharing our discoveries in ways that allow everyday citizens to apply them in service of their communities. From engineering and education, to agriculture and architecture, to textiles and veterinary medicine, our researchers excel at turning ideas innovative into new products, services and solutions.

Research Works website

Moving Ideas To Market

NC State Spinout Company Acquired by Waters Biosciences

NIRvana Sciences, a startup company commercializing synthetic red and near-infrared fluorescent dyes for use in diagnostics and imaging, was acquired in 2025 by Waters Biosciences, a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics.

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READYBAR and Complē Coffee Launch CHARGED! Espresso Mocha Meal Replacement Bar

Two startups with ties to NC State launched a new ready-to-eat bar that combines NASA-inspired performance nutrition and NC State-developed food science to deliver a caffeinated, all-in-one performance fuel.

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Engineers Develop Solid Lubricant to Replace Toxic Materials in Farming

The new class of nontoxic, biodegradable solid lubricants can facilitate seed dispersal using modern farming equipment and aims to replace existing lubricants that pose human and environmental toxicity concerns. 

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