Research and Academic Centers and Institutes

The Advanced Materials Research Institute (AMRI) is a multidisciplinary research institute that provides a unique opportunity to develop novel research ideas that ultimately involve the government, private, and academic sectors in the conception and development of research programs.  The interactions with corporate laboratories provide a synergistic pathway that promotes technology transfer and private sector involvement in the operation of AMRI.

The Center for Austrian Culture and Commerce was founded in 1997 to administer the entire partnership agenda with the University of Innsbruck. It directs the student and faculty exchanges, organizes regular lectures on campus and annual scholarly conferences in the humanities, social sciences and sciences, and publishes the academic journal "Contemporary Austrain Studies." It also publishes two book series: "Studies in Austrian Politics and Culture" (Transaction Publishers) and "TRANSATLANTICA" (StudienVerlag Innsbruck). CA is one of three Austrian Studies Centers in North America (next to the University of Minnesota and the University of Alberta in Canada). It is recognized as a major center for Austrian Studies by the Austrian government and receives regular support from the Ministries for European and International Affairs and the Science Ministry for its conferences and publications and with the funding of an annual dissertation fellowship for an Austrian student to come to UNO. Its work in trans-Atlantic academic exchanges has also been recognized by the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation in Vienna with the funding of the Marshall Plan Chair in Austrian and European Studies to foster European Studies and international on the UNO campus. CenterAustria is promoting the study of Austria and Europe in Louisiana and the Gulf South.

The Center for Hazards Assessment, Response and Technology (CHART)  is an applied social science hazards research center at The University of New Orleans that collaborates with Louisiana communities emphasizing coastal communities including the City of New Orleans.  The focus of UNO-CHART is to support Louisiana community sustainability in light of natural, technological, and environmental risks to which the state is vulnerable.  The Center undertakes applied social science research to understand ways in which Louisiana communities and the coastal region respond to these risks, assists in the development of best practices for reducing risks and helps in implementing these practices to achieve comprehensive community sustainability. The second focus of UNO-CHART is the reverse dynamic-the impacts of community activity--social / political /economic-on the ecosystems within the coastal and southeast regions of the state.  CHART was founded in 2001 and is comprised of a multidisciplinary group of faculty, staff, and graduate research assistants representing various backgrounds including sociology, political science, public administration, planning, urban studies, engineering and geography. Currently, CHART has projects that address repeated flood loss, disaster mitigation planning, developing of community resiliency assessments, storm mitigation efforts by coastal communities, scientist/community collaboration on ecosystem health and hurricane evacuation of vulnerable populations.

The Center for Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA) is a multidisciplinary, non-partisan center for urban research and planning at the University of New Orleans that has produced and disseminated rigorous applied and scholarly urban research for over 20 years. The mission of helping to facilitate and understand healthy, sustainable urban communities have been made all the more important as the Gulf Coast region recovers from Hurricane Katrina. CUPA has built tremendous expertise in the challenges and opportunities that lie at the heart of rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Region. This expertise is being put to use in a wide variety of projects of local and national significance.

The Edward G. Schlieder Urban Environmental Systems Center (formerly the Urban Waste Management and Research Center) is a Center of Excellence in the College of Engineering that was established in 1990 by the Louisiana Board of Regents to address urban environmental issues.  The Center’s research activities are associated with urban environmental issues such as municipal solid waste, wastewater, urban runoff, surface and ground water quality, and air quality. To that end, the Center’s project activities over the period of funding included and involve investigators from UNO as well as other universities throughout the country, and where possible, other disciplines.  The Center’s objective is to provide research that will develop the technologies necessary to further the state-of-the- art, and provide a source of trained graduate engineers and scientists.  SUESC has operated based on funding provided by research grants and contracts with institutions such as the US EPA, SPAWAR, Jefferson Parish, City of Kenner, and others.  The US EPA funded a twelve-year research program (EPA Grant #GR825427), from May 1990 through May 2002, with the participation of faculty primarily from UNO an Louisiana State University.

The Eisenhower Center for American Studies supports the Department of History graduate program in diplomatic-military history with an emphasis on public history employment after graduation.  This support comes in the form of special speakers and events designed to increase interest in military history and contemporary national security affairs.  The Eisenhower Center is the university's principal agent for joint programs with the National World War II Museum, founded by the late Stephen E. Ambrose, a UNO history professor and author of international acclaim.  The current director of the Eisenhower Center, Allan R. Millett, serves as the senior military advisor to the president of the museum.  He was instrumental in negotiating the endowment that created the World War II lecture series funded by Major General Raymond E. Mason, Jr., USAR (Retired).  The center director and his research assistant work closely with the museum's research and educational departments.  The director ensures university contact with the international military history community by serving as Vice President of the International Commission of Military History, a forty-nation consortium chartered by UNESCO.

The Energy Conversion and Conservation Center (ECCC) was established in 1996 by legislative act of the State of Louisiana.   The ECCC conducts research on local, national and international projects that aim to improve the quality of life by solving technical problems associated with power generation, energy conservation and efficiency.

The Ethel and Herman Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies promotes understanding of New Orleans history, culture, politics, and public policy issues through sponsored events and coordination of interdisciplinary courses and seminars at the University of New Orleans, facilitating the writing of new general histories of New Orleans and Louisiana, hosting conferences that enable scholars to share their research findings about New Orleans, serving as an institutional home for international scholars, and as a repository for research materials about the culture and folklore of the City. Since its inception, The Midlo Center has sponsored a series of high profile outreach projects that have helped to circulate this information back into the community that it serves while successfully applying for a range of research grants to expand knowledge on the city and people of New Orleans.

The Greater New Orleans Center for Information Assurance (GNOCIA) is dedicated to research and instruction in the broad area of Information Assurance (IA). The GNOCIA has several interrelated missions, including facilitating interaction between government, industry, and academia to perform cutting edge research in IA, attracting federal funding to support these research efforts, attracting and retaining highly-qualified students, staff, and faculty, and workforce development through creation of specialized training opportunities. The Center also develops outreach programs to increase awareness of opportunities in IA in a number of communities, from high school students to entrepreneurs. Finally, the GNOCIA will provide a development environment where, in collaboration with industry and government agencies, research ideas in IA are grown into real-world security tools to be used in daily practice. The primary research agenda of the GNOCIA includes development of state-of-the-art, high-performance tools for digital forensics investigation, reverse engineering, techniques for analysis and mitigation of malware, secure programming, and research in spatio-temporal information systems for homeland security. The GNOCIA laboratories include state-of-the-art computer equipment running a wide variety of open source and commercial software for digital investigation, reverse engineering, and the analysis of malicious software, in addition to specialized equipment such hard drive analyzers and clean room facilities.

The Hospitality Research Center at the University of New Orleans is a collaborative effort of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration (HRT) and the Division of Business and Economic Research (DBER).   Each faculty member of the School of HRT has broad experience in the tourism and hospitality industry and has extensive academic preparation. Working together, in cooperation with the professionals in the Division of Business and Economic Research, the UNO HRT/ DBER research program is consistently recognized for research productivity in the hospitality field. The function of the Hospitality Research Center is to provide a variety of research services to hospitality, travel and tourism organizations. Selected recent projects include Louisiana Tourism Conversion Study, Special Events Impact on the Economy, Tourism Industry Salary Surveys and Visitor Profiles.

The Merritt C. Becker, Jr. University of New Orleans Transportation Institute (UNOTI), housed under the Department of Planning and Urban Studies, focuses on the role of transportation in creating a sustainable, livable and resilient future.  Faculty and staff associated with the Institute are recognized for their expertise in Transportation Policy for Sustainability, Livability, Resiliency and Disaster Recovery; Maritime and Port Planning; Evacuation Planning for Carless and Vulnerable Populations; Transit and Streetcars; Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning and Safety, and Transit Oriented Development. UNOTI combines applied research, outreach and education to impact positively the transportation field from the local to the international spheres.  The work done at the Institute continues to be integral in the post-Katrina recovery of New Orleans, and vital to the overall sustainability and economic competitiveness of the nation.

The National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM) is a partnership of government, academia and industry fulfilling the technology needs of aerospace and commercial markets.  The NCAM-Louisiana Partnership was formed between NASA, the State of Louisiana, and the University of New Orleans.  The center includes a consortium of seven universities (UNO, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, Tennessee Tech, Texas A&M, U.S. Naval Academy and Virginia Tech) led by UNO in advanced manufacturing research with the focus on the applicability of composite and metallic materials to advanced manufacturing processes. The technical areas involved include: nondestructive testing, bond quality, large structures evaluation, joints and bonding, imbedded sensors, damage tolerance and repair of advanced materials.

Formed in July 2008, the New Orleans Jazz Institute (NOJI) links UNO’s strengths in jazz education with professional practice. It serves to promote creative excellence and best practices in Jazz composition, performance, scholarship, importation, exportation, and education.  The goals and objectives of the New Orleans Jazz Institute are directly reflective of the University of New Orleans’ mission, as well as its standard of excellence in the areas of: academic research, music education, new creative works and the enrichment of the cultural and business infrastructure of the New Orleans community. NOJI serves as a community and capacity building organization for New Orleans’ Jazz Industry and creative community, bolsters the activities and scope of UNO Jazz programs, and acts as an ambassador for New Orleans Jazz all over the world.

The UNO Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences is a partnership of scientists and educators that combines rigorous scientific analysis with education, outreach, and planning to develop practical solutions to environmental challenges of the Pontchartrain Basin, the Gulf of Mexico, and similar coastal ecosystems in the United States and elsewhere in our world.  The Institute brings together the technical expertise and understanding needed to address issues such as water quality, critical habitats, biodiversity and coastal restoration strategies.  Additionally, staff  work with academic institutions, government agencies, and environmental organizations to provide information critical to preserving and restoring the environmental quality of the Pontchartrain Basin.

The Robert E Nims Center for Entertainment Arts is a commercial motion picture production complex and offers  professional / academic support to the UNO's Department of Film, Theatre and Communication Arts. Such major Hollywood features as "The Runaway Jury", "Ray", "Deja vu", "All the King's Men" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" were shot at the Center. The Nims Center StudioPlex also offers professional "real world" film industry internship opportunities and specialized workshops to UNO's undergraduate and graduate film production students. This full-time production center includes four sound stages, Avid and Final Cut Pro editing suites, ADR recording studios, HD / Dolby screening room and a professional motion picture processing laboratory operated by Cineworks Digital Studios of Louisiana. The combined resources of UNO's film production curriculum along with Nims Center's professional internship and a film-related business start-up program have been instrumental in launching real industry careers for many UNO film production graduates.

The Survey Research Center (SRC/UNO Poll) exists to serve the research, teaching and service needs of the University and of the larger community. The SRC promotes socially significant research with public policy implications as well as research of theoretical or academic interest. Since 1985, the Center has collected information about public opinions, beliefs and values on a wide range of social, economic and political issues. In that time it has gained a reputation for accuracy and integrity in public opinion research. The SRC is an independent academic survey unit offering high quality research services to people inside and outside of the University. We provide training and experience in survey research to graduate and undergraduate students. The SRC is associated with the Department of Political Science.