A recent story on The Roanoke Times site explains how Virginia Tech's seven research institutes are combining traditional laboratory research with high-performance computing to increase revenue and raise the university's international visibility. "Sponsored research contracts awarded through the institutes -- which employ more than 600 -- accounted for $65 million of the $252 million in total university research funding in 2010-11," the article says. The article also includes an interesting table that compares Virginia Tech's research centers.

Source:
Growing research at Virginia Tech:
VT aggressively pursues research as a new revenue stream and as a way to boost the university's global reputation.
By Tonia Moxley