To further grow its research program and support collaboration in new and emerging areas, the College of Engineering has selected five new projects for funding through its the Strategic Research Initiatives (SRI) program for 2013. The intent of the SRI program, which was initiated in Spring 2012, is to place Illinois in a clear leadership position in promising new and growing areas of engineering research. SRI supports both late- and early-stage research through strategic investment in the form of seed funding. Late-stage funding supports projects that develop engineering leadership by collecting and building on existing capabilities in units or groups to form a new interdisciplinary focus areas or centers.