View source for Organization:RTI International

{{Short description|American nonprofit organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| name            = RTI International
| image           = RTI International (logo).svg
| caption         =
| founder         = 
| type            = Nonprofit
| tax_id          = 
| registration_id =
| founded_date    = {{Start date and age|1958}}
| headquarters    = Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
| location_country = {{wipe|United States}}
| coordinates     = 35°54′9.95″N 78°51′58.26″W
| origins         = 
| key_people      = E. Wayne Holden (President/Chief Executive Officer)
| area_served     = Worldwide
| products        = 
| services        =
| focus           = 
| mission         = 
| method          = 
| revenue         = $972 million (USD) (2018)<ref name="numbers">{{citation|title=2018 By the Numbers|url=https://annualreport.rti.org/2018/about-rti/at-a-glance.php|publisher=RTI International}}</ref>
| endowment       = 
| num_volunteers  = 
| num_employees   = 4,941 (2018)<ref name="numbers"/>
| num_members     = 
| subsid          = 
| owner           = 
| motto           = Improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice
| former name     =
| homepage        = {{URL|//www.rti.org/}}
| dissolved       = 
| footnotes       = 
}}
'''Research Triangle Institute''', trading as<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.rti.org/about-us |website=RTI International |access-date=2 May 2021 |quote=" RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute."}}</ref> '''RTI International''', is a [[Engineering:Nonprofit organization|nonprofit organization]] headquartered in the [[Organization:Research Triangle Park|Research Triangle Park]] in North Carolina. RTI provides research and technical services. It was founded in 1958 with $500,000 in funding from local businesses and the three North Carolina universities that form the Research Triangle. RTI research has covered topics like HIV/AIDS, healthcare, education curriculum and the environment, among others. The US Agency for International Development accounts for about 35 percent of RTI's research revenue.

==History==
[[File:RTP planning.jpg|thumb|left|Planning of the Research Triangle Park]]
In 1954 a building contractor,<ref>{{citation|date=December 12–13, 2011|first1=Dennis|access-date=January 9, 2013|last1=Leyden|url=http://iu.edu/~spea/audretsch-conference/pdf/link_albert_collective%20Entrepreneurship.pdf|first2=Albert|last2=Link|title=Collective Entrepreneurship: The Strategic Management of Research Triangle Park|publisher=University of North Carolina}}</ref> met with the North Carolina state treasurer and the president of Wachovia to discuss building a research park in North Carolina to attract new industries to the region.<ref name="three">{{citation|title=The Growth of Research Triangle Park|publisher=Dartmouth and University of North Carolina|first1=John|last1=Scott|first2=Albert|last2=Link|access-date=January 9, 2013|url=//www.dartmouth.edu/~jtscott/Papers/00-22.pdf}}</ref><ref name="foo">{{cite news|newspaper=Business North Carolina|title=RTI International thinks it can continue to flourish by using minds over matters|first=Edward|last=Martin|date=November 2012|access-date=January 6, 2013|url=http://businessnc.com/a-world-of-knowledgecategory/}}</ref> They obtained support for the concept from state governor Luther Hodges and the three universities that form the research triangle: [[Organization:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], [[Organization:Duke University|Duke University]] and [[Organization:North Carolina State University|North Carolina State University]].<ref name="three" /> The Research Triangle Institute (now RTI International) was formed by the park's founders as the research park's first tenant in 1958.<ref name="ls">{{cite news|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|title=North Carolina Taps Research Triangle|date=February 12, 1960|access-date=January 8, 2013|url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/272246772.html?dids=272246772:272246772&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Feb+12%2C+1960&author=By+Charles+Blankstein+Written+for+The+Christian+Science+Monitor&pub=Christian+Science+Monitor&desc=North+Carolina+Taps+Research+Triangle&pqatl=google|first=Charles|last=Blankstein}}</ref> The following January they announced that $1.425 million had been raised by the Research Triangle Foundation to fund the park and that $500,000 of it had been set aside for RTI International.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news|title=Research Institute to be set up near 3 North Carolina Schools|pages=116|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/01/12/archives/research-institute-to-be-set-up-near-3-north-carolina-schools.html|date=January 12, 1959|access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref><ref name="five">{{citation|title=Research Triangle Park: Evolution and Renaissance|url=http://www.rtp.org/sites/default/files/RTP_History_0.pdf|date=June 2006|access-date=January 9, 2013|first1=Rick|last1=Weddle|first2=Elizabeth|last2=Rooks|first3=Tina|last3=Valdecanas|work=ASP World Conference|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611192128/http://rtp.org/sites/default/files/RTP_History_0.pdf|archive-date=June 11, 2012}}</ref>

RTI started with three divisions: Isotope Development, Operational Sciences and Statistics Research.<ref name="ls" /> Its first contract was a $4,500 statistical study of morbidity data from {{wipe|Tennessee}}.<ref name="foo" /><ref name="book">{{citation|url=//www.rti.org/50years/files/rti50_book.pdf|publisher=Greenwich Publishing Group|work=RTI International|title=Impact on a Changing World|access-date=January 7, 2013|first=Rus|last=Banham|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923161952/http://rti.org/50years/files/rti50_book.pdf |archive-date=September 23, 2013}}</ref> In RTI's first year of operation, it had 25 staff and $240,000 in research contracts.<ref name="one">{{cite news|newspaper=Waycross Journal-Herald|date=Jul 25, 1988|access-date=December 18, 2012|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=81laAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nUwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6796,3041464&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|title=Research Triangle Institute is Quiet Leader in its Fields|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> Its early work was focused on statistics, but within a few years RTI expanded into radioisotopes, organic chemistry and polymers. In 1960 the Institute had its first international research contract for an agricultural census in Nigeria.<ref name="foo" /> RTI won contracts with the Department of Education,<ref name="book" /> Defense Department, [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] and the Atomic Energy Commission, growing to $3.4 million in contracts in 1964<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qpkbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bVEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6866,900436&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|title=Research Triangle Institute has Shown Remarkable Growth in Five-Year Period|access-date=December 18, 2012|newspaper=The Dispatch|date=November 13, 1964}}</ref> and $85 million in 1988.<ref name="one" />

In 1971, RTI's staff of 430 was reorganized into four research groups: social and economic systems, statistical sciences, environmental sciences and engineering, and chemistry and life sciences. It also created a division for education called the Center for Education Research and Evaluation.<ref name="book" /> Four years later, RTI created the Office for International Programs to manage international projects.<ref name="book" /> RTI provided funding assistance to help found the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in 1980.<ref>{{cite news|title=Science, math school opens with first classes|publisher=Associated Press|date=October 3, 1980}}</ref> Two years later was part of a joint venture to create Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC), a non-profit whose computer network connected local K-12 schools.<ref name="csm">{{cite news|first=Ruth|last=Walker|title=A research center takes root among pine and possums|newspaper=Christian Science Monitor|date=June 15, 1982|access-date=January 9, 2013|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0615/061543.html}}</ref>

==Organization==
RTI International is a not-for-profit research organization. RTI was initially established by three local universities but it is managed by a separate board and management team.<ref name="csm" /> RTI's structure consists of members of the corporation, the board of governors and corporate officers. The members of the corporation elect governors, who in turn create the organization's policies.

RTI has primarily eight practice areas:<ref>{{citation|publisher=Research Triangle Institute|url=//www.rti.org/|access-date=January 7, 2013|title=Main Page}}</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Health
* Education and Workforce Development
* International Development
* Energy Research
* Environmental Sciences
* Social and Justice Policy
* Food Security and Agriculture
* Innovation Ecosystems
}}
RTI also has a separate business called RTI Health Solutions, which supports biotech, diagnostic and medical device companies.<ref name="overview" /> As of 2012, the organization's largest service areas were in social, statistical and environmental sciences. More than half of RTI's staff have advanced degrees in one of 120 fields and work on approximately 1,200 projects at a time.<ref name="foo" />

RTI has twelve US offices and twelve international locations, supporting operations in 80 countries.<ref name="numbers" /> About 60 percent of RTI's staff are headquartered on a 180-acre campus inside the [[Organization:Research Triangle Park|Research Triangle Park]].<ref name="one" /><ref name="overview">{{citation|title=RTI International Overview|url=//www.rti.org/brochures/rti_trifold_w.pdf|publisher=RTI International|access-date=February 22, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124023732/http://www.rti.org/brochures/rti_trifold_w.pdf |archive-date=November 24, 2012}}</ref> Most of RTI International's funding comes from government research contracts.<ref name="foo" /><ref name="annual">{{citation|url=//www.rti.org/annual_reports/2012/rti_ar_2012.pdf|title=2012 Annual Report|publisher=RTI International|access-date=February 22, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917082851/http://rti.org/annual_reports/2012/rti_ar_2012.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 2013}}</ref> In 2018 RTI staff authored 1,052 journal articles.<ref name="numbers" /> The Institute bids on $2 billion in research contracts a year and wins approximately 40 percent of the budget it bids on.<ref name="foo" /> While RTI is technically a non-profit research institute, senior employees are rewarded salary bonuses (4% for senior staff, and 9-15% for managers) based on annual performance and corporate profit. However, employees have no current vested interest or role in corporate governance.

==Projects==
[[File:RTI scientists.jpg|thumb|right|Wani (left) and Wall (right) holding a piece of tree bark used to synthesize cancer intervention drugs]]RTI International's research has spanned areas like cancer, pollution, drug abuse and education.<ref name="one" />

RTI scientists Monroe Wall and Mansukh C. Wani synthesized anti-cancer treatments [[Biology:Camptothecin|camptothecin]] in 1966, from the bark of the [[Biology:Camptotheca|Camptotheca]] tree, and Taxol in 1971, from a Pacific yew tree.<ref name="O'Connor">{{cite news|last=O'Connor|first=Anahad|title=Monroe Wall, 85, Discoverer Of Drugs That Fight Cancer|work=The New York Times|page=14|date=July 11, 2002|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/11/us/monroe-wall-85-discoverer-of-drugs-that-fight-cancer.html|access-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Charlotte Observer|date=August 16, 1998|pages=1D|first=Leah|last=Ward|title=Quiet Heroes of War on Cancer}}</ref> These two drugs account for $3 billion a year in sales by pharmaceutical companies.<ref name="foo" /> In 1986, RTI was awarded a $4 million contract with the [[Organization:National Cancer Institute|National Cancer Institute]] to conduct an eight-year clinical trial on the effects of an anti-smoking campaign.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Associated Press|title=Greensboro, Raleigh to take part in anti-smoking study|date=September 26, 1986|access-date=January 10, 2013|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wfdUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0TwNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6130,4402881&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en}}</ref> Two years later, RTI began a $4.4 million program to coordinate AIDS drug trials for the [[Organization:National Institutes of Health|National Institutes of Health]]. This grew to $26 million by 1988.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6C34F2D68FACD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|newspaper=Charlotte Observer|date=August 15, 1988|pages=6C|title=Research Triangle Institute Coordinates US Tests of Drug Treatments|access-date=December 18, 2012}}</ref>

RTI scientists helped identify toxic chemicals in the Love Canal in the 1970s.<ref name="foo" /> In 1978, RTI researched the possibility of improving solar cells for the US Department of Energy<ref>{{cite news|title=Better Solar Energy Cells in Making|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NuEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=klEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5805,95405&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|date=May 1, 1978|access-date=January 9, 2013|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> and [[Chemistry:Coal gasification|coal gasification]] for the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uAoeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rlEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6954,3148936&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|publisher=Associated Press|title=Research Triangle Scientists Work to make coal a Safer Fuel Source|access-date=December 18, 2012}}</ref> RTI trained Chinese government employees on using computer models to forecast pollution patterns before the 2007 Olympics in Beijing.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 27, 2007|title=Bad weather day in Beijing as thick haze, pollution blanket city|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=2918511|access-date=January 21, 2013|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref>

An RTI survey in 1973, commissioned by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, confirmed prior research that found no connection between drug use and violent crime, despite prior perceptions of heroin users as more prone to violence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Study Finds Drug Users Not Adding to Violence|publisher=Associated Press|date=June 28, 1973}}</ref> A 1975 study RTI conducted for the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that 28 percent of 13,000 teenagers polled were "problem drinkers," despite their age.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t2RAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2VIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5641,1961675&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|access-date=January 6, 2013|title=Teen Drinking Habits Studied|date=November 21, 1975}}</ref> A 1996 study done by RTI and funded by the Pentagon found that drug abuse in the military had been reduced by 90 percent since 1980.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Associated Press|date=August 11, 1996|title=Study: Military Drug Use Down}}</ref>

RTI in 1975 recommended that the Bureau of the Mint halt expensive production of pennies, and replace half-dollars with a new dollar coin.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=The New York Times News Service|title=The Moneychangers: U.S. Conducting Study|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DZUzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QuoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3712,1207635&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=UPI|date=November 3, 1975|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zLlPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VVIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3696,2762792&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en|access-date=January 8, 2013|title=Future Coins May be Different}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=Associated Press|date=September 17, 1976|access-date=January 6, 2013|title=U.S. Urged to Drop Pennies|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=M55RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hm0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5058,1801524&dq=research-triangle-institute&hl=en}}</ref> In 2001, RTI scientists created a new thinfilm superlattice material that uses the [[Physics:Thermoelectric effect|thermoelectric effect]] to cool microprocessors.<ref>{{cite journal
 | last =Bell
 | first =Philip
 | title =Cool new film
 | journal =Nature
 | date =October 11, 2001
 | url =http://www.nature.com/news/2001/011011/full/news011011-12.html
 | doi =10.1038/news011011-12
 | access-date =January 21, 2013 }}</ref> A 2009 study by RTI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in ''Health Affairs'' estimated that obesity in the US caused $147 billion in increased medical care costs annually.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/07/27/Medical-costs-for-obesity-top-147-billion/UPI-27351248712231/|publisher=UPI|date=July 27, 2009|title=Medical costs for obesity top $147 billion|access-date=January 10, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Obese Americans Spend Far More on Health Care|first=Roni|last=Rabin|date=July 27, 2009|access-date=January 10, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/health/policy/28obesity.html}}</ref>  RTI also developed a reading skill measurement program, the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), for the USAID and the World Bank. The EGRA has been used in 70 languages and 50 countries.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=International Reading Association|title=A Primer on Early Reading Education in Sub-Saharan Africa|newspaper=Reading Today Online|first=Michelle|last=Commeyras|url=http://www.reading.org/literacy-daily/ira/post/rty/2012/06/27/A_Primer_on_Early_Reading_Education_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa.aspx|access-date=January 23, 2013|date=June 27, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204152614/http://www.reading.org/literacy-daily/ira/post/rty/2012/06/27/A_Primer_on_Early_Reading_Education_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa.aspx|archive-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref>

In the 1980s, RTI created and distributed the [[Architecture Design and Assessment System]], a set of software programs that helped model intricate systems. The ADAS programs were produced until the mid-1990s.<ref>G.A. Frank, D.L. Franke, and W.F. Ingogly, "An Architecture Design and Assessment System,"VLSI Design, Vol. 6, No. 8, Aug. 1985, pp. 30-50</ref>

RTI began working for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) after the conflict between Iraq and the US began in 2003.<ref name="foo" /> USAID work represented 35 percent of RTI's revenue by 2010.<ref name="qts">{{cite news|title=RTI Lures Brookhaven Researcher to Build ag Research Unit|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/print-edition/2011/12/16/rti-lures-brookhaven-researcher-to.html?page=all|first=Amanda|last=Hoyle|newspaper=Triangle Business Journal|access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref> Under Iraq’s previous, highly centralized regime, citizens had almost no experience with local governance or active participation in the governing process. To inform and train Iraqis in local governance systems, RTI ultimately set up offices in Iraq’s eighteen provinces. A staff of 200 people drawn from 33 countries, augmented by the hiring of 800 Iraqis, was deployed.<ref name="book" />

In 2004, Nextreme was spun off of RTI to develop a thermoelectric material for semiconductors commercially.<ref>{{cite news|title=RTI International Spinoff Nextreme Raises $13 Million|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/08/04/daily18.html|newspaper=Triangle Business Journal|access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Nextreme Raises $8 Million to Fund Thermoelectric Technology|url=http://eetimes.com/electronics-news/4051657/Nextreme-raises-8-million-to-fund-thermoelectric-technology|first=Spencer|last=Chin|date=February 8, 2005|access-date=January 19, 2013}}</ref> In October 2018, RTI published a study showing that [[Chemistry:Heroin|heroin]] addicts that used [[Chemistry:Fentanyl|fentanyl]] testing strips were more likely to adopt safer drug habits.<ref name="Washington Post 2018">{{cite web | title=Fentanyl test strips lead to more caution among illicit drug users | website=Washington Post | date=October 2, 2018 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/fentanyl-test-strips-lead-to-more-caution-among-illicit-drug-users/2018/10/02/4dda95ac-c65d-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html | access-date=February 28, 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rti International}}
[[Category:Research institutes in the United States]]

{{Sourceattribution|RTI International|1}}