The Boston Globe reported that DiBiaggio was one of two area university presidents to lead the lobbying effort to save millions of research dollars and thousands of jobs for New England and the rest of the country. DiBiaggio s trip to capitol hill coincided with a major technology fair organized by the Science Coalition, in which Chris Rogers, a Tufts engineering professor, was one of six representatives chosen to present research. Rogers, a Massachusetts Professor of the Year, demonstrated his robotic-LEGOs , which do everything from blowing bubbles to eating foliage. The robotic toys are part of Tufts Center for Engineering Educational Outreach, which aims to teach hard science concepts to students of all ages. Some of the most important research that we ve done at Tufts, from research that led to the development of CAT scans to creating landmine detectors to nutritional breakthroughs were all funded in part with federal dollars, DiBiaggio said.
Every dollar spent on research at the university level is an investment in the future.
He was joined by other officials from 40 universities as well as representatives from science organizations and the Boston Chamber of Commerce.