The Land Grant University for the 21st Century
Washington State University - Agency 365
2009-2011 Operating Budget
Request
Performance Level Decision Package
–Policy Level "CR"
Contract Research Laboratory Pilot/ASL
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Updated Aug 25, 2008
Agency Recommendation Summary:
Washington State University requests $1.3 million for four staff research
scientist positions to augment the Applied Sciences Laboratory in Spokane and to
convert it into a prototype
“Contract Research
Organization”
to perform research for private businesses and federal agencies. The proposed
contract research organization model combines the creativity of academic
research with the agility and customer focus of
private industry. The Applied Sciences
Laboratory model would be a pilot program at WSU Spokane that could be
implemented by other disciplines at WSU campuses in the future.
The university fully expects that this request will be matched within two
years by at least $6 million in funds from federal and private grants and
contracts.
Fiscal
Details:
Background:
Research
universities like WSU do fantastic work in pursuing basic research and educating
graduate and undergraduate students.
These activities are coincident with fueling the new innovation-based economy.
Research universities, however, struggle with how to partner specifically
and extensively with the private sector and how to bring the expertise of the
basic research engine to bear on important, topical and applied problems that
need rapid attention. It is the goal
of this funding to position WSU as a front runner institution in pioneering and
driving the interaction between a state research university and the needs of the
private sector.
This will be
accomplished by forming, at WSU-Spokane, a
“contract
research organization”
(CRO) that emphasizes
problem solving and commercial applications in the physical sciences and
engineering. The CRO will be located at the existing
Applied Sciences Laboratory, which currently receives state funding and is on
the Spokane Riverpoint campus.
A CRO is a concentrated
collection of physical laboratories (in strategically defined research areas)
with a state-of-the-art research infrastructure, including both personnel and
instrumentation, where applied research services can be
“purchased”
on a contract basis. The vision for
the CRO is to transform scientific innovations into practical solutions in a
timely and cost-effective manner. In this way it varies significantly from the
traditional, basic research done by universities.
The Applied Sciences
Laboratory (ASL)
has been in existence for four years and is located at WSU Spokane on the
Riverpoint campus. The ASL was
founded and is guided by Dr. Yogendra Gupta (Institute for Shock Physics at
WSU). Since its inception, the ASL
has been awarded approximately $12 million in grants and contracts.
Package Description:
The $1.3
million will support four permanent staff research scientist positions.
It is imperative that funding for exempt staff be included, as this model
will not work if regular, tenure-track faculty are hired in these positions.
For the model to succeed, it needs
“anchors”
to contract and perform the work in an efficient manner.
These key staff need considerable flexibility not found in tenure-track
positions and they must be unencumbered by the traditional metrics of academic
success (publications, teaching, etc.) Instead, they will be accountable for
delivering a work product efficiently and in a timely manner (similar to a
business.)
The Applied
Sciences Laboratory CRO that WSU proposes as a pilot at WSU Spokane is intended
to be a local and national model for a new type of university/private/government
sector interaction. If funded, we
expect the return on this investment to exceed 4:1.
Importantly, however, local and regional enterprises will be able to
access this infrastructure at a significant cost reduction to performing these
services in-house. Thus, the return
on the investment is compounded at the state level.
The CRO at WSU Spokane will
function as a buffer organization between fundamental academic research and the
private sector, to bridge these disparate cultures.
A CRO is well-suited to perform this function, because it operates more
like a business and is staffed by entrepreneurial researchers.
Expanding and strengthening the Applied Sciences CRO into a major WSU
asset will permit the university to preserve the academic rigor and integrity
necessary to fulfill its educational mission while ensuring a meaningful and
mutually beneficial partnership with corporations.
A CRO pilot will allow the best science that
emanates from the basic research enterprise to meld with the most pressing
state, regional, and national problems that need to be solved. There will also
be new approaches to technology transfer that emphasize the need for basic
research to be responsive to industry needs.
Nothing in the
state (or the Northwest states, at this time) bridges the gap between the basic
research engine and the private/government sector.
This funding will thus provide a strong return for the state and position
Washington to be a leader in innovative partnerships between WSU and the private
sector.
Narrative Justification and Impact Statement:
As with the applied research
component of WSU’s
Institute for Shock Physics (based on the Pullman campus), the ASL builds on
over 50 years of sustained research excellence and undertakes a broad range of
applied research projects (well beyond shock physics) for government agencies
and private industry. Innovations
and applications involving materials science, computational modeling and
simulations, and optical sciences and related technologies provide the
foundation for applied research projects to address technical needs in Energy,
National Security, and Advanced Materials.
The ASL, soon to be located in the SIRTI Technology Center (STC Building) at
Riverpoint, has the following capabilities that can be exploited with a contract
research model:
1.
Nanophase Materials Laboratory
–
a laboratory that utilizes a wide range of technologies to synthesize, process,
and characterize new nanophase materials.
2.
Advanced Materials Processing
–
laboratories for developing, processing, and characterizing novel metallic
alloys, such as bulk metallic glasses and novel reactive materials.
3.
High Performance Computing
–
a high performance computer that provides tera-flop level computing power for
research calculations, modeling, and simulations. This is the first research
computer of its kind in Spokane. Thanks to Avista’s
continued support, it is currently being housed in an Avista facility.
4.
High Pressure Synthesis
–
a laboratory that utilizes a wide range of high-pressure technologies to
synthesize and characterize novel materials at elevated pressures and
temperatures.
5.
Future Capabilities:
The relocation to the Sirti building allows the addition of new capabilities,
such as materials and optical characterization, sustainable energy, materials
chemistry, and optical sciences and sensors.
Recently funded research partnerships/contracts with private companies include:
·
Avista:
Sustainable energy research
·
Boeing:
Modeling and simulations related to hydrophobicity for next generation aircraft
·
Itron:
Advanced materials research for product improvement
·
Liquidmetal Technologies,
Inc.:
Experiments on
Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG) composites
Proposals (significant, long-term projects) submitted recently include:
·
Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA): Reactive Materials Structures
·
Department
of Defense (DoD): Ultra High Performance Concrete
·
U.S. Department of Homeland
Security: Explosives Detection and Mitigation
Local businesses can take advantage of ASL’s
specialized research equipment. For example, ReliOn, a local company
specializing in fuel-cells, used an ASL furnace to heat treat samples. The usage
of the ASL equipment allowed ReliOn to achieve their goal with minimal expense.
Buying and maintaining such specialized equipment is difficult for small
businesses. Additionally, ASL has invested in a technical library with reference
materials and databases not readily available for public use. Area businesses
may access these materials to further their own research and development
efforts. ASL scientists and staff meet routinely with business and trade groups,
and corporate staff locally and elsewhere to raise awareness of ASL resources
for their needs. In many cases, ASL was able to put the business in touch with
appropriate organizations, even if ASL could not help them directly.
In addition, ASL creates research opportunities for faculty and students from other Spokane academic institutions:
Two faculty members from Whitworth University are participating in ASL
research projects. A student from Gonzaga University is conducting research on
the Department of Homeland Security project. Additionally, a recent graduate
from Whitworth University is working on an internship on the Boeing project.
ASL is providing the benefits of a research university to the Greater Spokane
Region.
Outcomes:
Specific
benefits provided by the formation of a pilot contract research organization at
the existing Applied Sciences Laboratory may be summarized as follows:
-
Approximately $6 million in grants and contracts would be attracted and
expended by WSU within the next two years if this request is funded.
- If
funded, WSU expects the return on this investment to exceed 4:1.
-
Meaningful partnerships with companies to enhance their future
competitiveness and provide new opportunities for utilizing academic
research.
Local and regional
enterprises will be able to access this infrastructure at a significant cost
reduction to performing these services in-house.
Thus, the return is compounded at the state level.
-
Increased scientific stature and national visibility for the region to
foster economic growth and attract new companies.
-
Creation of well paying, high technology jobs, and opportunities to spin off
new companies.
-
Applied research will markedly strengthen graduate enrollment at WSU through
increased research opportunities and visibility due to collaborations with
national laboratories and corporate partnerships.
In
summary, the pilot contract research organization represents a new paradigm for
21st Century university research and will provide the intellectual
and scientific foundation for fostering economic growth through the linkage of
academic research to practical applications.
Calculations:
For more information,
contact Larry Ganders, Assistant to the WSU President, Olympia, at 360-534-2333
