Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems (CenSSIS)

A National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center

Research and Industrial Collaboration ConferenceNovember 13-15, 2000

This work was supported in part by the Engineering Research Center Program of the National ScienceFoundation under award number EEC-9986821.

The NSF ERC Program and its Impact on National and Industrial Competitiveness

Theresa A. Maldonado, National Science Foundation

Engineering Research Centers

Partnerships Between Industry, Academe, and Government for Next-

Generation Advances in Complex Engineered Systems

Theresa A. Maldonado, Ph.D., P.E.Program DirectorDivision of Engineering Education and CentersNational Science Foundation703-292-5350tmaldona@nsf.gov

WAWA MTMT

UTUTCACA

AZAZ

TXTXGAGA

NCNC

MDMD

PAPA

MNMN

Montana StateBiofilm Engineering

Texas A&M UniversityOffshore Technology Research Center

University of WashingtonEngineered Biomaterials

Brigham Young UniversityAdv. Combustion Engineering

California Institute of TechnologyNeuromorphic Systems Engineering

University of Southern CaliforniaIntegrated Media Systems

University of ArizonaEnvironmentally Benign Semiconductor

Manufacturing

University of ColoradoOptoelectronic Computing Systems

North Carolina State UniversityAdv. Electronics Materials Processing

Mississippi State UniversityComputational Field Simulation

Georgia Institute of TechnologyLow Cost Electronic Packaging

Duke UniversityEmerging Cardiovascular

Technologies

MITCompetitive Product

Development

Carnegie Mellon UniversityEng. Design Research Center

Carnegie Mellon UniversityData Storage Systems Center

Ohio State UniversityNet Shape Manufacturing

University of MichiganReconfigurable Machining Systems

University of MinnesotaInterfacial Engineering

HIHI

University of HawaiiMarine Bioproducts

SCSC

VAVA

Clemson UniversityAdv. Engineering of Fibers & Films

Georgia Institute of TechnologyTissue Engineering

Virginia Polytechnic InstitutePower Electronic Systems

MIMI

COCO

MITBiotechnology Process

Engineering

NYNY

University of MarylandSystems Research

Johns Hopkins UniversityComputer Integrated Surgical

Systems

Legend:- On-going ERCs- Graduated ERCs- New ERCs

University of IllinoisCompound Semiconductor Microelectronics

OHOH

FLFL

MSMS

Lehigh UniversityAdv. Tech. for Large Structural

Systems

MAMA

Engineering Research CentersEngineering Research Centers

Purdue UniversityCollaborative Manufacturing

ININILIL

TNTN

Vanderbilt UniversityBioengineering Educational Technology

University of FloridaParticle Science & Technology

University of MichiganWireless Integrated Microsystems

Columbia UniversityTelecommunications Research

Northeastern UniversitySubsurface Sensing & Imaging Systems

ERC ProgramGuiding Strategic Goals

l Disciplines, research, and education integrated to produce next-generation innovations in engineered systems

l New generations of engineers, more effective in industry, better positioned to lead in a global economy

l Partnerships between academe, industry, and government to strengthen the competitiveness of industry and the Nation

Key Features of an ERC

l Guiding strategic visionl Research involving engineering, science, and other

disciplinesl Integrating research & education; curriculum innovationsl Partnership with industry -- flow of knowledge into

innovationl Leadership; cohesive and diverse interdisciplinary teaml Outreach involving faculty and students from other

universities and collegesl Commitment from academic, industrial, and other

partners to leverage and sustain the ERC

ERC Research Program

l Driven by a strategic vision l Focus on advances in next-generation engineered systemsl Research from discovery to proof-of-conceptl Address barriers and achieve advances in knowledge and

technology l Synthesize engineering, science, and other disciplinesl Collaborate with industry to achieve knowledge and

technology transfer

ERC Education Goals

l Cultural change in engineering education through team-based, multidisciplinary research

l Infuse ERC’s engineered systems research into the curriculum

l New generation of leaders who are more effective in industry in a global economy

l Increase skills and diversity of the engineering workforce through mentoring, recruitment and outreach/connectivity with other institutions

Partnership with Industry

l Broad spectrum of firms/practitioners, where both industry and academe gain

l Primary goals are information exchange, technology transfer, and student impact

l Balance between the longer-term strategic vision of the ERC and the nearer-term needs of industry

l Strong industrial involvement in planning, research, and education

l Financial and other support

Active Industrial Involvement

l Industrial input to strategic planningl Industrial Advisory Board advises ERC in

Research and Education l Joint projects between ERC and industrial

researchersl Collaboration in development of testbedsl Industrial mentors for students, industrial residency

at ERCl Student visits to and employment in industryl Spin-off small business development for high risk

opportunities

Benefits of Industry Membership

l Hiring ERC students

l Access to new ideas, knowledge, & technologies

l Collaborative projects leading to technology transfer

l Personnel exchanges

l Interaction with other ERC industrial partners

l Access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities

l Licenses to Intellectual Property developed at the ERC

Effectiveness of ERC Graduates in Industry

l Effective in carrying out job responsibilities

l Ability to quickly grasp key features of new opportunities

l Depth of technical understanding

l Ability to work in teams

l Ability to integrate knowledge from different disciplines

l Improved verbal and written skills in communications and networking

[Derived from a survey of supervisors of ERC graduates]

Role of Industrial Liaison Officer

l Market the Center and company recruitment l Member relationsl Identify Center activities relevant to industry needsl Facilitate faculty interactions with industryl Showcase the Center l Membership on management team l Develop industry oriented informational materials such

as newsletters, brochures, websites, etc. l Help prepare annual reportl Collect and organize industry data and technology-

transfer nuggets for NSF indicators report

Requirements for Industrial Collaboration

l Membership Agreement specifying:l Fees & terms of membership; benefits & role of non-member

affiliatesl Pooling of membership fees for allocation per strategic plan

l Intellectual Property policyl Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) of member firms meets

twice a year; the first meeting within 90 daysl IAB carries out annual analysis of the ERC’s performancel IAB analysis communicated to ERC leadership and NSF

site visit teaml Annual certification of membership and support by

university administrator above Dean of Engineering

Requirements for Industrial Collaboration (cont)

l Industrial members may provide additional support above the membership fees for activities such as sponsored projects, equipment donations, intellectual property donations

l Firms that have not joined the Center, but contribute support for associated projects that fall within the scope of the ERC'sstrategic plan, should be given another designation, such as affiliates

l Attendance or participation at meetings, workshops, seminars, or site visits are benefits/responsibilities of membership, but they do not qualify a firm for membership

Intellectual Property

l The Federal government does not hold the Intellectual Property (IP) nor does it dictate the terms of each ERC'sIP agreement

l Members have access to IP per the membership agreement

l The ERC and its partner universities set the IP policy according to standard government/university policies, in consultation with its industrial members

l Universities generally patent ERC advances and make them available through licensing agreements

l ERC should arrange a return on royalties as the originating entity

Post-Award Oversight

l NSF post-award oversight is used to strengthen ERCsand phase-out weak Centers

l NSF carries out annual site-visit reviews as the primary source of information on the progress of an ERC

l Industry meets with the NSF site-visit team to provide feedback on the progress of the ERC

l Industry analysis is the tool for this feedback to NSF and an organized mechanism for feedback to the ERC leadership

Industry Analysis (SWOT)

lNSF Program Director will meet with ERC industry members during an annual IAB meeting to facilitate the analysis processlMembers of the ERC staff will not be presentl IAB will analyze the ERC’s Key Features (Vision, Strategic

Plan, Research, Education, Industrial Collaboration, Leadership & Team, Mgt., Equipment/ Space)lDetermine the major Strengths and the major WeaknesseslDetermine if the ERC is missing an Opportunity to capitalize on

its strengths to deliver an innovation in some key featurelDetermine if there are any serious weaknesses internal to the

ERC that will be “Threats” in its ability to fulfill its vision

Industry Analysis Process

l Narrow down to key Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and “Threats” (if none, no need to put any down)

l Place them in priority order under each categoryl Prepare four viewgraphs (one for each category: Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, and “Threats”)l Prepare a brief written report with more detail on the bulletsl Communicate findings to the ERC after the IAB meeting and

to the NSF site-visit team during the annual reviewl Show progress achieved in dealing with weaknesses,

opportunities, and areas of concern, and if any of the strengths did not persist