ICTAS poised to respond to nation's greatest challenges
Natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, can dramatically alter the course of scientific research conducted in the United States. Being able to respond quickly to these new research questions is the purpose of interdisciplinary research centers, such as the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS) at Virginia Tech. Affiliate centers in which ICTAS has made investments were awarded nearly $14 million of competitive funding last year in response to current scientific issues.
"Katrina has given us a new area in which we will focus, not only because of what seems to be a more frequent occurrence of Category 4 and above hurricanes, but also because of the government’s response to this disaster,” said Roderick Hall, term director for ICTAS and assistant vice president for research at Virginia Tech. “We are already talking with faculty members about how their expertise might help improve that responsiveness.”
“The most frequent question I hear asked about ICTAS is simply ‘what is it?’ ICTAS is whatever you need it to be to do big science,” Hall said. ICTAS can be best described as a nimble organization, prepared to foster interactions with various disciplines as needed for current research. It is purposely a ‘loosely coupled’ organization that does not fit into a neat box. ICTAS can quickly respond to a research need because the institute can pull together the interdisciplinary resources needed without the limitations imposed on traditional college and departmental units within a university. ICTAS can also take flexible monies and apply them immediately toward real-time problems.
Communication problems are just one aspect of the Hurricane Katrina response effort that begs further research. Jeff Reed, deputy director of the Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group (MPRG) at Virginia Tech, is an example of a researcher with the potential to benefit significantly from working with ICTAS. His research group is developing the basic communication technologies that will help solve the problem of communication incompatibility that has hampered disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, as well as homeland defense by making programmable radios that are flexible enough to be compatible with any existing communication infrastructure.
“The most successful researchers are the ones who don’t think about boundaries”, said Hall. “We are prepared to assist researchers who are ready to take a big step up by joining forces with faculty members from other disciplines to make a greater impact on society.”
The Center for Innovation in Construction Safety and Health at Virginia Tech, led by Brian Kleiner, is an example of an ICTAS interdisciplinary success story. The center began in 2004 to help reduce the number and severity of construction incidents in the United States though applied research and outreach. The areas of research involved so far include industrial and systems engineering, civil and environmental engineering, mining and minerals engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering science and mechanics, and building construction. With the help of ICTAS, the center received $3.4 million in funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The center anticipates being involved in new research related to construction problems associated with Hurricane Katrina.
Four new staff members, jointly funded by ICTAS and the Office of the Vice President for Research, are now available to help with proposal development and submissions, which otherwise takes away from valuable research time. An additional function of ICTAS is to assist researchers with ongoing support after an award is received by helping them with their project deliverables. “We want to make sure people are not only successful winning research awards but also in producing meaningful results,” said Hall.
A change in strategy for ICTAS, since its inception several years ago, is to make investments in proposal-specific activities instead of providing general funding for research thrusts. ICTAS now funds work leading up to the submission of research proposals, such as buying out faculty time or supporting graduate student research—all in an effort to improve the chance for success of proposals submitted by the university. This approach will also make it easier to measure which types of research areas are the best investment for the institute.
The university's goal is for ICTAS to achieve a return on investment (ROI) of 5:1 over a five-year time horizon. (ROI in this context is measured as the total research awards received by ICTAS affiliates divided by the investment made by the university.) With the $14 million of awards received in fiscal year 2005, the ROI on the institute's first investments is already approaching 4:1 with three years remaining in the five-year project horizons. Currently, the annual budget for ICTAS is approximately $3 million and this figure is slated to rise to over $9 million over the next five years.
Economic development benefits are part of the appeal of a major research institute such as ICTAS. As targeted areas of expertise are developed, it is anticipated this will attract clusters of technology-orientated companies to the area. Even with improved communications technology, companies still prefer to locate directly next to a university that has additional assets to offer, such as talented graduate students with fresh ideas. “We want companies to locate here in Blacksburg--where the action is--by creating the kinds of science and engineering activities that lead to companies coalescing around a thriving university,” said Hall.
All of this new research activity needs a home, so plans are underway for ICTAS Building A, which will house an amazing array of state-of-the-art research equipment. The equipment already purchased with the help of institute funds includes a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and a Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS). The TEM arrived on campus last week and will temporarily be housed in Derring Hall, while the SIMS is slated for arrival in 2006.
Building A will be located in Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center and will be funded by the university’s non-general funds. The Virginia Tech Foundation will build the facility and Virginia Tech will then lease it from the Foundation. The Advanced Materials Characterization Facility will be housed on the first floor of the facility. Science changes so fast that planners do not want to predetermine all occupants for the facility until the building is closer to completion in order to be the most responsive to current research needs.
ICTAS Building I will be started on campus in early 2006 and completed in 2007, with portions of its funding under final review. Funding for ICTAS Building II is currently under consideration by the state legislature. When all three buildings are constructed, ICTAS will have 207,000 square feet of collaborative research facilities available.
A search for a long-term director of the institute has commenced with a planned starting date in the spring of 2006. For more information about ICTAS, go to http://www.eng.vt.edu/ictas/.
