ASSET Initiative Advisory Board Brings Top Minds to Little Rock
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009
On April 3, the External Advisory Board of the Arkansas ASSET (Advancing and Supporting Science, Engineering and Technology) Initiative convened at the Hilton Hotel in Little Rock for the site visit evaluation of the ASSET Initiative Grant. The External Advisory Board is made up of experts from various fields of science and engineering.
The Arkansas ASSET Initiative is designed to strengthen two specialty research areas developing in Arkansas, the wireless nanosensor systems and plant-based bioproduction. These programs have potential for national significance and major economic development in Arkansas.
Starting the day’s events, Dr. Gail McClure, Program Director of Arkansas EPSCoR, updated the board on the progress made by the ASSET Initiative, highlighting recent achievements and the future impact on the state.
Included in her presentation was an overview of EPSCoR’s educational outreach activities, communication efforts, and evaluation tools. Educational outreach activities focused on grant funding results for award programs benefiting K-12 students. The overview offered award results for organizations providing professional development workshops, BEST Robotics Hubs, Summer Academies, grants for teachers, the SMART Lesson Plan Portal, and the East Second Life Project (an interactive pilot between EAST Initiative students and University of Arkansas computer science students). Dr. McClure also briefly reviewed new entrepreneurial training workshops and evaluation strategies.
Next on the agenda was an update on the EPSCoR
Center for Plant-Powered Production (P3). The P3 Center focuses on plant bioproduction research at the interface of agriculture and health. This Center is a statewide multi-institutional virtual center with direct implications for the agricultural economy of the Delta region of the Southern United States.
Presenting the update was Dr. Carole Cramer of Arkansas State University and the project leader for the P3 Center. During the hour long presentation, Dr. Cramer addressed EPSCoR’s goals for P3 including infrastructure, human resource needs, and development of collaborative cross-disciplinary projects that lead to innovative research. She stressed that while P3 researchers are working to develop new high-value plant derived products, they are also building on Arkansas’ strengths to insure impact on research competitiveness, educational outreach, and diverse workplace development.
The final presentation of the day came from Dr. Vijay Varadan of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and the project leader of
the Wireless Nanosensor and Systems (WiNS) Center. Utilizing the expertise and infrastructure across three campuses, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas State University, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the WiNS Center is a collaborative virtual center for the design of wireless nanosensor applications and devices. The goal is to integrate organic nanosensor technology that can be fabricated for specialized applications at a low-cost with wireless systems that can collect and assimilate the respective data generated by these newly fabricated devices.
During his talk, Dr. Varadan discussed the Center’s various areas of research including nanomaterials and sensors, organic polymer devices, alternate power supplies to sensors, and Wireless Sensor Networking Testbeds to implement protocols for routing, data collection, and security.
A majority of the board, comprised of top minds from across the country, was in attendance. Dr. Denise Barnes, the Program Officer at the National Science Foundation also attended the workshop. They concluded the day with an executive session to evaluate ASSET progress, followed by an open session for feedback and suggestions.
The External Advisory Board is comprised of the following members:
External Advisory Board Chairman: Dr. Jim Coleman, Vice Provost for Research, Rice University
Dr. Richard Bissell, Executive Director, National Academies, Policy and Global Affairs National Research Council
Dr. Sang H. Choi, Senior Scientist, Nano-BEAMS Lab, NASA Langley Research Center
Dr. Mo Jamshidi, Director of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering , University of Texas, San Antonio
Dr. Ranu Jung, Co-director for the Center for Adaptive Neural Systems in the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University
Dr. Paul B. Ruffin, Senior Research Scientist for Micro Sensors and Systems, US Army (AMRDEC)
Dr. Eve Schooler , Senior Research Engineer, Corporate Technology Group, Intel Corporation
Dr. Joe Chappell, Professor, Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky
Dr. Kent D. Chapman, Director and Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas
Dr. Joel L. Cuello, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona
Dr. Cecilia McIntosh, Professor of Biological Sciences, Dean of School of Graduate Studies, East Tennessee State University
Dr. Gary Thompson, Head, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University
Dr. Brenda Winkel, Professor, Department of Biology, Virginia Tech University
About Arkansas EPSCoR and Arkansas ASSET Initiative
Arkansas EPSCoR program supports various EPSCoR programs available for Arkansas researchers, coordinates the activities of the Arkansas EPSCoR committee, and directly manages the state's NSF EPSCoR Program. Through outreach efforts, the Arkansas EPSCoR program and the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority (Authority) strive to enhance science and technology education and strengthen the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) career pipeline.
Arkansas ASSET Initiative is a program funded by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR program (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) and maintained through the Authority.
