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UMaine:
Putting knowledge to work for industry
Maine Science and Technology Foundation
October 25, 2002
ORONO, Maine – As a land grant university instead of
an ivory tower, UMaine's mission includes a commitment
to "the creation and dissemination of knowledge to improve
the lives of its students and Maine citizens in their
full social, economic, and cultural diversity."
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The
Industrial Assessment Center: Precursor to the
AMC
Many Advanced Manufacturing Center programs first
took root at the Industrial Assessment Center
(IAC), said Scott Dunning, an associate professor
who coordinates UMaine's electrical engineering
technology program.
IAC
analyzed energy efficiency and waste streams at
more than 200 manufacturing companies during seven
years of activity funded by the U.S. Department
of Energy. Although grants underwriting free evaluations
ended in 2001, program equipment and personnel
remain at UMaine and now provide the same services
for a fee.
IAC
assessments involved more than 60 students over
the years, many from the School of Engineering
Technology, who used test equipment, evaluated
efficiency, and presented findings to companies.
IAC
identified inefficiencies that, when eliminated,
saved $1.4 million for 25 companies analyzed in
1999-2000, said Dunning. Implementation costs
totaled $1.6 million, enabling quick payback.
A follow-up survey of clients showed that about
85 percent of all companies assessed eventually
implemented IAC's recommended modifications, though
some delayed when changes involved capital expenditures.
Industrial
Assessment Center
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To
contribute to Maine's economic development and find
real-world applications for knowledge and research,
UMaine operates outreach programs that provide Maine
companies with technical and research services. The
university also assesses demand for new academic courses
that teach skills needed by Maine industry.
A
Commitment to Economic Growth
UMaine
President Peter Hoff underscored the university's commitment
to economic development in his October 2002 state of
the university address.
"Although
we will not forget that UMaine has one of the state's
four great liberal arts colleges, as evidenced by our
prestigious membership in Phi Beta Kappa, we will also
remember our serious responsibility to attend to the
requirements of Maine's economy by preparing highly
educated professionals in areas of critical need. One
such strategic priority is Information Science, where
we have announced a 'university-wide initiative'," said
Hoff.
Under
the initiative, UMaine "will emphasize majors that specifically
prepare needed professionals – majors such as computer
science, computer engineering, spatial information engineering,
management information systems, educational technology,
and new media," the President stated.
Hoff
added that UMaine intends to ensure "no students graduate
without the information science and information technology
skills necessary to take advantage of new technology
in whatever field they enter, and to be effective professionals
in today's knowledge-based economy."
College
of Engineering Visiting Committees
Thanks
to accreditation criteria of the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology, departments within UMaine's
College of Engineering have already established mechanisms
that help determine employment trends at Maine companies.
Each engineering department works annually with a "visiting
committee" of industry representatives that reviews
programs and recommends changes.
Visiting
committees, said Larryl Matthews, dean of the College
of Engineering, give valuable feedback on curriculum
changes and report their recommendations to President
Hoff. Matthews emphasized the committees' responsibility
in helping UMaine fulfill its duties as a land grant
university by developing community ties that help the
university understand – and attempt to solve – industry's
technical problems.
The
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department's visiting
committee fills those roles, said department chair Jim
Patton. Beyond fulfilling accreditation standards, Patton
said that gathering and reviewing department data each
year clarifies needs and highlights milestones that
might otherwise have remained filed away.
Patton
said the visiting committee helps ECE maintain relevant
programs because members "keep us in tune with what
they need." ECE's influential group includes alumni
from National Semiconductor and Tundra Semiconductor,
Maine companies that also participate in the ECE co-op
program and employ UMaine alumni. About 70 percent of
Tundra's Maine-based engineers graduated from the University
of Maine System, said Maurice Richard, Tundra's director
of engineering.
Richard,
a UMaine alumnus with a BS in electrical engineering,
serves on the visiting committee and said its feedback
is valuable because "we're customers of the University
of Maine by buying their engineers." Committee members
analyze the merit of ECE programs, he said, and give
voice to students who want to discuss courses and opportunities.
ECE's
visiting committee also supported establishing a PhD
program and online graduate courses, and encouraged
the department to hire three new professors to expand
its microelectronics capabilities. Microelectronics
skills are useful in "the emerging industries that are
going to be hiring students," said Steve Swan, process
engineering manager at National Semiconductor and 2001-02
chairman of the visiting committee.
Swan
described the visiting committee as a "sanity check"
that provides feedback to let ECE know if it's meeting
the demands of industry and the technical community.
Visiting
committee relationships have built a rapport that led
semiconductor companies in 1999 to establish the Microelectronics
Scholarship Consortium to stimulate student interest
in the semiconductor industry. The consortium provides
money to more than 10 undergraduates annually.
UMaine's
Corporate Affiliate Program
Maine
semiconductor companies also take part in UMaine life
through the Corporate Affiliate Program (CAP), administered
by the Department of Industrial Cooperation. Renee Kelly,
CAP director, said CAP works with around 40 companies,
"informing them of and connecting them to the resources
at the university that they might not have known about."
Those
resources include students. The Corporate Affiliate
Program sponsors dinners where students and potential
hirers discuss jobs and careers enjoy particular popularity
with affiliates.
CAP
also holds an annual CEO forum, hosted by the School
of Business, which focuses on a business question. The
2001 forum featured UMaine alumnus Dennis Carey, then
a Home Depot executive, whose resume includes 25 years
at General Electric.
Events
at UMaine are only one side of CAP's benefits. Kelly
said she visits and tours companies, meeting with representatives
to determine potential UMaine collaborations through
summer intern programs, co-op, research assistance or
other services. One company recently rewrote its operations
manual with student help, for example, receiving the
work at no charge while students gained real-world experience
on a project that coincided with coursework.
Like
visiting committees, CAP participants "act as a sounding
board for us, and that's really important," said Kelly.
CAP serves all colleges and departments at UMaine, and
affiliates make up a pool of potential candidates for
individual department advisory boards. Cap's affiliate
list ranges from global corporations like Pratt & Whitney
to Maine-based Harriman Associates.
The
Department of Industrial Cooperation
The
Department of Industrial Cooperation (DIC), which administers
CAP, worked with about 125 companies on funded projects
in fiscal year 2002, said King. The clients ranged from
startups to established corporations, with many requesting
technical services, such as advanced research or use
of specialized DNA sequencing machinery.
DIC
also filed seven patent applications in fiscal year
2001; two were awarded for developments related to wood
composites.
DIC's
primary goal, said King "is getting the R&D capacity
that we have out into the business world and turning
that into economic development." The system seems to
work: King said around half of the companies receiving
funds from the Maine Technology Institute retain ties
with UMaine.
Jake
Ward, executive director of research and development
at UMaine, said continuous evolution of university programs
is transforming DIC into a new Office of Research and
Economic Development to manage federal grants and industrial
contracts. That broad mandate includes overseeing technology
transfer and identifying for Maine's congressional delegation
research of national interest.
Routine
industrial contracts, Ward said, rarely strike people
as sexy, but many companies lack in-house laboratory
capacity to determine, for example, why a product breaks.
UMaine labs often fill that gap. Ward emphasized that
the university doesn't compete with Maine's private
sector, so when individuals see sufficient demand for
services, new companies may spin off.
One
spin-off is Micro Technologies, a diagnostics and research
lab with expertise in lobster, finfish, and shellfish.
It provides inspections and services and is developing
fish vaccines to prevent diseases including infectious
salmon anemia. Micro Technologies was founded by a former
UMaine microbiology instructor, and the company's science
involves research developed at the university.
Other
companies, including Sensor Research and Development,
Biode and Applied Thermal Sciences also sprouted from
UMaine programs or research, and maintain strong ties
to the university.
The
University of Maine houses specific facilities for industry.
The pulp and paper pilot plant and laboratory possesses
equipment that provides services such as pulping and
paper testing. Ward said UMaine has developed additional
industry-oriented facilities, including the Center for
Collaborative Aquaculture Research, the Laboratory for
Surface Science and Technology, and new labs at the
Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition.
Ward
said DIC's efforts to transfer UMaine research and technologies
to private industry also leverage collaborations with
Maine's seven applied technology development centers
plus the Eastern Maine Development Corporation and the
Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
Despite
limited resources – about 40 people work with Ward and
cover all UMaine departments – "we're doing a lot of
great things," said Ward. Publicizing stories of successes
can be difficult, though, because most inventions and
innovations take years to mature from discovery to patent
to licensing to commercialization.
Advanced
Manufacturing Center
The
Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) is one of the university's
most recent additions to its resources to facilitate
commercialization at Maine companies. Although the AMC
won't inhabit a dedicated building until spring 2004,
it already offers new capabilities in precision and
flexible manufacturing technologies.
AMC
executive director Scott Dunning said new equipment
will give the College of Engineering more capacity for
solving niche manufacturing problems. Dunning, an associate
professor who coordinates the electrical engineering
technology program, said AMC will charge fees for services
such as computer aided engineering, high-end computing
and building one-of-a-kind prototypes.
The
AMC received funding for construction under a state
bond issue, but Dunning said he is investigating grants
so he can hire additional AMC staff. Although the AMC
will function as a distinct College of Engineering program,
it will maintain an alliance with DIC as well as collaborate
with outside organizations, such as the Maine Manufacturing
Extension Partnership.
Dean
Larryl Matthews said the College of Engineering canvassed
dozens of companies, organizations and communities across
Maine to assess needs for services. Beyond satisfying
manufacturing companies' technology needs, Matthews
hopes the AMC will eventually host a center for developing
entrepreneurship.
In
addition, the AMC will provide "a great experience for
the students," said Matthews, because students will
help manufacture items at the center, gaining work experience
under the supervision of professors. After students
develop skills, Dunning said, they will train each other.
As
with other UMaine programs, AMC won't compete with the
private sector. Dunning predicted that AMC will instead
"generate business for engineering consulting firms,"
by referring clients after research solves problems.
"AMC
will be a driver for the Maine economy," Dunning said,
bridging gaps and offering services currently available
only out-of-state. The center will also support Maine's
technical college system and other UMaine departments
and labs.
Matthews
said the College of Engineering looks forward to offering
full AMC capabilities to industry, enhancing the university's
capacity "to try to be even more proactive with companies
in Maine" while getting UMaine's brand out and providing
more opportunities for professors to gain real-world
experience.
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