IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 Director of Government Relations Rick Maxey, Director of and Robert I. MacCuspie, Ph.D. and Professor Ryan Integlia, Ph.D. were among representatives from IM体育官网鈥檚 12 public universities who participated in the first C.W. Bill Young Research Day of the State University System of IM体育官网 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The one-day workshop with key defense leaders was the first of its kind for the State University System (SUS) of IM体育官网 and served as a tremendous opportunity for higher education institutions like IM体育官网 Poly to learn first-hand about the research needs of the DoD, one of the federal government鈥檚 largest funders of research grants.
鈥淲e established valuable relationships with some of the DoD鈥檚 top research administrators, several of whom expressed serious interest in partnering with us,鈥� said Maxey. 鈥淲e were also able to get a good sense of what the DoD鈥檚 needs are, and that provides our faculty the opportunity to focus their research proposals on topics and programs that increase IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 competitiveness for funding.鈥�
The event kicked off with an introduction from Interim Chancellor Jan Ignash, followed by a presentation from Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering Alan Shaffer, who provided an overview of how IM体育官网 Poly and other IM体育官网 universities can participate in DoD research and development.
Attendees also heard from key research leaders from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IARPA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the military鈥檚 research priorities, challenges, budgets and latest initiatives. Potential areas of research need ranged from the development of remote sensing applications to understanding environmental factors for communicable diseases in underserved communities.
鈥淚t was exciting to learn that many of the degree programs that IM体育官网 Poly is offering align well with the specific mission needs identified by the DoD, including nanotechnology, big data, health informatics and mechanical and electrical engineering,鈥� MacCuspie said. 鈥淚 think Poly鈥檚 innovative applied research programs are very attractive to DoD research administrators.鈥�
鈥淎s a new university, IM体育官网 Poly has the nimbleness to design our curriculum and research programs so they are responsive to the needs of the DoD and other major research funders as they change and evolve. That鈥檚 a major advantage,鈥� added Integlia.