Lessons Learned

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Lessons Learned

• Are You Really Ready?

Marek W. Urban Marek.Urban_at_usm.edu The
University of Southern Mississippi School of
Polymers and High Performance Materials Center
for Response-Driven Polymeric Films (MRSEC)
Industry/University Cooperative Research Center
in Coatings Partnership for Innovation www.usm.ed
u/mrsec www.mrsec.org
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Disclaimer

• This speaker is a scientist, not an entertainer
• He will not take any responsibility for any
  digestive problems in any form associated with
  this luncheon presentation
• Should such problems occur, the audience is
  encouraged to file formal complains to the Chair
  of the Conference
• Bon Appetite

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Why Do You Want a Center?

• Moneyfair enough, but
• New Knowledge, New Ideas, New Technologies
• Crossing disciplines
• Impact Factor
• Infrastructure
• People, Ideas, and Tools not Enough
• Implementation Processes

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Simple Rules

• What Others Are Doing?
• Competitive Analysis of Other Programs/Centers
• Find Your Own Theme
• Uniqueness and Novelty, yet Realistic
• Be Realistic How Difficult to Get It?
• Look Around and Ask Yourself
• What Expertise Exists?
• Who Can I Work with?
• Proposal Preparation Guidelines
• National Science Foundation Does Not Review
  People NSF Reviews Proposals

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What Can YOU Offer Today to Make the
Difference Tomorrow?
Centers Foster Interactions and Collaborative
Efforts Students Faculty Administration En
tire University Community/Environment
Industrial/State/Government Partners
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WHO CAN HELP WITH YOUR CENTER ?
You Are Here
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Environment

• HOW I CAN USE (OR OBUSE) WHAT I HAVE HERE?
• Great Faculty and Research Programs
• Strong Industrial Support
• External Support
• Government Funding
• Private Sector
• State and Local
• Shared Facilitates? WHATS THATS?
• I am not sharing anything

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Rules are Straightforward

• 1 1 2 Will not Work
• 1 1 gtgt 3 That May Lead to a Center
• Synergism Among All Components
• Researchers, Management, Facilities, External
  Support, Infrastructure

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Your Current Environment
RESEARCH Research Groups Center
Leadership Center Theme Shared Experimental
Facilities
Prof. Joe Doe Research Group
RESEARCH ADVISOR
GRADUATE STUDENTS
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATES
OTHER RESEARCHERS
How to Get Prof. Joe Doe to Work with Your
Center? Often is NOT THE ANSWER
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Center Projects Must Have Certain Characteristics

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From Individual to Collaborative Research Modes

• Leadership is Essential
• Director Scientist, NOT Administrator
• Horizontal Structure of the Team
• Interactions Among Team Members
• Joint Projects and Ideas
• Joint Researchers, Graduate Students,
  Postdoctoral, etc.
• Outcome Joint Publications
• SO WHAT? IP?

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Your Center Proposal

• Concept and Ideas
• Short and Long Term Plans
• Proposal Preparation
• Who Can Potentially Help?
• Future Benefits
• Mission of the Proposed Center
• Future Funding Opportunities
• What Happens When Your Center is Funded?
• OUTREACH INDUSTRY AND OTHERS

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Multilevel Functionality
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Current Corporate Situation
EXTERNAL Private Sector Government Labs Outreach

• Corporate Down-Sizing Resulted in Limited
  Industrial Research Resources
• Companies Make Profits, but Technical
  Understanding is Not There
• Minimal or NO EFFORTS to Support Basic Research

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Research? What Research? What is Research?
EXTERNAL Private Sector Government Labs Outreach

• Systematic Investigation in a Field of Knowledge
• To Establish Facts or Principles Aimed at
  Discovery and Interpretation of Facts
• The Collection of Information about a Particular
  Subject (will not work unless two components are
  in place
• discovery and/or application

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Why Private Sector Should Be Part of Your Center?
EXTERNAL Private Sector Government Labs Outreach

• New Discoveries Lead to New Technologies
  Implementation
• IP and Technology Transfer
• Learn Industrial Problems
• Leveraging and Affordability
• Mutual Benefits

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How to Get Industry Involved?
EXTERNAL Private Sector Government Labs Outreach

• Credibility, Competence, and Reliability
• Research Relevance
• NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research
  Centers
• Other Industry-Focused Consortia
• Proprietary Research Consortia
• Attractive to Industry
• How Industry May Benefit from University
  Research?
• Industry Must Be Comfortable with the Center
  Mission

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Attract Industry
EXTERNAL Private Sector Government Labs Outreach

• High Quality Stimulative Research
• Pre-Competitive Advantage
• New Markets
• Workshops/Conferences
• Access to Shared Facilities
• Student Training
• potential employees

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Fostering Center Industrial Interactions at USM
INTERACTIONS
INDUSTRY-STATE-GOVERNMENT SPONSORED PROGRAMS
CENTER FOR RESPONSE-DRIVEN POLYMERIC FILMS USM
MRSEC

• PARTICIPATION IN ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
• MEMBERSHIP/SPONSORSHIP
• INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
• INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY- TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

INDUSTRIAL CENTERS
NSF INDUSTRY/UNIVERSITY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH
CENTER in COATINGS FOCUS PRE-COMPETATIVE
RESEARCH Members Bayer Corp., Eastman Chem. Co.,
Alcan, Huber, BASF, Ford, Sun Chemical, GE, others
EXEC. COMMITTEE CENTER DIRECTOR, IRG LEADERS,
EDUC. and OUTREACH
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL ADVISORY BOARD
THESIS AND STUDENT ADVISORY COMMITTEES
ALL CENTER SENIOR INVESTIGATORS
INTER. COATINGS AND FORMULATION INSTITUTE FOCUS
PROPRIETARY RESEARCH
MRSEC SEMINARS
ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM IN POLYMERIC
COATINGS NEW ORLEANS
RESEARCH TEAMS, UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE STUDENTS,
POSTDOCTORAL
ADJUNCT PROFESSORSHIPS
STATE CENTERS
MISSISSIPPI POLYMER INSTITUTE FOCUS SUPPORT
LOCAL INDUSTRIES
WORKSHOPS AND SHORT COURSES
ANNUAL RESEARCH POSTER SYMPOSIUM
OTHER INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH
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Center-Enabled Approaches
EXTERNAL Private Sector Government Labs Outreach

• What we teach
• Basics of polymers and materials combined
• New concepts of stimuli-response films
• New methods of observation and understanding
• How we teach
• Integration of the old and the new
• Multimedia on web and CD plus good ol books
• Multi-University activities
• Distance learning on- and off-campus

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Center-Enabled Activities
Multilevel Synergism in Education and Training
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SUMMARY

• IF ITS NOT FUN, IT IS NOT WORTH IT
• SYNERGISM BETWEEN RESEARCH IDEAS, OUTREACH
  ACTIVITIES, AND SHARED FACILITIES
• SOCIETAL NEEDS AND PUBLIC AWARNESS
• LEARN HOW TO DEVELOP NEW LEVELS OF INTERACTIONS
• DIVERSITY, FAIRNESS, AND INTEGRITY

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So Here Is Your Center?

• _New Center____
• Here is What Happens When You Get It

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New Friends and Lost Friends