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Penn State Research Makes Life Better for People By Dr. Rodney A. Erickson
Dr. Rodney A. Erickson is vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School at Penn State. Previously, he was head of the Department of Geography and professor of geography and business administration. His current research focuses on the export behavior of industrial enterprises and the regional economic impacts of foreign trade.	With total expenditures for organized research at $374.1 million in fiscal 1998, Penn State’s research enterprise is the largest university-based research effort in Pennsylvania. We rank 13th among American universities in total research and development (R&D), 20th in federally funded R&D and second in industrially funded R&D. But these statistics don’t tell the whole story about the University’s commitment to disseminating the research and scholarship of its faculty members for the benefit of the public.   Here are three examples that illustrate the scope of the University’s contributions to the economic well-being and quality of life of citizens of Pennsylvania and beyond: PENNTAP, the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program, helps Commonwealth businesses and industry improve their competitiveness by providing technical assistance and information to help resolve specific technical questions or problems. Last year, PENNTAP provided 830 cases of technical assistance to 550 clients, primarily smaller businesses, in all 67 counties. More than 80 percent of clients are businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Clients reported 125 jobs created or retained, as well as $6.1 million in economic benefits, in terms of cost savings, sales increases and capital investments, as a result of PENNTAP’s assistance. Clients also reported 97 percent satisfaction with the assistance provided. During the past five years, PENNTAP has helped companies create or retain 1,700 jobs. The Ben Franklin Technology Center provides technical and entrepreneurial assistance funding for product and process development to small- and medium-sized Pennsylvania companies. One such company, American Hydro Corporation in York, Pa., is conducting a computer analysis of the hydraulic performance of hydroelectric generators that will lead to the development of a new analysis tool, with funding from the Ben Franklin Technology Center. American Hydro is the only U.S.-based firm that designs and manufactures hydro turbines. This research, which the company is conducting with the help of a Penn State faculty member and graduate student, will improve its competitive edge and also create jobs. Penn State’s new School of Information Sciences and Technology will address a pressing societal need for more than 1 million additional information technology (IT) workers by the year 2005. Surveys indicate there were 190,000 unfilled IT jobs nationally in 1997. The new school is being designed with industry participation to help meet these workforce needs. The first students will be admitted in fall 1999. The school will also focus on outreach programs that help organizations meet the challenges of retraining and upgrading the skills of current employees.   Penn State has been involved in generating new knowledge since its founding in 1855 as an institution devoted to agriculture and the mechanical arts. With its designation as Pennsylvania’s land-grant institution in 1863, the University’s emphasis on the practical application of research took on increased significance in the academy. Our rich heritage of research and outreach in a broad range of academic fields continues today.   The primary goals of our research effort are the creation and dissemination of new knowledge and the development of solutions to societal problems, which can make life better for everyone. The research we perform today leads to the important innovations of tomorrow in health, education, business and the environment. It enriches the academic lives of our students as we teach and they participate in the process of discovery. It provides a strong knowledge base for the outreach programs of Penn State in its role as the Commonwealth’s land-grant university, and it is essential to our goal of being the best university in the nation at integrating teaching, research and service.   As leaders in the production of new knowledge and in the discovery of new techniques, we at Penn State are well aware of our responsibility to communicate that knowledge widely to government, industry and the general public. Today, Penn State and other research universities are looking for creative new ways to disseminate research findings. One approach we are using is the creation of partnerships with state and local governments, regional agencies, nonprofit groups and private companies to better understand the needs of individuals and organizations and to address those needs through our research and related outreach programs.   As vice president for research, I oversee an organization that also includes the Penn State Press, a publisher of scholarly books, monographs and journals, and Research/Penn State magazine, which highlights the research environment at Penn State. The Task Force on Research Administration and Technology Transfer, which I appointed in 1997, completed its report after nearly a year of meetings, information gathering, benchmarking with peer institutions and site visits to the University of Michigan and North Carolina State University. Its recommendations are helping to further strengthen Penn State’s leadership position in an increasingly competitive external environment. We are making improvements to our organizational structure for research administration, expanding opportunities for collaborative and multidisciplinary research, enhancing our efforts in technology transfer and increasing our investment in the research infrastructure. All of these steps will keep us on the path to continued national preeminence in research and outreach.   I want Penn State to be known nationally and internationally as a university that makes outstanding contributions to knowledge across a broad range of academic fields and that shares that knowledge for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth and the world.