Poul Olson
William & Mary News

The flagship of William and Mary's economic development effort on the peninsula earned a major boost last week with the announcement that the Applied Research Center (ARC) will house an "innovation center" for the development of new advanced materials and manufacturing processes using light.

David Chestnutt (left), executive director of the Virginia Consortium for Engineering and Science, will be working with Geoffrey Feiss, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, and Provost Gillian Cell to develop educational programs around the Center for Plasma and Photon Processing.

In a ceremony last Tuesday at the Newport News facility, Sec. of Commerce and Trade Barry DuVal announced that the ARC has been chosen by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) for one of the state's new innovation centers. The operation, which will be called the Center for Plasma and Photon Processing and led by CSX Professor of Applied Science Dennis Manos, will provide developing high-technology businesses in the area with access to expertise and advanced analytical equipment.

Nearly a dozen locations around Virginia vied for the opportunity to host the center, billed by Manos as a "powerhouse to create jobs in exciting new areas." Over the next five years, the state will funnel up to $2 million to the center.

Manos predicted the center will position the ARC as a center of technology development and commercialization unparalleled in Virginia.

"This new support infrastructure for industry will generate new companies, enlightened competition, increased jobs and enhancement of the Commonwealth's tax base," said Manos, who also serves as director of the ARC.

Like the ARC, the Center for Plasma and Photon Processing is a partnership among William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.

Research undertaken at the center will focus on finding ways to improve the manufacturing processes associated with "smart cards," cellular phones, advanced sensors and other materials-technologies that are widely used in the aerospace, automotive, marine, semiconductor and biomedical industries. Developing applications for the Free Electron Laser, the world's highest power tunable ultraviolet laser, located at Jefferson Lab, will be one of the center's major roles.

In addition to the benefits for high-technology businesses in Virginia, the center will also provide educational opportunities for students from universities in the consortium. The Virginia Consortium for Engineering and Science is heading up this initiative with Manos and ARC faculty.

The ARC was selected to host the innovation center following an extensive review process over several months that included site visits from businesses interested in its potential use. The center is expected to begin operation next month.

The state has undertaken a concerted campaign in recent years to leverage the resources of its public universities in support of high technology business development. In "Virginia's Blueprint for Technology-based Economic Growth," business and regional groups called for the creation of centers to support the needs of developing high-technology businesses such as the Center for Plasma and Photon Processing.

The new innovation centers are the second phase of a CIT program called Technology Development Centers. Since 1986, 13 "first-generation" technology centers have been funded. In 1996, six centers generated 17 spin-off companies, more than 700 jobs and nearly $50 million in revenues and capital for their partner companies, according to CIT.

In addition to the center at the ARC, two other innovation centers were announced earlier this month. at James Madison University. and the University of Virginia focusing on 21st-century manufacturing and Internet technology.

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