Peggy Shaw
William & Mary News

Using an academic, interdisciplinary approach to solve real-world problems will be a high priority for universities in the 21st century. The College of William and Mary Board of Visitors reinforced its commitment to this integrated approach today when members voted to establish two new centers in William and Mary's small-university setting-a Materials Processes Research Center in the Department of Applied Science and the Center for Public Policy Research in the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy.

"In applied science," explained Dennis Manos, chair of the applied science program and the CSX Professor of Physics and Applied Science, "we use the tools, the techniques and the understanding involved in a wide range of sciences in order to solve complex scientific and technical problems. Our students work closely with faculty, industry and government partners on exciting new technologies spanning a range of 21st-century applications in science, medicine and manufacturing."

Manos predicted that in the near future microwave ovens will know how best to cook a particular meal and washers will adjust cleaning cycles for the size of the load and how dirty the clothes are. All home and shop appliances will help people to use them better.

"Look at your cell phone and compare this to the hand-cranked box from 80 years ago," Manos explained. "That level of change is about to occur in what are called 'intelligent devices,' which will require micro-electro-mechanical sensors. That's something the College wants to prepare for."

The Materials Processes Research Center will bring together resources from several Virginia universities, federal facilities, and large and small businesses. Center labs will be located in McGlothlin-Street Hall on the William and Mary campus as well as in the Applied Research Center (ARC) in Newport News at Oyster Point. ARC shares facilities and resources with the science departments of all participants and also provides access to equipment and labs at nearby NASA Langley Research Center and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility.

According to Manos, since applied science began at William and Mary in 1992, the department has performed approximately $7 million in externally funded work.

"Through this new partnership with industry, other universities and federal lab groups, we'll be able to do what we've been doing even better," said Manos. "The center will bring together a large number of people to expand our reach and to allow us to get into new areas like ultra-miniaturized sensors and interactive electronic devices.

"William and Mary wants to be a leader in the next revolution of manufacturing science."

The Center for Public Policy Research at William and Mary, operating as part of the College's Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, will use the expertise of William and Mary's faculty, students and staff to perform policy research and analysis that is high quality, objective, timely and responsive to clients' questions. Included are program and policy evaluations, cost-benefit analyses, statistical analyses, qualitative analyses, and surveys contributing to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government services and programs.

Two recent research projects published as legislative studies for the General Assembly, for example, were contracts with the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program, in which public policy researchers responded to the General Assembly's directive to study the program's strengths and weaknesses and recommend changes, and the Department of Medical Assistance Services, in which researchers reviewed the Common-wealth's health care-related advisory groups and offered recommendations on restructuring.

David Finifter, professor of economics and director of the Jeffer-son Program, will also serve as the center's director. "These projects," he observed, "provide an exciting opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to apply their skills to real-world policy work and allow faculty a unique opportunity to enhance their scholarship. More than 90 students already have benefited from research activities in the program. The center will bring research projects into the classroom, similar to a recent project where students in a graduate survey methodology course, taught by Ronald Rapoport, professor of government, conducted mail and telephone surveys of Hampton residents and clients of the Hampton Health Department to assess their attitudes toward the department."

The new center, located in renovated space in Morton Hall, will take advantage of the expertise of Jefferson Program personnel. Among their clients are federal organizations such as the NASA Langley Research Center and the U.S. Department of Labor, state agencies such as the Virginia Department of Education, local governments such as the City of Hampton and the City of Williamsburg, international organizations such as NATO and the European Commission, and private organizations like the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Virginia Environmental Endowment.

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Updated July 3, 2003