penn state 2001 annual report of research activity

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A NNUAL R EPORT RESEARCH ACTIVITY FY•2001 “Our faculty members are contributing new ideas and new technologies across a very wide spectrum of disciplines. This is the power of a major research university — creating an environment where people from many disciplines can work together to solve major problems.” —Eva J. Pell, Vice President for Research, Dean of The Graduate School

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Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

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Page 1: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

A N N U A L R E P O R T

RESEARCHACTIVITYF Y • 2 0 0 1

“Our faculty members are contributing new

ideas and new technologies across a very wide

spectrum of disciplines. This is the power of

a major research university — creating an

environment where people from many disciplines

can work together to solve major problems.”

—Eva J. Pell, Vice President for Research,

Dean of The Graduate School

Page 2: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

Penn State faculty members continue to conduct significant research that

not only advances knowledge but also serves the nation in important

ways and helps improve the quality of life for all Americans. Penn State’s

research expenditures increased once again in fiscal 2001 for major programs in

life sciences; medicine; nanotechnology; materials engineering; defense; transporta-

tion; children, youth, and families; and other research areas which promise to make

life better. If spending for research and creative activity from all sources of support

are considered, including federal and Commonwealth funding, private industry,

foundations, University infrastructure support, and institutional cost sharing,

total expenditures for organized research at Penn State reached $472 million in

fiscal 2001. The comparable figure for fiscal 2000 was $440 million.

In the most recent rankings compiled by the National Science Foundation,

based on fiscal 2000 data, Penn State was 11th among all universities and 8th

among public research universities in total research expenditures. The same

analysis of all U.S. research universities ranked Penn State first in materials

and metallurgical expenditures, third in psychology, third in engineering, fifth

in chemistry, and eighth in agricultural sciences.

A hallmark of the Penn State approach to research is the integration of educa-

tion, outreach, and research. Our outstanding faculty acquire research grants,

then work with students, both graduate and undergraduate, to solve complex

problems and translate the solutions into applications that will make life better —

for, as is well known, universities are the major sources of the new knowledge that

underlies novel commercial concepts, future products, and improved processes.

To maintain our preeminence as a research institution, we are finding new

ways to provide faculty with resources to experiment with ideas. Our new Discovery

Fund will give the University a major advantage in pursuit of developing research

that will transfer to commercial applications. This philanthropic fund will

provide resources to seed early stage research not yet competitive for external

support, and gap funding to move research through a “proof of concept” phase

to ready it for economic development.

Eva J. PellVice President for ResearchDean of the Graduate School304 Old MainUniversity Park, PA 16802

814-863-9580 (phone)814-863-9659 (fax)[email protected]

“Our scientists and scholars are recognized

nationally and internationally as some

of the best in their fields. This leads to some

very exciting and productive research

collaborations.”

—Eva J. Pell, Vice President for Research,

Dean of The Graduate School

Millions of Dollars

194

226

263275

288293

317344 348 353

374393

440472

88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01

Page 3: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

Sources of Research Funding$472,482,000

The FY2001 figures show a more than 7 percent increase intotal research expenditures, bolstered by a 9 percent increasefor research funding from all external sources. Expenditures ongrants and/or contracts from federal sources rose 9 percentwith significant increases from several major federal sources:

• NASA funding increased 78%, exceeding $20 million

• U.S. Marine Corps support for the Marine Corps ResearchUniversity, which is housed at Penn State, increased 83%to $5 million

• U.S. Department of Transportation support doubled to a totalof nearly $4 million

• Office of Naval Research support for ARL was up nearly 8%to a new all-time high of $75 million

• U.S. Department of Agriculture support increased more than6% to $4.7 million

Contract research expenditures, conducted for Commonwealthof Pennsylvania agencies such as PennDOT, the Department ofEnvironmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Department ofAgriculture, increased more than 20 percent. Research expendi-tures from all other external grants and contracts, such as in-dustry projects, foundation grants, and subcontracts from otheruniversities, increased more than 10 percent.

These figures include grants, contracts, and cooperativeagreements from federal, state, industry, and other privatesources; research appropriations from the federal govern-ment and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and Universityresearch and infrastructure support. The totals includeresearch expenditures for University institutes, consortia,and general research funds.

As an alternative to a complete artificial heart, Penn State researchershave developed a pump to assist — rather than replace — a weakheart. In February 2001, the Food and Drug Administration approveda left ventricular assist system called the Arrow LionHeart™ LVAS forclinical trials. Penn State has more than 30 years’ experience in artifi-cial heart research, including extensive work in flow modeling andbiomaterials; for the past eight years the interdisciplinary ArtificialOrgans Program has worked with Arrow International, Inc., of Reading,Pennsylvania, a company that manufacturers cardiac care products.The LionHeart LVAS is completely internal; its components, placedbelow the patient’s heart, weigh 3.2 pounds. The patient carries aneight-pound external battery pack. An external transformer coil trans-mits electrical current through the skin to an internal transformercoil; thus the patient has no wires or tubes protruding from his chest.Internal batteries allow the patient to leave the external pack for 20minutes. The LionHeart is intended as a “destination,” the primarylong-term therapy for those with end-stage heart failure who are ineli-gible for heart transplant because of age or other significant healthproblems. The LionHeart currently is the only option for these patients.

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Contact: Bob Killoren, Assistant Vice President for Research(814-865-3396; [email protected]; grants.psu.edu)

Industryand Other

$82,757,000

Federal$247,855,000

University$77,786,000

Commonwealthof Pennsylvania

$64,084,000

Federal Funding of Research$247,855,000

Research Expenditures by Performing Unit

AppliedResearch

Laboratory$104,060,000

Eberly Collegeof Science

$65,310,000

Medicine$47,363,000

LiberalArts

$17,697,000

Engineering$71,484,000

Earth & MineralSciences

$42,196,000

Health & HumanDevelopment$29,192,000

Arts & Arch $791,000Business $5,279,000

Communications $188,00Education $7,790,000

IST $1,938,00Law $221,000

Total: $16,207,000

Other Colleges:Commonwealth $1,420,000

Altoona $366,00Berks Lehigh $128,000

Behrend $2,200,00Capital $2,127,000Total: $6,241,000

AgriculturalSciences

$72,732,000

Department ofHealth & Human

Services$68,208,000

NSF$28,428,000

Departmentof Defense

$22,152,000

Department of Navy(for the ARL)$75,262,000

Other$22,701,000

Department ofAgriculture

$11,003,000

NASA$20,101,000

Page 4: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

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CHhis year, the University restructured and expanded

support for interdisciplinary research in five strategic

areas: Life Sciences; Materials Research: the Environ-

ment; Children, Youth, and Families; and the newly established

Social Science Research Institute. Working at the boundaries of

traditional disciplines, these institutes and consortia serve as focal

points for innovation and bring together faculty from every College.

Together with our extensive research in defense programs, research

executed within these Strategic Initiatives represents 58 percent of

the University’s total research expenditures.

APPLIED RESEARCHLABORATORY

Penn State’s largest single research unit,with annual research expenditures inexcess of $100 million provided pri-marily by the U.S. Navy, ARL is a uni-versity center of research excellencein naval sciences and technologies,with leadership in undersea missionsand related areas. ARL provides tech-nical innovations for national secur-ity, economic competitiveness, andquality of life. Core competenciesinclude: acoustics, guidance and con-trol, thermal energy systems, hydro-dynamics, hydroacoustics, propulsordesign, materials and manufacturing,navigation and Global PositioningSystems, communications and infor-mation, and graduate education. ARLsupports approximately 200 students.In 2001, its faculty received threeNavy Meritorious Civilian ServiceAwards.

CHILDREN, YOUTH &FAMILIES CONSORTIUMThe CYFC promotes research on criti-cal social issues such as preventinghealth risk and behavior problems,improving family functioning, under-standing and serving rural communi-ties, and understanding and promot-ing the cognitive, social, and academicdevelopment of children. This yearthe CYFC provided financial supportand many hours of consultation to abroad array of promising collabora-tive research projects, a number ofwhich obtained significant externalfunding. Highlights include: examin-ing how young children developvisual perception and use it to directtheir motion and maintain posturalstability (National Science Founda-tion); the conference “Youth RiskReduction in South Africa: A WorkingConference” (National Institute onDrug Abuse); and investigating youthinvolvement in self and communitydevelopment in Chile (Fondo Nacionalde Ciencia y Technologia).

F A M I L I E SThird in expenditures in the nation, Penn State’s psychology researchprogram includes a study now in its ninth year designed to prevent con-duct problems in adolescents by involving schools and parents workingtogether to promote youth academic and social-emotional competencies.A sociology study on marital stability over the life course is one of thelongest running national studies of marriage and the only such studycontaining detailed information on marital quality and interaction. Thisstudy has produced 57 scientific journal articles, five book chapters, andan award-winning book, A Generation at Risk: Group Up in an Era of FamilyUpheaval. A major new study of child well-being and family functioning,Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study, is currently collect-ing data in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio. This study is a multi-university effort involving collaboration with Johns Hopkins, Harvard,Northwestern, and Texas.

“Where lovers fitly matched be in mutual duties, they agree,” says the captionfor this emblem in George Wither’s emblem book, printed in 1635. Other emblemsappear on the cover. Courtesy Penn State Special Collections. The English Em-blem Book Project of the University Libraries’ Electronic Text Center is makingthis older form of text available on the World Wide Web. According to the intro-duction on emblem.libraries.psu.edu, “An emblem book represents a particularkind of reading. Unlike today, the eye is not intended to move rapidly from pageto page. The emblem is meant to arrest the sense, to lead into the text, to therichness of its associations.”

Strategic Research InitiativesSponsored Funding and Consortium Support

T

Contact: Robert McGrath, Associate Vice President for Research(814-863-9580; [email protected]; www.research.psu.edu/ir)

These figures include only external restricted funds for research, aswell as consortium, institute, and research support funds allocable tothese initiatives. The figures do not include college general funds orgovernment appropriations.

Environment$24M

Life Sciences$89M

CYF$13M

Materials$42M

Social Sciences$20M

Page 5: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

ENVIRONMENTALCONSORTIUM

The EC is an emerging network offaculty who focus on problems of de-graded air quality; loss of ecologicaldiversity; global environmental change;environmental impacts on human,animal, and plant health; green engi-neering and industrial ecology; andmanagement of water resources. High-lights include: an integrated assess-ment of the watersheds and estuariesacross the Atlantic Slope from theAppalachian Mountains to the coastalbeaches of the Mid-Atlantic states in-volving 15 Penn State researchers andfive other organizations (USEPA, $6million); modelling earth system his-tory to better understand future globalchange (National Science Foundation,$2.4 million); investigating the physi-cal and chemical forces behind howbacteria stick to surfaces (NationalScience Foundation, $2.55 million);a study of the role of peroxisome pro-liferator-activated receptors in skincancer (National Institutes of Health,$869,000).

INSTITUTE FOR THEARTS & HUMANITIES

The IAH fosters excellence in the artsand humanities by supporting indivi-dual projects, interdisciplinary groups,and planned programming such aslectures, symposia, conferences, exhi-bitions, and performances. Highlightsthis year include: Mellon Issues in In-terpretation Seminar, which broughttogether advanced graduate studentsfrom a range of universities to exploretraditional and revisionist approachesto medieval literature (Andrew W.Mellon Foundation); Art, Technology,and the Body Symposium: Performa-tive Sites, with 50 artists and criticaltheorists of international renown andover 500 participants ($200,000 ininternal and external grants); CriticalStudies in the Arts Colloquium Series:“Writing Artists’ Lives: The Problemof Biography in the Non-Verbal Arts”;

a competitive Faculty Grant AwardProgram; and ten interdisciplinarygraduate student awards.

LIFE SCIENCESCONSORTIUM

This year, research expenditures inthe life sciences exceeded $89 millionand encompassed work on diabetes,cancer, and other diseases; on thePenn State Artificial Heart; and onphysiological factors affecting drugand alcohol addictions. Other high-lights include: the five-year FloralGenome Project (National ScienceFoundation, $7.3 million), whichbrings together researchers from fiveuniversities to identify genes whichcontrol reproduction in 15 differentflowering plants; and establishmentof a new laboratory for developingtransgenic strains of mice to studyhow groups of genes work in combi-nation to control development, evo-lution, and disease (National Institutesof Health, $2 million). The LSC spon-sors the competitive award of seedgrants to encourage the explorationof innovative ideas and annuallyawards fellowships to more than 132students. In 2001, construction of anew life sciences building began thatwill house interdisciplinary teachingand research activities. Five centers ofresearch excellence were identified:Developmental Biology, Neurosciences,Plant Biology, Toxicology, and Carci-nogenesis and Genomics.

MARINE CORPSRESEARCH UNIVERSITYThe United States Marine Corpsselected Penn State to be The MarineCorps Research University in 1999.The MCRU incurred research expen-ditures of $7.5 million during fiscal2001. Highlights include: specializedresearch programs in signal intelli-gence, radio frequency propagation,and electronics for MC ExpeditionaryForces; establishment of the Center

for Protective Technologies to studythe response of structures and struc-tured materials to blast loadings;model development for MC HumanResource Development and Optimi-zation; programs for the MC FamilyAdvocacy and New Parent SupportPrograms; and, in one of the MCRU’slargest program areas, a multitude ofLogistics Education and TrainingPrograms are being provided to MCBase Commanders and operationssupport officers.

MATERIALS RESEARCHINSTITUTE

This year the merging of the MaterialsResearch Laboratory and the Materi-als Characterization Laboratory withMRI was completed: MRI now encom-passes all of the University’s materialsresearch community. Highlights in-clude: establishment of the MaterialsResearch Science Engineering Centeron Collective Phenomena in RestrictedGeometries (National Science Foun-dation); several research centers innanoscience and technology, includ-ing Nanocell Approaches to Molecu-lar Computing (Defense AdvancedResearch Projects Administration)and three separate Nanoscale Inter-disciplinary Research Teams (NIRTs)on Artificially Engineered NanoscaleFerroelectrics, Control of Nanostruc-tures via Metal-Carbon Interactionsover Multiple Length Scales, andSemiconductor Nanowires —BuildingBlocks for Nanoelectronics (NationalScience Foundation). As the only uni-versity to be awarded three separateNIRTs within the highly competitiveNSF selection process, Penn State isclearly identified as a national leaderin nanoscience and technology.

SOCIAL SCIENCERESEARCH INSTITUTE

The SSRI was launched in July 2001to promote communication and col-laboration across the full range ofsocial science disciplines and providea shared infrastructure to conducthigh-quality studies more economi-cally. It is comprised of a number ofresearch centers: The Population Re-search Institute, one of the foremostU.S. research and training programsin the population sciences; the Insti-tute for Policy Research and Evalua-tion, a center of basic and applied

interdisciplinary research involvingthe design, analysis, and evaluationof public policies and programs;and the Center for Health Care andPolicy Research, which addressesthe antecedents and consequencesof the organization, delivery, andfinancing of health services. TheSSRI also houses the newly createdSurvey Research Center, which ad-vances research and training in sur-vey methods and meets the need forstate-of-the-art and comprehensivesurvey services to support socialscience research.

FLORAL GENOMEA flower’s shape and how it develops affect pollination, gene flow, pre-dation, and seed dispersal, as well as fruit and seed production. Morethan 100 genes that control flowering are known, but most were foundin a handful of plants — Arabidopsis, maize, and snapdragon (Antirrhi-num). These do not begin to represent the estimated 300,000 differentspecies of plants that flower. The five-year Floral Genome Project (Na-tional Science Foundation, $7.3 million) brings together researchersfrom five universities (Penn State, the universities of Florida, Michigan,and Alabama, and Cornell) to identify genes which control reproduc-tion in 15 different flowering plants, including poppy, avocado, blue-berry, asparagus, gooseberry, magnolia, and tulip poplar (shown); theywill build on data from plants whose full genomes are sequenced or areto be sequenced soon, including rice, soybean, and tomato. They hopeto discover the origin of genes for flower development and to fill in the“missing links” of flower evolution.

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Page 6: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

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or faculty and students at Penn State, the opportunity to

do relevant and applied research is central to the educa-

tional experience. Such research is also vital to our country’s

economic health. Through the integrated efforts of the seven Tech-

nology Transfer units at Penn State, federal, state, private, and

industrial funds are transformed into benefits for everyone.

For example, Advanced Interfaced Technologies (AIT), a

growing technology start-up company, is pioneering a set of break-

through Digital Active Sensing™ (DAS) technologies that allow

novel and extremely effective ways to interact with computers.

Although it seems difficult to replace the ubiquitous mouse and

keyboard, AIT has identified specific situations in which it is pos-

sible to create a very high-bandwidth human-computer interface

using DAS. An early example was the iMap system created by

AIT’s founder, Rajeev Sharma of Penn State, in August 1999.

This easy-to-use speech/gesture interface to a digital map attracted

worldwide acclaim.

Another start-up company, Molecular Electronics Corporation

(MEC), is developing polymer-based electronic components and

devices and molecular electronic technology in which single mole-

cules function as transistors. This new technology could dramati-

cally increase transistor density in computers and other electronic

devices, compared to the conventional silicon-based technology.

MEC is based on intellectual property developed (and under

development) by faculty at Yale University, Rice University, and

Penn State.

Contact: Gary W. Weber, Assistant Vice President for Research (814-863-9580;[email protected]; www.techtransfer.psu.edu)

Pharmacologist Mark Kester has developed a way to use ceramide, anaturally occurring growth-arresting lipid, to prevent stenosis (narrow-ing) and restenosis (renarrowing) after vascular or surgical interventionin a blood vessel, such as occurs in routine balloon angioplasty. Since itwas first performed in 1977, balloon angioplasty has become immenselypopular. About a million coronary angioplasties are done in the U.S.each year, and another 500,000 elsewhere in the world. In most of thosecases, the procedure saves patients from a far more serious step: open-chest surgery and heart bypass. But for 20 to 30 percent of angioplastypatients, restenosis is severe enough that a second procedure is requiredafter only six months. When used to coat balloon catheters and stents,ceramide dramatically reduces the response of smooth muscle cells,whose growth can lead to the renarrowing of the artery. In experiments,restenosis in ceramide-treated arteries was decreased by over 90 percent.The findings were published in the cardiology journal Circulation Researchin September 2000. This patent-pending Penn State technology has beenexclusively licensed to MD3, a three-year-old medical device companywith patented expandable stent technology, in return for royalties andequity in MD3. The company and Penn State believe that the twotechnologies are complementary.

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INTELLECTUALPROPERTY OFFICE

FY00 FY01

*Not included in FY01 revenue is the equity Penn Stateholds in ten start-up and established companies.

The IPO manages and commercializesthe intellectual property developed atPenn State. It evaluates inventions forpatentabilty and develops strategies tomarket them to industry.

The licensing of intellectual prop-erty (IP) has changed significantlywith marked increases in the numberof equity positions being taken. In theUniversity’s history through 1999,three equity-based licenses were com-pleted; in 2000 there were four, and in2001 there were eight. The increaseduse of equity makes possible arrange-ments with small faculty-based, start-up companies that were impossible

previously, and provides an approachfor commercializing new technologythat is not yet ready for adoption bylarger companies. With this approach,technology that would have been lostis made useful for the citizens of theCommonwealth and the world.

To further engage the Universitycommunity in the process, a commit-tee comprised of the research deansof the major research colleges, at-largefaculty, an external entrepreneur,and IP administrators now screens allunlicensed IP and determines whereuniversity resources should best beapplied to optimize the commercializa-tion of the technology. This approachhas increased the percentage of IPpatenting fees recovered by 35 percentalong with improved participationand buy-in.

Additionally, the licensing officershave been focused into disciplines

Invention Disclosures ............. 193 ............... 220U.S. Patent Applications ........ 274 ............... 268Issued Patents ....................... 46 ............... 59Revenues ......................... 3.5M ......... $1.8M*

Page 7: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

Chiral chemicals can exist in two forms, one the mirror image of theother, like a right hand and a left hand. That fact is one of the mostchallenging problems facing pharmaceutical companies today: Twothirds of the drugs now on the market are chiral drugs, which meansthat of their forms one is good, the others are often ineffective. PennState chemist Xumu Zhang has developed asymmetric catalysts to syn-thesize only the preferred form of such chiral compounds. Severalfamilies of his catalysts, consisting of multiple invention disclosuresand patent applications, were licensed in October 2000 to Chiral QuestLLC, a start-up company organized by Technology Assessment andDevelopment, Inc., a State College, Pennsylvania, company. Penn StateResearch Foundation received equity in Chiral Quest. Development ofthe licensed asymmetric catalyst technologies will continue both inZhang’s University laboratory and in Chiral Quest’s laboratory in theZetachron Center. Chiral Quest intends to license this Penn Statetechnology widely throughout the pharmaceutical, pharmaceuticalintermediate, and catalyst industries.

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RESEARCHCOMMERCIALIZATION

OFFICEThe RCO helps Penn State faculty andstaff create new companies based onUniversity research and technologies.It works closely with Penn State’s In-tellectual Property Office. The RCOcan identify and secure sources ofearly stage capital, such as seed fund-ing programs, angel investors, venturecapital funds, etc., as well as mentorsand potential management team mem-bers. Space for start-up companies isavailable in the Innovation Park atPenn State and in the Penn State Zeta-chron Center for Science and Techno-logy Business Development, a gift ofDr. and Mrs. Wally Snipes and family.

Through a collaboration with theChamber of Business and Industry

FY01

PENNSYLVANIATECHNICAL

ASSISTANCE PROGRAMPENNTAP helps Pennsylvania busines-ses improve their competitiveness byproviding free technical assistance and

information to help resolve specifictechnical questions or needs that canbe addressed within a limited amountof time. PENNTAP serves every countyin Pennsylvania with a network oftechnical specialists who have specificareas of technical expertise.

FY01

INDUSTRIALRESEARCH OFFICE

Penn State ranks fourth nationally inindustrially-sponsored research fund-ing. The IRO focuses on industries ofsignificant importance to the Common-

wealth, such as materials, agribusiness,information technology, environmen-tal, and life sciences. Responding torequests for assistance, it identifiesUniversity faculty expertise, technicalcapabilities, and research centers, giv-ing companies specific and personalattention in order to determine whereUniversity resources might provebeneficial.

SMALL BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT CENTERThe Penn State SBDC is part of anational network of more than 950centers, 16 of which are based at col-leges and universities in the Common-wealth. Since 1999, MBA candidatesworking at the Penn State SBDC aspart-time consultants have contrib-uted more than 1500 hours of assis-tance to area small businesses. TheEnvironmental Management Assis-tance Program, new in 2001, is oneof six lead centers in the state. TheEnvironmental Specialist covers 19counties and three other SBDCs; inaddition, three undergraduate stu-dents work on research related toclients’ environmental issues.

1997-2001

BEN FRANKLINTECHNOLOGY

CENTER OF CENTRAL& NORTHERN

PENNSYLVANIAThe BFTC of Central and NorthernPennsylvania provides financial sup-port, technology and managementexperience, and ways to link public,private, and educational resources to

Jobs Created ............................................. 6,315Jobs Retained ............................................ 4,476New Products ............................................... 327Processes Improved ..................................... 210

1985-2001aligning with the research colleges toimprove coupling with faculty, collegeadministrators and continuity of know-ledge and expertise.

Industry R&D (Direct Involvement) .......... $3.1 MIndustry R&D (Facilitated) ........................ $1.8 MFed/State Initiatives (Facilitated) ............. $4.0 M

of Centre County, seven start-up bio-technology companies are being in-cubated at Zetachron Center; each isbased on research from University labsor is directed by a Penn State alumnus.They are: Mitotyping Technologies(Terry Melton), Centre IngredientTechnologies (Mohamad Farbood),Keystone Food Science (Fenjin He),EIEICO (Joe Duffey), Templar (DougGregor), ChiralQuest (Tim Hurley),and SaRonix (Sean Bietz).

Cases of Technical Assistance ........................ 560Clients’ Cost Savings ................................. $2.3 MClients’ Increased Sales ............................. $7.5 MClients’ Capital Investments ...................... $1.4 MJobs Created/Retained .............................. 35/210Client Satisfaction ......................................... 99%

strengthen the high technology com-ponents of the state’s economy. It isone of four regional centers of theCommonwealth’s Ben Franklin Tech-nology Development Authority. Atthe beginning of FY01, 31 researchprojects were funded with over $3.4million in Ben Franklin funds and$14.2 million in private-sector cashand in-kind funds.

Funding Secured ..................... More than $9.4 MJobs Created ........................... More than 500Persons/Hours of Training ....... More than 900/3000New Businesses Opened ........ Approximately 45

Page 8: Penn State 2001 Annual Report of Research Activity

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The National Science Foundation sponsored Regional Center for Manu-facturing Education in Nanotechnology is a unique educational partner-ship. It provides students from all of the Pennsylvania community col-leges and the State System of Higher Education Universities access tospecialized course offerings and hands-on laboratory training withinPenn State’s $25 million Nanofabrication Facility. This educational part-nership opens new job opportunities to students and provides the Com-monwealth with a uniquely skilled workforce to support existing industryand attract additional high-tech companies to our region. Penn State’sexcellence in nanoscience research, which forms the basis of pioneeringinnovations in ultra-small electronic components and medical sensors,is nationally recognized. This unique laboratory, one of only five suchuniversity facilities in the nation, was established as part of the NSF’sNational NanoFabrication Users Network (NNUN) in 1995.

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This publication is available in alternative media on request.The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access toprograms, facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal characteristics not relatedto ability, performance, or qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or federalauthorities. The Pennsylvania State University does not discriminate against any person because of age,ancestry, color, disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex, sexual orientation,or veteran status. Direct all inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative ActionDirector, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Willard Building, University Park, PA 16802-2801;tel. (814) 863-0471; TDD (814) 865-3175. U.Ed. RES02-26

Innovation Park’s second privately developed, 40,000-square-

foot multi-tenant building was constructed in 2001, bringing

the amount of multi-tenant space to 90,000 sq.ft. and the

total build-out in the Park to 440,000 sq.ft. The new facility is fully

leased with tenants representing the electronics, communications, and

engineering industries. SaRonix, an electronics firm headquartered

in Silicon Valley, has opened an engineering design center there to

take advantage of proximity to the Penn State Nano-fabrication

Facility and to tap into Penn State’s expertise in electrical engineering

and materials science. The Industrial Research Office helped SaRonix

make valuable University links, while the Pittsburgh Digital Green-

house provided resources to assist with the move to Pennsylvania.

Eight new tenants entered the Park last year, four in the business

incubator and four in multi-tenant facilities. Real Time Devices,

Inc. moved from the business incubator to expanded facilities at 103

Innovation Boulevard. For development of Phase 3, Innovation

Park has joined with Innovation Capital Partners. Principals C. B.

Richard Ellis and L. Robert Kimball and Associates bring expertise

and experience in real estate, engineering, and architectural services

that will enable ongoing development to meet tenant needs. ICP will

break ground for a multi-tenant building in 2002.

Innovation Park partnered with the local economic develop-

ment organization, the Centre for Business and Industry of Centre

County, to develop a planned expansion of the Park’s Technology

Center. The 22,000-square-foot addition to the facility will double

the amount of business incubator space available for start up com-

panies in the Centre Region. Another effort to support entrepreneurial

development in the region led and sponsored by Innovation Park is

the development of a local entrepreneur networking organization,

the Centre County Technology Entrepreneur Roundtable.

During 2001, 39 percent of InnovationPark tenants used undergraduatestudent interns in their businessesand 20 percent worked with graduatestudents from across the University,including the College of AgriculturalSciences, the College of Arts and Archi-tecture, the Smeal College of BusinessAdministration, the College of Com-munications, the College of Earth andMineral Sciences, the College of Edu-cation, the College of Engineering,the College of Health and HumanDevelopment, and the Eberly Collegeof Science.

Innovation Park tenants hired 26Penn State graduates. In addition,Park companies used University labs,licensed University intellectual prop-erty, and sponsored research projects.Over 90 percent of Park tenants usedamenities in the Park, including thePenn Stater Conference Hotel andDaybridge Child Care Center, the PennStater conference facility, The NanofabFacility and Materials CharacterizationLab, and the Behavioral Endo Lab.

Total Tenants ................................................. 41PSU-related .................................................. 16Incubator ....................................................... 9Other ............................................................. 16

Total Employees ......................................... 766PSU-related ............................................... 272Penn Stater ................................................ 264Other .......................................................... 230

Used PSU Interns ........................... 16 tenantsTotal Interns ........................ 86 (40 Penn Stater)Percent of Tenants ..................................... 39%

Used PSU Grad Students ............... 8 tenantsTotal Grad Students ........................ 64 (50 MRI)Percent of Tenants ..................................... 20%

Hired PSU Graduates ..................... 16 tenantsTotal Hires ....................................... 26 hiresPercent of Tenants ............................... 39%

Sponsored research projects .......... 1 (pending)Licensed PSU intellectual property ................. 1

FY2001