Capital contacts UM officials visit DC in search of R&D funds

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Striding briskly down the polished hallways of the Pentagon recently, University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal clearly was in his element.

Alternately calling out greetings and pointing to the colorful displays along the wall, Westphal was well acquainted with the circuitous maze of corridors that makes up the headquarters of the Department of Defense.

This was his world several years ago when he served as assistant secretary of the Army under President Clinton, and, later, acting secretary under President Bush.

Now he was back in Washington, this time on a mission to promote research and development at the University of Maine. The goal was to determine whether the Department of the Army and the Department of Transportation were interested in providing funding for researchers to develop new technology or to test and gather data.

Westphal had arranged for a series of meetings between key military decision makers who once worked for him and UM’s research and development experts: Robert Kennedy, executive vice president, Jake Ward, executive director of research and economic development, and Habib Dagher, who oversees UM’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center.

Westphal also set up discussions with federal transportation officials. Although he didn’t know them personally, he knew others who did.

“In Washington you call friends and you open doors,” he said.

Fishing expedition

Just off the early morning flight from Bangor to Washington, the UM representatives deposited their luggage at an Arlington, Va., hotel a short ride from Reagan International Airport.

Sorting through their briefcases, they set about preparing for two days of meetings with executives from agencies including the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and the National Highway Institute.

Waiting for a cab to take them to their first appointment at the Pentagon, they speculated on the much-anticipated visit.

“It’s a fishing expedition,” said Kennedy. Confident that the university’s wood composites business would be a draw, he also was hoping that other UM research projects would align with the federal government’s needs.

For example, the Army might be interested in UM’s research on sensors, mapping systems, prevention and cleanup of environmental contamination such as heavy metals, and erosion prevention. “It’s matching our expertise with their needs,” he said.

UM officials hope to see the university become a major player in transportation areas as well as the military.

So they planned to ask federal officials about becoming a University Transportation Center, a federal highway and Department of Transportation designation that would allow UM to concentrate on marine infrastructure such as bridges, piers and pilings.

They also intended to look into having the university named an Army Center of Excellence. “We would be the go-to center for developing new systems integrating composites into building infrastructure,” said Ward.

Down the line, if all goes well, UM could see expanded research and job opportunities for faculty and students, the officials said. The area’s economy would be helped since 50 percent of UM’s research funding goes to employ area people, while 25 percent is spent on other goods and services.

“Then there’s sort of a synergistic effect,” Kennedy said. “If you can work on a project in one area, it has spinoffs. You never know what’s going to come out of it.” For example, students might decide to start their own companies, he said. New projects could lead to new discoveries, new products and new technology, some of which might be patentable, he said.

Dagher was brimming with enthusiasm. “This is a real opportunity for all of us. It will be interesting to see how many doors this will open. The fact that [Westphal] has contacts improves our chances significantly,” he said.

In one hand he carried a laptop computer in case he was asked to provide additional technical information. In the other he held a briefcase containing samples of the composites – his “toys,” as Westphal called them.

Promoting R&D

Accustomed to running from meeting to meeting to promote UM’s research and development, not only in Washington but across the country, the visitors from Maine moved quickly through the crowded city streets, dashing onto trains and hopping in and out of cabs.

From the General Accounting Office in downtown Washington to Fort Belvoir, located off a tree-lined highway in Virginia, they made it to each meeting with time to spare, despite snarled traffic and a few false turns.

Eighty percent of UM’s research and development funding comes from federal agencies, according to Ward. Some comes in the form of competitive grants reviewed by scientists, and some in earmarked grants awarded through the congressional delegation.

In the last five years, UM has acquired more than $173 million in federal research and development funding. Last year the university received $40 million, more than double the amount in 1996. The Orono campus received another $10 million in grants from agencies including the state departments of agriculture and transportation and nonprofit organizations.

Currently, UM is involved in 600 projects with agencies including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the departments of education, transportation and energy.

In the end, though, the state’s research and development standing is less than stellar. For a number of years the National Science Foundation has ranked Maine near the bottom in the country based on all federally funded research. Even Puerto Rico has ranked higher on occasion. In 1999 the state was ranked 41st, an improvement over a decade ago.

UM ranks 130th in funding out of 589 universities and colleges that do some research, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Developing contacts

Over lunch at the Pentagon’s General Officers Mess, an elegantly appointed dining room reserved for generals and other senior executives, UM representatives met with Ray Fatz, deputy assistant secretary of the Army, in charge of ensuring that Army bases comply with environmental laws and work safety regulations.

Because of its expertise in everything from endangered species to water quality, UM could help the Army, the university contingent told Fatz.

Fatz agreed the university had something to offer the Army. He suggested ways the UM officials might seek funding from the military and recommended follow-up meetings.

Later, Westphal made a confession. “It feels very nice to come back,” he said during an interview. “But I don’t come back with longing because I really like what I’m doing. I’m still serving my country in a positive way. It doesn’t have the same glamour, but it does have tremendous rewards.”

Although he’s been to Washington a number of times since becoming chancellor, this is the first time he’s “plugged Maine,” he said.

“I wanted to really understand what we do and feel confident that we can compete before coming here,” he said. “We’ve got the capabilities. It’s time now to help open some doors and let them walk through.”

Westphal has definite ideas about how the university system’s relationship with the departments of defense and transportation would look. “We shouldn’t work in a vacuum. It should be a partnership between the university and the private sector. The university could be a vehicle to help Maine businesses compete for the work and build their capabilities,” he said.

“You don’t always need all the expertise on your campus,” he continued. Working with other universities would allow UM to “build the critical mass that allows you to do the work.”

Show us your stuff

Meeting with Fred Caver, deputy director of civil works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, also proved fruitful. Apparently interested in much of UM’s research, he said the Corps has relationships with a number of universities.

“Show us what your range of expertise and capabilities are and we’ll start matching up,” he said. He also promised to arrange for UM officials to visit the Corps’ labs in Vicksburg, Miss., where research is done on flood control and waterfront structures like dams and levees.

The next morning, with Kennedy acting as navigator, Dagher expertly maneuvered the rental car past the Department of Energy, the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institute.

Gazing out the window at the traffic whizzing by, Ward said the new chancellor has helped the university chart new R&D territory.

“We probably couldn’t have gotten appointments as easily, and we wouldn’t have known these are the people to talk to,” he said.

Over the years, UM has made research and development contacts with help from the state’s congressional delegation and through competitive grants previously won by faculty and administrators.

“Historically, you do what you’ve done before – you go back to the same programs you’ve [already] been successful with,” Ward said. “This is another way of developing those contacts, much higher up in the food chain.”

If the new contacts pay off, research contracts could come both through earmarked funds allocated from the congressional delegation and through competitive grants, he said. Last year, UM received $8 million in earmarked funds, and the rest in competitive grants.

Using composites

Later, at the Fort Belvoir Materiel Command, which purchases supplies for the Army, Gen. Paul Kern sat at the head of the table, four stars on each shoulder, and offered encouraging news.

The Army needs portable living quarters that are easy to carry, set up and dismantle, he said.

Figuring it was an opportune time to show off his composites, Dagher quickly reached inside his briefcase. “Fascinating work,” Kern murmured as he examined the prototypes.

Since the Army’s goal is to reduce the volume and weight “of what we take to the battlefield,” the composites could fill the bill, the general said to visitors’ delight.

The military also could use composites for bridges and even bunkers, he said.

The UM representatives were elated. “Clearly there’s lots of things we could do to help them. That’s why these meetings are so important,” said Dagher after the general had left the room.

Leaving the compound, Westphal could hardly contain his glee. “Just when you think there’s no way we’ll wedge our way in because of big guys like MIT … you find they don’t have the technology. You find out you may be the right person,” he said.

Rushing to the next meeting at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Westphal continued to reflect on the possibilities offered by the materiel command.

“Once we’re in, we’re in. And we become just like MIT. It will be a gold mine for us,” he said

The news was just as good at the space and missile defense command.

Dagher’s composites could be used to construct the outer coverings and nose cones for missiles, and even a mobile launching platform, said Lt. Gen. Joseph M. Cosumano Jr.

Military officials also were interested in the sensors UM is developing to detect chemical and biological weapons and to determine if heat has harmed missiles and space shuttles.

UM officials left the meeting with Westphal offering reassurance. “You scored big,” he said, noting that both generals said they liked the idea of making the university an Army Center of Excellence.

The trip went off without a hitch, UM officials later agreed.

“It was beyond our expectations,” said Kennedy.

Said Dagher, “I’ve come to Washington many times, and I’ve never had so many meetings in such a wide geographic area.”

Reflecting on the follow-up calls that will have to be made, Ward voiced what his colleagues likely were thinking.

Their work has just begun, he said.