ORONO – The University of Maine is one step closer to becoming a U.S. Army Center of Excellence, a prestigious designation that could enable the flagship campus to receive several millions of dollars annually to perform research and development for the military. Specifically, the university is being assessed for its technology to potentially build bridges, bunkers, housing, piers and storage facilities that can be carried easily and constructed quickly.

“There’s a lot of potential here,” U.S. Army Gen. Paul J. Kern said Tuesday after touring the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, where he saw panels, beams, bridges and retaining walls made of both wood composite and fiber composite – materials that could help the Army become lighter and faster.

Kern, whose visit is part of an evaluation of UM as a proposed Center of Excellence, said he liked the idea of “melding” natural wood with man-made materials because it allows construction to be more lightweight, portable and weather-resistant.

UM, which will be up against other universities and research facilities for the designation as a Center of Excellence, is “very competitive,” Kern said.

“What you’ve done here has tremendous opportunity. I feel confident and good that you will be one of the up-and-coming areas,” Kern said.

Robert Lindyberg, manager of the AEWC, said Kern pointed out that the Army erected a camp for 20,000 soldiers in Bosnia, using “stick-built construction, which took a lot of time, a lot of labor and materials.”

Kern has challenged UM to develop technology that will speed the construction of these Army bases, Lindyberg said.

UM is slowly but surely making strides in its quest to work with the Army. Recently the campus was awarded a $75,000 Army seed grant to develop potential new designs for military use and to plan for becoming an Army Center of Excellence.

Last spring, University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal, formerly assistant secretary of the Army and acting secretary of the Army, set up a visit between UM research and development representatives and Kern in Washington, D.C., to discuss the possibility of UM becoming a Center of Excellence.

In November, Kern sent representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Army research lab in Natick, Mass., to “look at our capabilities and give him a report back,” said Habib Dagher, AEWC director and professor of civil engineering. Their collective thumbs up resulted in Tuesday’s visit from Gen. Kern, one of eight four-star generals in the country.

A relationship with the Army bodes well for the local economy, according to Dagher, who said Maine companies would work with the university in its research and development efforts. Once the Army agrees to purchase the technology that’s ultimately developed, the companies could bid for some of the contracts. “The first wave of support for the state would be research funding, the second wave would be spin-off jobs in manufacturing,” he said.

Dagher said he was buoyed by the general’s favorable rating on Tuesday and that he sees Kern as “an advocate for us as we move forward.”

“My sense is that he came away very impressed. He sees the potential for us to help the Army.” But Dagher pointed out that Kern, for all his influence, isn’t the only decision-maker in the process. “We’re getting closer, but there’s a significant amount of work ahead of us” trying to make the case with others involved, he said.

Kern said the earliest the Army could put UM into its budget to become a Center of Excellence would be 2006.

If UM became such a center, it would be in the company of such prestigious schools as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins, University of Michigan, University of Texas, and University of Southern California. There are 19 Centers of Excellence in the country.

Dagher said there would be follow-up meetings with the Army set up by Kern in Washington. He said he also is counting on the influence of Maine’s U.S. senators and representatives.

“Support of the congressional delegation is critical to our success,” he said.

Chancellor Westphal, who helped set up Kern’s visit to Maine, said that “it’s important that the Army leadership see the kind of work we’re doing here in Maine.”

He said the Army is putting all its eggs in one basket by funneling most of its research money to universities in Massachusetts, Texas and California.

“We’re not investing broadly in research and development across the country,” he said. “General Kern agrees.”

Accompanying Kern were UM faculty and administrators, businesspeople, and state lawmakers as well as U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud and staffers of U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.