FY Technology Transfer and
Economic Development:
Full Report of Outcomes
(Supporting data for UNI’s Report to the
Board of Regents)
October 2004
University of Northern Iowa Technology Transfer and Economic Development Full Report of Outcomes Introduction The following sections represent UNI’s supporting data and a full listing of actions toward accomplishing the objectives outlined in the Technology Transfer and Economic Development Plan. UNI’s outreach programs strive to target technical assistance in areas of academic strengths, thus positively differentiating our technical assistance programs from other outreach programs in Iowa. Emphasis is placed on providing hands­on assistance to businesses and communities to meet the individual needs of each client. Through this approach we can best provide an outstanding return on investment to our state, benefiting, in very practical ways, students, faculty, businesses, communities and Iowa as a whole. This detailed portion of UNI’s technology transfer and economic development annual report is organized around UNI’s strategic plan. Outreach programs focus on five of the eight UNI goals in three primary categories: 1) business and community outreach services, 2) external relations and resources and 3) intellectual vitality. The following report summarizes specific actions taken in these three goal areas. While the list of actions does not include all the initiatives and projects pursued by our outreach programs, it provides excellent practical examples of our technology transfer and economic development results this past year. At the University of Northern Iowa, we are committed to improving the communities who entrust their students to us and to enhancing the economic well being of Iowa’s current and future citizens. This report reflects the collective actions taken by outreach programs to effectively solve problems of businesses and communities while actively integrating students and faculty into our economic development services.
1 KEY TO ACRONYMS USED IN THIS REPORT ABIL – Ag­Based Industrial Lubricants Research Program www.uni.edu/abil MPDC – Management and Professional Development Center www.bcs.uni.edu/mpdc BCS – Business and Community Services www.bcs.uni.edu MTS – Materials Testing Services www.rrttc.uni.edu/rrttc/mts CEEE – Center for Energy and Environmental Education www.uni.edu/ceee NRVC – Native Roadside Vegetation Center www.uni.edu/nrvcenter NIP – New Iowans Program www.bcs.uni.edu/idm/newiowans IDM – Institute for Decision Making www.bcs.uni.edu/idm RRTTC – Recycling, Reuse, Technology Transfer Center www.uni.edu/rrttc IPC – Intellectual Property Committee www.grad.uni.edu/ip RBC­ Regional Business Center www.unirbc.org IWRC – Iowa Waste Reduction Center www.iwrc.org SBDC – Small Business Development Center www.unirbc.uni.edu JPEC – John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center www.jpec.org SMS – Strategic Marketing Services www.sms.uni.edu
MCC – Metal Casting Center www.mcc.uni.edu 2 Actions Toward UNI’s Technical Transfer and Economic Development Plan Goal Area 1: BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES: Expand the involvement of the University in addressing critical local, state, national and global needs that enrich the educational experiences offered by the University (Supports UNI Goal 3.0). Objective 1.1: Provide opportunities for faculty and students to identify and respond to the needs of communities and businesses through professional service, applied research and entrepreneurial activities. Benchmarks: Number of faculty and students participating in outreach services. Number of projects conducted by BCS programs involving active participation of faculty or students. Cumulative Outcome: Approximately 73 BCS outreach projects involved the active participation of 89 faculty members and more than 1,000 students. Action 1: Faculty participation in economic development projects UNI outreach programs actively engaged 89 faculty from the following departments in projects for business and community clients across Iowa: chemistry, physics, earth sciences, accounting, marketing, economics, mathematics, geography, public policy, anthropology, sociology, community health, biology, business management, management information systems, industrial technology, environmental health and environmental science. RRTTC provided support for six faculty members from the departments of Chemistry, Biology, CEEE, and HPELS assisting their research and economic development projects. The Small Business Development Center recruited faculty to serve on entrepreneurship teams to provide mentoring to early stage companies in the Waterloo Business Accelerator Program. Faculty also provided online chat counseling with rural business owners statewide through MyEntreNet’s virtual accelerator program, and served as panelists for rural workshops. Action 2: Active student participation Students actively apply classroom learning to special projects for businesses, local government, community organizations and service agencies. UNI’s BCS programs also provided a connection to dozens of classroom projects, special research projects and case studies for businesses and communities. More than 730 students participated in classroom projects, which directly assisted 60 BCS clients. An additional 270 students were actively involved in special research projects and internships for businesses and communities. A core component of the RRTTC’s mission is to support students through interactive experiences outside of the traditional classroom. This year, fifteen students were actively involved in RRTTC programs as research interns. Student majors include Biology, Health, Chemistry, Marketing, Environmental Science and Education.
3 Action 3: Student chapter societies The Metal Casting Center personnel work closely with several student chapter societies by providing technical assistance and solicitation of material donations for fundraising activities. The student chapters representing national technical societies include the American Foundry Society (AFS) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Funds secured in the projects permit students to attend regional and national conferences, allowing students to interact with leading professionals in the manufacturing and business community. Action 4: Applied research and student experiential learning examples Experiential learning projects were provided to approximately 270 students in the past year. Some of the internships and experiences were provided in the following professional areas: geographic information systems, management information systems, database development, industrial technology, community economic development, market research, Visual Basic, foundry processes, analytical instrumentation, statistical analysis, industrial technology, materials testing, water quality, environmental health, immigration issues and others. The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center worked with Advanced Cost Accounting students and a professor on a student business incubator cost accounting project. The students determined a start­up budget for a student business incubator and an initial operating budget for year 1. The MCC employed five full­time undergraduate students and one co­op student to perform and manage research and industrial projects for local and national companies, including companies not directly related to the metal casting industry. Additionally, one full­time graduate student and one undergraduate, assigned to the MCC faculty advisor, conducted experiments in the development of new liquid metal filters for gray and ductile iron castings. Since inception, the IWRC has provided 151 students with experiential learning opportunities and added 13 additional students this year. When seeking prospective students, IWRC staff look beyond the realm of environmental science and expand into all of the colleges within the university. Its students have represented a broad array of disciplines including economics, management information systems, public relations, industrial technology, physics, biology, environmental studies, general studies, accounting, environmental planning, communications, geography and chemistry. These students are exposed to hands­on training and cutting­edge technologies, and have been highly successful in securing well­paid positions due to their work experience at IWRC. The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center in partnership with the UNI College of Business Administration and AAQ of St. Louis, a 2001 Fortune Top­20 growth company, developed an infrastructure to support virtual internships. This unique, cutting­edge virtual internship program utilized a software developed by Teralogix Corporation, an AAQ company, to provide a reliable project management infrastructure designed to support geographically dispersed team members. Two student intern teams totaling 12 members used this project management infrastructure to work on AAQ and Teralogix company projects such as organizational and operations management, and market research. The RRTTC provided experiential learning opportunities to 15 students in the past year. Topic areas included: chemistry, industrial technology, materials testing, water quality, environmental
4 education, and community outreach. These learning opportunities have been described by many interns as highlights of their academic careers. Action 5: Market Research and Consulting Certificate Program An excellent example of extensive experiential learning is the Market Research and Consulting Certificate Program provided by Strategic Marketing Services. Enrolled students dedicate more than 600 hours of professional service to market research projects for private sector companies. In addition, the students participate in an advanced market research curriculum. Nine students participated in this program during FY 2004. Action 6: Student entrepreneurship fostered The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) supported six students starting new businesses this past year. Student entrepreneurs received one­on­one counseling, as well as assistance with business plan preparation and market research. Action 7: MyEntreNet student counseling associates assist small rural businesses Students from the University of Northern Iowa’s Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization were competitively selected to offer research, technology and counselor associate assistance to rural entrepreneurs through the new MyEntreNet Rural Business Accelerator Program. As a result of their experience in FY 2003, SIFE students advanced in FY 2004 to regional SIFE semi­final competition for their innovative work with rural businesses. Action 8: Applied learning opportunities through NRVC Native Roadside Vegetation Center student employees and students in applied courses taught by NRVC faculty develop techniques and skills such as planting, specialized equipment operation, fire management and natural areas management that enable them to contribute immediately in the job market.
5 Objective 1.2: Assist companies and communities to adapt to and prosper in the changing economy of Iowa and the nation through:
· Market research and analysis;
· Innovative educational and technical assistance related to energy, the environment and environmentally sound practices;
· Hands­on community and economic development guidance;
· Research and promotion of agriculturally­based lubricants;
· Metal castings and foundry technical assistance;
· Guidance and direction to businesses and communities as they welcome immigrants and refugee populations.
· Promote and provide information and expertise related to native roadside vegetation on new highway development
· Local foods and institutional food services Benchmark: Number of business and community clients served and the geographic coverage of UNI’s outreach services. Cumulative outcome: BCS outreach programs have assisted more than 3,500 businesses and 457 communities in all 99 counties in Iowa. Market research and analysis Action 1: Market research assistance for existing business and industry Strategic Marketing Services (SMS) assisted 16 companies with 36 projects in marketplace intelligence and analysis. Some of the strategies employed by SMS include competitive intelligence, market definition and attractiveness, customer satisfaction and loyalty, market positioning and outlining specific growth strategies. Action 2: Assisting entrepreneurs The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) provided market research and analysis to small businesses and fledgling entrepreneurs across Iowa. Approximately 60 JPEC clients required intensive market research and analysis, which was used in the development of business plans and feasibility studies. The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center manages and administers the Cedar Valley Venture Fund and the Wellmark Community Ventures Fund. Both funds provide financial investment into Iowa small businesses. Action 3: Internet­driven market research The UNI SBDC delivered five, on­site market research training workshops (down from nine last year) to small businesses in three counties in FY 2004. These innovative workshops, attended by 77 participants, focused on Internet­driven market research and business web development. This past year, a new series of 15 online market research workshops were offered to 65 rural entrepreneurs through MyEntreNet, providing rural businesses affordable access for the first time to these types of University programs.
6 Action 4: Business topical classroom outreach Through the Small Business Development Center, the RBC continues to offer a rigorous array of classroom trainings and workshops to the small business community in northeastern Iowa. During FY 2004, 47 classes were offered, serving a total of 523 small business owners with training in such areas as OSHA, IRS, QuickBooks, Web Technologies, ACCESS, EXCEL, Smart Start and Business WORD. Innovative educational and technical assistance related to energy, the environment and environmentally sound practices Action 5: Student/faculty interdisciplinary research on water quality in Iowa lakes The CEEE secured support from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust and the Iowa Space Grant Consortium to fund 32 undergraduate students and nine faculty members in the summers of 2003 and 2004 to continue the fifth and sixth summers of the Iowa Summer Lakes Study. This ongoing program conducts research on polluted lakes and wetlands in Black Hawk, Tama and Delaware counties. The program has offered more than 70 undergraduates unique research experiences on a multidisciplinary environmental research team. Action 6: Pollution prevention Pollution prevention and economic development go hand in hand. The IWRC continues to provide free and confidential compliance and pollution assistance that saves businesses money. The IWRC has provided compliance assistance or conducted on­site reviews with 2,611 businesses. The IWRC strives to provide assistance to all areas of Iowa, whether urban or rural. As seen on Map 2, businesses in all 99 counties of Iowa have received this assistance. For example, its Mobile Outreach Pollution Prevention (MOPP) program conducts county­level tours in a different region of Iowa each year. IWRC’s programs and services have received national attention and awards through the years, and have become highly regarded as models for replication across the country. Map 2. Number of IWRC On­Site Reviews by County 8 8 48 18 63 24 15 13 6
16 12 19 47 25 17 60 21 41 19 25 23 14 30 14 17 21 3 3 19 11 25 22 12 9 24 17 47 24 233 34 24 15 12 20 14 20 74 35 106 10 23 153 31 26 12 24 37 3 13 5 30 174 6 24 39 17 87 40 33 19 14 14 12 23 24 6 12 4 11 6 8 10 26 2 11 2 2 4 16 12 11 July, 2004
7 7 24 5 18 16 31 11 24 Action 7: Economical approaches to solid waste problems The RRTTC continues to provide assistance to Iowa companies and communities regarding the development of economical approaches to solving intractable solid waste problems and providing research and guidance on public health concerns as they relate to solid waste concerns. This assistance is in the form of brief consultations, student internship projects and in­depth research projects, which emphasize sustainable by­product re­utilization and industrial ecology. Action 8: Small business assistance for OSHA compliance The UNI SBDC and the IWRC are partners in the national Small Business Compliance Alliance (SBCA) program. SBCA provides small businesses nationwide with technical assistance in the areas of OSHA, EPA and IRS compliance. Working with the Iowa SBDC, a program model to teach small businesses about OSHA requirements was delivered to 27 existing companies in Black Hawk County. Action 9: Education and technical assistance through publications and database programs The RRTTC provides education and technical assistance in a variety of ways including the distribution of an annual report, research and industry updates and event notices. Over 160 publications and reports are available detailing RRTTC research and student internship findings. This information is shared via personal consultation, via the RRTTC and MTS websites and through contributions to the Iowa Recycling Associations newsletter “I Recycle.” Through these means RRTTC information reaches several thousand individuals each year. The IWRC created a Golf Course Pollution Prevention Guide and distributed it to all Iowa golf courses to help inform them of important environmental regulations and pollution prevention techniques. The IWRC has also developed a database program to help Iowa salvage yards develop and implement a storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) in compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Action 10: Electrathon and Junior Solar Sprint Electrathon is administered by the CEEE, with funding support from Alliant Energy and the Iowa Energy Center. Students from across the state design, build, test and race their own battery powered vehicles to see which can cover the most ground in one hour of racing. Junior Solar Sprint, a new program added this year that complements Electrathon, is offered to middle­school students in the state. Students race miniature electric cars equipped with photovoltaic (PV) panels; sunlight on the panels generates electricity to power the engine. In this first year, seven schools participated. Action 11: Environmental Issues Instruction The IWRC, in partnership with the CEEE, completed three “Business Behind the Scenes” games for students in middle school and high school. The Clean Scene, Rev It Up and Fine Print teacher’s packets were provided to AEA libraries for checkout and to Iowa Junior Achievement offices. The games simulate ownership of a small dry cleaning, automotive repair or printing business, respectively, and are targeted for use by business, math and environmental science teachers. The games inspire environmental stewardship and have been correlated to the national standards.
8 The RRTTC provides environmental issues instruction regarding environmental science and environmental health curricula including solid waste, waste management and health impacts, through the participation in outreach programs and sponsoring student internships. For example, the RRTTC is a co­sponsor of the Iowa Children’s Water Festival—a one­day event for Iowa fifth graders that educates students about the impact of water in their daily lives – particularly in areas regarding environmental impacts, wastewater management, health and water quality. More than 2,500 Iowa 5 th graders attended this award winning festival in 2004. Action 12: Technical services to industrial field partners As an applied research and development program, ABIL supports a variety of technical service initiatives, primarily to industrial partners cooperating in the evaluation of newly developed soybean oil­based lubricants. Technical assistance includes on­site training, flush and installation of soy products, sample pull, quality assurance, troubleshooting of potential problem areas and finally, monitoring of progress on an array of soy formulations. Field qualification provides users the opportunity to assess actual performance of biolubricants, often leading to their approval and adoption. The Program currently offers service and support to approximately 10 cooperating partners. Hands­on community and economic development guidance Action 13: IDM clients served through partnership program Since its inception in 1987, IDM has provided hands­on assistance to 457 communities and economic development organizations in 96 Iowa counties. Eighty percent of these communities are below 10,000 in population. Forty­nine community and regional organizations participated in IDM’s annual partnership program which provides diagnostic analysis, economic development technical assistance and mentoring services. Other services in the areas of marketing and related research, community visioning, economic development education and organizational development were offered to partners at reduced fees. IDM continually achieves results at the community level and receives many testimonials from client communities outlining their success and the importance of IDM’s assistance in direct relationship to economic development projects. Action 14: Unique Assistance to Economic Development Groups IDM fills niches to assist economic development groups with multiple implementation projects that are tied to development of strategic plans for economic development. IDM’s planning services for FY 2004 held steady while research and special projects nearly doubled. IDM experienced a 50 percent increase in the demand for organizational management technical assistance. Some examples of projects include designing and implementing executive search and selection processes, organizational restructuring, providing expertise in individual site development and helping communities address the need to retain and recruit a professional workforce. Action 15: Special research and marketing projects for economic development IDM continues to fulfill many requests from Iowa communities on a variety of topics related to their marketing and recruiting efforts. Some of the topics that IDM researched in FY 2004 include: value­chain industry clusters, economic impacts, commuting patterns, visitor and business surveys, regional development, smart buildings, industry growth rates and industries that use large amounts of natural gas. IDM also continued to revise and update its Industry
9 Profiles. The one­page format includes a description of the industry, the transition from SIC codes to NAICS codes, industry characteristics, leading companies and industry location factors. IDM assisted IWD to improve the delivery of labor market information. The availability of labor market information is a critical component in Iowa’s economic development efforts. During 2004, IDM assisted IWD with several projects that will improve the use of labor market data by economic development organizations and business. IDM completed an inventory and assessment of the state’s labor market data collected by IWD’s Policy and Information Division. This analysis provided IWD with recommendations on how it could enhance and expand the data and services that it provides to businesses and communities. In the Spring of 2004, IDM conducted research to identify industry sectors that have the combination of significant rail usage, natural gas consumption and electrical use. The research resulted in the identification of approximately 160 companies that could have potential interest in a rail port. IDM also provided company profiles assisting the development corporation staff to focus on developing a personal relationship with appropriate company officials. IDM assisted the Siouxland Initiative in gathering data for the national site selection data standards. IDM provided specific data at the county­level and at the MSA­level for the Sioux City MSA which includes Woodbury County, Iowa; Dakota County and Dixon County, Nebraska and Union County, South Dakota. Specific data IDM provided included variables for demographic, labor force, industry and occupational wage rates, labor relations, major employers, military institutions, research centers, institutions of higher education, transportation networks and providers, income taxes, utility providers, environmental attainment, and state and federal elected officials and forms of government. The data variables were provided to the Siouxland Initiative in an electronic format that enabled them to integrate the data into the community’s economic development website. IDM assisted the Loess Hills National Scenic Byway Council in the completion and analysis of a visitor survey and a business survey over the past two years. The purpose of the visitor survey was to develop a profile of the visitors along the Byway to assist the Byway Council and its tourism allies in better marketing and enhancing the Byway. The purpose of the business survey was to determine the impact of the Scenic Byway designation on area businesses and to identify potential ways that the Byway Council could assist area businesses. Action 16: Materials testing services The RRTTC provides hands­on community and economic development guidance through the Materials Testing Service (MTS), a program developed in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Economic Development ­ Recycle Iowa. Through MTS, Iowa companies have affordable access to the standardized mechanical, physical and chemical testing of metals, polymers and cementitious materials. MTS also acts as a consulting agency, collaborating with business and industry to provide innovative testing and manufacturing solutions that meet each client’s particular needs. While the MTS specializes in assisting companies in by­product reuse and recycling, it has a wide variety of capabilities meeting the needs of many diverse clients. During the past year MTS provided over 72 mechanical and physical tests, which consisted of over 13,000 hours of testing.
10 Research and promotion of agricultural­based lubricants Action 17: Enhance Economic Development / Commercialization: The ABIL Program has a successful history in applied research and has uniquely focused its research activities on value­added products with commercial and economic development potential. Technical and field support often results in user conversion to soy products:
· Industrial users of ABIL­developed products are being recognized as innovative environmental stewards for their conversion to these renewable alternatives. For example, the West Virginia Business Manufacturers Association has awarded the Norfolk Southern (NS) Corporation (an ABIL field partner and early adopter) a Business Environmental Leaders Award for their company­wide conversion to soy rail greases. Action 18: Commercialization through partnerships Throughout FY 2003­2004, ABIL and TrusJoist (a Weyerhaeuser company) continued to cooperatively explore treatment of wood composites with various soy­based oils (using a soy impregnation process) as an alternative to creosote and other controversial wood preservatives. Metal castings and foundry technical assistance Action 19: Metal casting assistance The MCC has active contracts with 11 companies for research and testing on a fee­for­service basis. The MCC also had active outreach projects this year with 12 Iowa foundries and contacts with 20 other Iowa foundries on problem solving and consultation. Action 20: Partnerships with suppliers The Metal Casting Center is continuing its collaborative partnership with nine national and international foundry suppliers including companies such as Ashland Chemicals, HA International, Fairmount Minerals, American Colloid and Unimin Corporation. The relationship with these industrial partners allows technology transfer of new processes and materials directly to the Iowa foundry industry. Action 21: Metal Casting Center conducts energy fair The Metal Casting Center also used an innovative approach to conduct an energy fair for the Department of Energy. Presentations were broadcast via the Internet in addition to the Iowa Communications Network (ICN), allowing viewers to participate in sessions of interest to them without leaving their workplaces. Presenters from all three Iowa Regents universities and five industrial suppliers were connected to UNI using the ICN and then broadcast on the Internet using the UNI Center for Educational Technology’s equipment and facilities. Advantages of this format included:
· Interested metal casters from around the country could view the sessions without having travel expenses.
· Participants needed only stay “tuned in” for the specific sessions of interest to them.
· Multiple persons from the same company could view a given presentation without incurring travel expenses or lost time due to travel.
· Presenters could participate live without the expense of travel to a central location.
11 Action 22: Development of biopolymer­based sand binder system Hormel Foods has commercially introduced a new water­based porcine sand binder system addressing the environmental issues confronting the metal casting industry. The Metal Casting Center is assisting Hormel Foods in developing expanded binder capabilities and documenting the processing and physical characteristics of the protein­based binder system. Working with the Metal Casting Center, Hormel Foods is developing marketing and sales strategies exemplifying the environmental and casting advantages of the binder system for the foundry industry. Action 23: Enhanced molding sands to improve surface quality of castings Recently, certain commercially available sands have been increasingly more difficult to obtain because of environmental issues, forcing metal casters to use different foundry grade sands. In an effort to sustain the supply of quality sand to the metal casting industry, the Metal Casting Center and Fairmount Minerals have been working on ways to improve the performance of molding sands to improve casting quality while maintaining or reducing sand costs. Guidance and direction to businesses and communities as they welcome immigrants and refugee populations Action 24: New Iowans Program assists businesses and industries The NIP has developed a program to help Iowa businesses and industries ensure that immigrant and refugee employees become well trained for their positions and oriented to the mission and goals of their respective employers. The program directly assists employers in creating workplace environments that effectively and efficiently accommodate for the unique challenges and needs of New Iowans, while addressing the questions, uncertainties and expectations of traditional workers and managers related to their new coworkers. These workshops are provided in cooperation with Marshalltown, Hawkeye and Northeast Iowa Community Colleges. Action 25: New Iowans publications The UNI New Iowans Program (NIP) has distributed over 10,000 copies of Welcoming New Iowans: A Guide for Citizens and Communities since its first publication in 2001. The publication has been distributed to economic development professionals, elected officials, local government professionals and community groups. The guide serves as a reference for Iowa communities and businesses as they accommodate immigrant and refugee newcomers living and working in Iowa. Approximately 8,000 copies of Welcoming New Iowans: A Guide for Managers and Supervisors – The Best Practices of Iowa Employers, Immigrants and Refugees in the Workplace, assisting employers, managers and supervisors with the unique challenges associated with hiring, training and integrating immigrant and refugee workers, have been distributed across Iowa and beyond. The guide’s purpose is to promote proactive engagement of newcomer workers to ensure the vitality of Iowa business and the state’s long­term economic and social health. This handbook also serves as a learning tool in NIP’s workshops for employers. Welcoming New Iowans: A Guide for Christians and Churches was produced with funding provided by Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa. This handbook has been distributed to some 4,000 congregations and parishes throughout Iowa.
12 A joint NIP and Global Health Corps publication, A Health Provider’s Pocket Guide to Working with Immigrant, Refugee and Minority Populations in Iowa, has been published and will be distributed to health care professionals, clinics and hospitals throughout the state. Promote and provide information and expertise for native roadside vegetation on new highway development Action 26: Research and promotion of Iowa­origin Source Identified seed The Iowa Ecotype Project of the NRVC promotes the growth of Iowa­origin Source Identified seed as a value­added agriculture opportunity for Iowa farmers seeking alternatives. In addition, applied research in population genetics is conducted and supported by the NRVC to verify the value of Source Identified native seed. Action 27: Promotion of native roadside vegetation for new highways The NRVC is promoting the use of native vegetation as a positive feature of new highways in cooperation with the Highway 20 Coalition. NRVC then provides information and expertise to the Iowa DOT in establishing native vegetation on the roadside. Action 28: Local foods & institutional food services: a match for Iowa’s future In partnership with Practical Farmers of Iowa, CEEE staff work to link local food buyers with local farmers to encourage purchases of locally grown food. The CEEE works one­on­one with food service managers in participating institutions to assist in this linkage. The program has been in operation since 1998, with the participation of 14 institutions and approximately 200 farmers. The amount of money generated from the food purchases has grown an average of 16 percent per year. Cumulative farmer earnings over the period 1998 through mid­2004 amount to $1,125,500. This retains money that would otherwise have left the counties and state. Objective 1.3: Expand professional and management development training and learning opportunities for private businesses and public sector agencies. Benchmark: Number of training workshops conducted and number of participants. Cumulative Outcome: More than 160 workshops have been conducted, which served nearly 1,650 participants from 260 businesses. Action 1: Professional development workshops The Management and Professional Development Center (MPDC) conducted 59 workshops enrolling 938 business professionals from 45 businesses during the past year. Two open enrollment certificate programs were offered: Leadership Development and Business and Management Essentials. Customized certificate programs were also designed and delivered to individual businesses in eastern Iowa. The MPDC works with an advisory board comprised of eastern and central Iowa business professionals. Action 2: Training consortium The MPDC provides professional development opportunities through its Management Training Consortium. Current membership in the consortium includes 25 eastern Iowa businesses interested in professional development and management training. The Consortium Advisory
13 Board provides direction to the MPDC related to changing business and industry needs and types of training needed. Training workshops are then designed and delivered to meet the needs of business and industry. Action 3: Heartland Economic Development Course The Heartland Economic Development Course, administered by IDM and accredited by the International Economic Development Council, offers one week of intensive training in the basic concepts, information, methods and strategies for local economic development. IDM is partnering with the statewide professional development organizations of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa. IDM is responsible for course curriculum development, facilities and course logistics, maintaining International Economic Development Council (IEDC) accreditation, promotion of the course and financial management. Since April 2000, 97 new economic development professionals in Iowa have attended the Heartland Economic Development Course that is designed to meet the steadily increasing need for continuing education in the field of economic development. Action 4: MyEntreNet The UNI RBC has experienced great success with its two­year­old rural business accelerator program, MyEntreNet. The technology­driven rural entrepreneurship accelerator has been beta tested or fully implemented in six counties with excellent results. Since its inception, MyEntreNet participants have fostered the creation of 33 new or expanded businesses in several Iowa communities with populations of less than 15,000. This resulted in a total of 123.5 new full­time jobs and over $4.8 million in new capital investment. Action 5: Foundry training The Metal Casting Center conducted four one­day foundry basics training classes for 100 new employees at the John Deere foundry. The foundry basics course is an integral training component for John Deere’s new foundry employee ten­day training orientation. The goal of the university­supported industry training is to foster an expanded knowledge of John Deere operations and provide the new employees with hands­on experience in foundry training at the same time. The John Deere new employee­training program has been a training course for over nine years and continues to be strong. Action 6: Training Assistance with American Foundry Society Collaboration with the American Foundry Society (AFS) technical committee is strongly encouraged at the Metal Casting Center. The MCC staff and administration are working with their respective AFS committees and conducting short training seminars on their committee’s activities. This approach disseminates research information in the technical societies and provides a quick avenue to deploy the research findings and technologies to foundries in Iowa and neighboring states. The Cast Metals Institute, the education arm of the American Foundry Society, continues to partner with the Metal Casting Center providing industrial training in new and existing technology for the industry. The Center’s unique blend of classroom space with exceptional laboratory facilities is ideal for technology transfer. Action 7: Workshops on topics related to native vegetation NRVC faculty, staff and consultants conduct workshops in Seedling Identification; Native Seed Harvest, Cleaning and Conditioning; and Fire Management of Vegetation for county, state and
14 federal agency/organization personnel. In addition, the annual Roadside Conference is designed to provide information on current technologies and techniques. Action 8: Technology transfer manuals NRVC personnel develop manuals for agencies addressing specific roadside management activities and provide information on current effective technologies and state of the art equipment. Objective 1.4: Expand entrepreneurial and small business opportunities and technical assistance for UNI students and faculty and for the citizens of Iowa. Benchmark: Number of entrepreneurs and small businesses served. Cumulative Outcome: Nearly 1,250 entrepreneurs, students and small businesses were assisted by UNI outreach programs, and UNI’s business accelerator graduated five businesses to commercial space. Action 1: Technical assistance and Training at the Regional Business Center/SBDC One­on­one technical assistance services were provided to 252 small businesses at the SBDC, a decrease of over 20 percent from last year due to budget cuts and staff reductions. Another 523 companies were served through 47 workshops and training programs. In all, 775 small Iowa businesses were touched by the services of the Center, down 39 percent from FY 2001. SBDC consultants offered 2,624 hours of workshop training and 1,214 hours of one­on­one technical assistance to these companies during FY 2004. Action 2: RBC Business Accelerator Program Graduates of the RBC Business Accelerator Program have created visible infill in the struggling downtown Waterloo business district this past year. Seven accelerator graduates have populated over 17,000 square feet of downtown commercial office space since 2002. In its third year of operation, the seven office suites of the Business Accelerator Program have fostered the creation of 36 FTE local positions and contract work for approximately 10 other subcontractors. Action 3: Venture Capital Conference Annually, the JPEC is a co­sponsor of the Iowa Venture Capital Conference (IVCC), which offers learning opportunities for private businesses and public sector agencies in Iowa. Each IVCC conference has several keynote presentations and breakout sessions dealing with numerous issues important to entrepreneurs, investors, and development agencies. Action 4: Student business plan competition The JPEC is a co­sponsor of the Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan Competition. Student business owners receive technical assistance for their business concepts and are assisted with developing these ideas into viable businesses. Three winners are selected from the competition and each receives a $5,000 award to be used as seed money for their business. The JPEC has three student teams compete at the regional level and advanced one team to the state­level competition.
15 Action 5: SBDC Small Business Recognition Awards The UNI SBDC is a co­sponsor of a regional small business recognition award, given annually to an emerging small company and an existing company demonstrating innovation and growth. Two recipients were selected this year: one from Fayette County and another from Black Hawk county. Action 6: Entrepreneurial education and assistance The JPEC is the sponsor of Selected Topics for Students, a speakers series that presents UNI students, faculty/staff and occasionally small business owners with information about subjects of their choice, with at least half of the topics being small business­oriented. Three­to­five topics are chosen each semester and qualified speakers present information on the chosen topics. Five workshops were offered this year, one was co­sponsored by the UNI Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, with 44 students and 18 faculty/staff/small business owners participating. Action 7: Minority business development The JPEC and KBBG­FM (radio – 88.1 FM) partnered to provide technical assistance to entrepreneurs via a radio show offered on the second Monday of each month and broadcast twice that day. Each show presented information about starting and running a small business. Many of the topic areas provided information important to a business plan. The JPEC, the SBDC and KBBG­FM use this radio show as a promotional tool for the KBBG/JPEC/SBDC Minority Business Plan Competition. Action 8: Collegiate Entrepreneurs Iowa Conference The JPEC is a co­sponsor of and hosted the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Iowa Conference, which offers learning opportunities for Iowa college students about entrepreneurship. Several keynote presentations and breakout sessions dealing with numerous issues important to young entrepreneurs are presented. More than 275 students from all of Iowa’s colleges and universities and from one Missouri university attended this annual event. The JPEC also serves as the advisor for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) on the UNI campus. Twenty­five students were involved in UNI CEO. The organization sponsors workshops, engages in hands­on small business assistance and engages in social activities. Action 9: JPEC Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award The JPEC honors a UNI College of Business Administration major, who owns and operates his/her own business or makes significant contributions to entrepreneurship, with the Student Entrepreneur of the Year award. The award is given on the basis of demonstrated quality academics and industriousness in entrepreneurship. Action 10: Technical assistance for metal casting potential end­users The Metal Casting Center not only assists the metal casting industry directly, but also provides business and technical assistance to potential end­users of castings. Numerous companies have sought assistance and expertise in converting other metal forming products into castings. After suggesting several potential casting processes and the anticipated capital investment, the MCC staff assists the company in locating pattern shops and foundries based on MCC designed casting specifications. Action 11: TEA 21 native seed purchase The Roadside Program of the NRVC annually receives a grant from the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to purchase native seed for Iowa counties participating in Integrated
16 Roadside Vegetation Management programs. This program provides marketing opportunities for Iowa native seed growers, and since Iowa Source Identified Seed has first priority for purchase, growers are encouraged to utilize seed developed by the Iowa Ecotype Project. Objective 1.5: Integrate technology into technical assistance outreach services. Benchmark: Percentage of programs actively integrating technology in outreach programs. Cumulative Outcome: All UNI outreach programs have integrated technology into their technical assistance, achieving a 100 percent participation rate. Action 1: Spray Technique Analysis Research and training To date, the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) has collaborated with 38 community colleges, 11 in Iowa, to transfer the Spray Technique Analysis and Research (STAR) training program. This collaboration entails community college instructors training at the IWRC applied research facility followed by the purchase of necessary equipment by either the community college itself or, in some instances, the IWRC. Finally, IWRC staff travel to the community college to aid the instructor in his/her initial training. Communication with STAR training instructors at the community colleges is ongoing. Action 2: IWRC provides on­site environmental assistance The IWRC also continued to work extensively with Iowa community colleges this past year to assist them with environmental compliance due to an initiative by the Environmental Protection Agency to target colleges and universities for enforcement. One of these community colleges is now proceeding to develop an Environmental Management System (EMS) as a result of IWRC assistance. The IWRC has now provided 31 on­site environmental assessments to 16 different community colleges in Iowa. IWRC has a subcontract with ISU to develop the environmental model for the Small Business Compliance Alliance. The Compliance Alliance is a partnership with Small Business Development Centers and other small business assistance providers to provide more coordinated services and increase referrals to its programs. The partner and participant states are Maine, Kentucky, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Action 3: Technical problems in metal casting The Metal Casting Center provides Iowa foundries with affordable access to the latest casting technology and testing services in the nation. Over the past three years, the binder and molding aggregate testing services program has grown enormously and has evolved into one of the best sand testing laboratories in the country. The Metal Casting Center also has a well­equipped hot metals laboratory that can be utilized by Iowa foundries to verify production changes or investigate innovative technologies. Action 4: Integrating technology into small business technical assistance The Regional Business Center continues to bring cutting edge technology and technology resources to small business owners. The RBC computer lab is the only public, business computer lab available in the Cedar Valley. The lab allows small businesses to test drive software and receive technical assistance with technology and web development challenges from SBDC and SCORE counselors. Due to staff reductions, a staff person is no longer dedicated to the lab, but
17 clients are encouraged to explore the resources on their own during business hours and through small group training. The number of clients utilizing the lab was down by 30 percent this year, largely due to the lack of personal assistance. The JPEC Student Entrepreneur of the Year recipient reformatted, revised and updated the SBDC/JPEC’s proprietary Excel application, Project This!, which creates pro forma financials for use by JPEC student businesses and UNI Regional Business Center clients. Action 5: MTS assists with manufacturing technology projects The MTS has had a successful ongoing relationship with Standard Golf in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Standard Golf is the leading supplier of golf course accessories; their markets span the globe, and include countries such as China, Japan, Germany and Brazil. Over the past year MTS has worked with Standard Golf on a number of projects. One specific project involved designing and building a testing apparatus for one of their products that they have been working on improving. MTS has been able to assist Standard Golf in developing and testing a new manufacturing method for this product. This has reduced manufacturing time from approximately 24 hours to 5 minutes, while increasing quality and reproducibility. This has allowed them to focus more on other aspects of their business including expanding their product line. Action 6: NRV Center hosts workshops The NRV Center hosts workshops to train agency personnel and private individuals in techniques used by staff members in planting, growing and harvesting native seeds. Goal 2: External Relations and Resources: Establish strong and mutually beneficial relationships with external constituencies (Supports UNI Goal 8.0). Objective 2.1: Augment University­based funding with additional support from federal, state, private and business sources to further develop the University’s expertise in technology transfer, economic development and faculty entrepreneurial activities. Benchmarks: Amount of funding generated from non­UNI sources. Percentage increase in externally generated funds from corporate sponsors, foundations, federal grants and fees for services. Cumulative outcome: UNI outreach programs generated more than $6.9 million in non­ general fund sources. UNI outreach programs increased the percentage of externally supported funds, even though overall program funding was about four percent less than the previous year. Action 1: ABIL leverages state funding During FY 2003­2004, ABIL generated an additional $1.5 million above its base state funding of $50,000. Funding was awarded from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ($418,462), the Department of Energy ($962,000) and the Environmental Protection Agency ($118,000), as well
18 as general project grants from the Iowa Energy Center ($62,300), the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board ($10,000) and Iowa State University­CIRAS ($20,000). Supplemental funding from corporate sponsors, and modest fees­for­service generated from emerging assessment capabilities, provided the balance of support to the program. Action 2: IWRC leverages state and federal funding The IWRC continues to successfully augment its state funding with support from federal and nonprofit sources. For every dollar invested in state funding, IWRC secured an additional $2 in federal and nonprofit funding. Of the overall IWRC annual budget, over $1.9 million is federal funding and almost $1 million is state funding. Action 3: RBC leverages public and private support for programming The RBC leveraged approximately $150,000 in federal funding support from its state appropriation in FY 2004, which provided operational support for the center and programs. An additional $55,000 in private funds were raised through outside training offerings from MyEntreNet and local classroom trainings for small businesses. Action 4: RRTTC augmented university­based funding RRTTC has augmented its university­based funding through additional research dollars for projects supported through the National Science Foundation, Black Hawk County Health Department, the Iowa Department of Economic Development and private business enterprises. In addition, working with other departments, the RRTTC provided a leverage point for resources and participated in collaborative efforts. RRTTC collaborative projects included the Iowa Department of Economic Development–Materials Testing Service contract in the amount of $27,963. Action 5: UNI­funded research provides additional support for multiple agencies Principle investigators from RRTTC­funded projects are encouraged to use their research results as a basis to obtain additional funds from other agencies. These additional funds include grants from the Department of Economic Development, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and cooperative projects with industry groups and agencies such as the Black Hawk County Health Department. Action 6: Fees for service fund programs Strategic Marketing Services (SMS) received self­generated revenues of $355,883 and technology transfer funds of $117,933 in the past year. SMS, combined with the Management and Professional Development Center, generated nearly $660,000 in private revenues in the past year. Action 7: IDM expands fee­based services During the past fiscal year, the Institute for Decision (IDM) continued its fee­based partnership program and pursued many fee­based research projects and contracted projects. For every dollar of state support, IDM generated an additional dollar of support through contracts, grants and fees. IDM was forced to generate revenue to replace some of the 66 percent funding cut in General Assembly funding. The result has been that fewer of Iowa’s smaller communities have been served.
19 IDM has continued its partnership with investor­owned utility companies (Alliant, Aquila and MidAmerican Energy), the Iowa Area Development Group, IDED and the Greater Des Moines Partnership to conduct economic impact analyses for economic development projects in Iowa. Action 8: Grants received to address environmental issues (CEEE) Federal grants totaled $10,000 for the Iowa Greenhouse Gas Action Plan funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. State grants totaled $266,169 and included grants from the Leopold Center, Department of Natural Resources, Resource Enhancement And Protection Conservation Education Program, the Iowa Energy Center and the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. Foundation/Private sector grants totaled $116,255. Action 9: MCC leverages state funding The Metal Casting Center received industrial funding of $240,000, resulting in a $3.58 revenue return for every $1 in state funding. For Iowa companies, MCC offered 20 hours of free consultation and project development services, subsidized by state appropriations. Action 10: Funding to support NRVC programs and activities Federal grants and appropriations include (1) Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century ­ $760,000 for renovation of NRVC, and $200,000 ­ $460,000 annually for distribution of native seed to Iowa counties; (2) Federal Highway Administration grant of $160,000 for a three­year applied research project on native regional ecotypes; (3) National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for Plant Conservation Initiative ­ $45,000. State grants and appropriations through the Living Roadway Trust Fund include (1) $75,000 annually to operate Roadside Program; (2) $32,000­$35,000 annually for Iowa Ecotype Project; (3) $10,000­$15,000 annually for roadside promotion and publications; (4) $12,000­$18,000 annually for Roadside Conference and training workshops. Sale of Commercial Production Rights to native seed growers generated $32,000 over the last two fiscal years. An additional $12,500 was received for production rights this year. America’s Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie, a $650,000 film documentary, was completed with $620,000 raised over the past 10 years through private contributions and grants from foundations and agencies. Action 11: JPEC pursues grants and federal funding UNI alumni made contributions to JPEC to expand programming for student entrepreneurs and to seed new ventures. In addition, federal funding has been appropriated for a student incubator. Objective 2.2: Raise awareness and appreciation among local and regional constituencies for the programs and services provided to businesses and communities. Benchmarks: Percentage increase in special promotional efforts conducted. Level of awareness in Iowa – periodic survey. Cumulative outcome: Public relations and promotional efforts increased by 15 percent in the past year.
20 Public awareness surveys were conducted in some of Iowa’s targeted market areas, which demonstrated a heightened awareness of UNI’s outreach programs. Action 1: One­Stop Initiative The Board of Regents asked each of the three Regents Universities to create a one­stop location and contact person for external requests for business and community assistance and for reporting progress. UNI had already started to move in that direction with the creation of its Business and Community Services (BCS) Division. BCS, IDM and JPEC Director, Randy Pilkington, serves as the primary point of contact for UNI. Presentations have been made by the Regents one­stop contacts to IDED, Professional Developers of Iowa and other organizations. Action 2: Statewide newsletters Eleven BCS outreach programs publish a newsletter. In all, 31 newsletters were mailed or emailed to more than 17,000 business, community and school leaders across Iowa and beyond. The ABIL Advocate is designed to advocate for soy lubricants as viable renewable alternatives and is mailed to 7,500 domestic subscribers quarterly. The ABIL website functions to make accessible over 13 years of vegetable oil research at www.abiluni.org or www.uni.edu/abil The IWRC publishes two newsletters, The Closed Loop, with a circulation of 2,487, primarily in Iowa. The IWRC website for the period of July 1, 2003­June 30, 2004 received 3,662,206 hits. This is an average of 305,183 hits per month. A total redesign of the web site was launched previously. The new site was designed for ease of use and navigation. IDM produces a monthly electronic newsletter that is emailed to over 4,000 community and economic development professionals. IDM also provides valuable information on its user­ friendly website. The RBC publishes MyEntreNews, an online email newsletter customized to the needs of the clustered MyEntreNet community members in rural parts of Iowa. The SBDC publishes the UNIRBC Newsletter for over 500 email­subscribed entrepreneurs monthly. The JPEC uses an electronic newsletter to reach JPEC advisory board members and other appropriate/interested parties. The MCC publishes a bi­annual newsletter highlighting the research and business activities performed during the six­month period. The newsletter also provides technical briefs and solutions that are common among foundries to solve technical problems, improve efficiency and increase productivity. Overall, more than 500 newsletters were mailed to foundries, manufacturing facilities and designers across Iowa. The Roadside Program of the NRVC publishes a quarterly newsletter, Roader’s Digest, distributed to 1,350 recipients. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center distributes a monthly email titled EnviroWire as an outreach to Iowa community Chambers of Commerce and economic development groups. This newsletter contains articles providing environmental information that they may distribute to their members.
21 Action 3: Presentations BCS outreach programs presented to 67 different statewide, regional and national audiences during the past year, reaching more than 8,100 participants. Most of the presentations were professional associations actively involved in economic development and technology transfer, with 70 percent of the attendees from Iowa. During the FY 2004, RRTTC staff, researchers and students gave 15 professional presentations. These presentations were delivered to a wide range of audiences encompassing the local, state, national and international sectors. During the FY 2004, IWRC staff gave 25 presentations to UNI Capstone classes, businesses, professional organizations and community groups. During FY 2004 UNI­ABIL presented findings to conferences and at technical sessions including Iowa State University’s “Farms, Food & the Future” conference, the National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) and the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). The Program has been featured in three trade magazines and highlighted in several more news articles. In addition, ABIL has sponsored a trade booth at two Iowa county events, and provided presentations and facility tours for many agricultural interest groups. The staff of the Metal Casting Center has delivered technical presentations and seminars to regional, national and international technical societies, reaching an estimated audience of close to 1,000 foundry and manufacturing professionals. The presentations provided awareness of developing new technologies, environmental concerns and energy­related issues to improve process efficiency, increase productivity and reduce foundry waste products. IDM staff delivered 11 presentations to state, regional and national economic development associations and organizations in FY 2004. JPEC staff made six presentations to statewide or regional audiences, including the Iowa Venture Capital Conference. Action 4: National Publications The JPEC has received coverage of its programs and events in the national newsletter for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization, based in Chicago. Action 5: Active involvement in statewide associations. BCS outreach program staff members are active members of statewide associations involved in promoting economic development and technology transfer. Examples of UNI leadership positions in state associations include the Professional Developers of Iowa Board, Iowa Chamber of Commerce Executives, Biowa, Iowa Industries of the Future, Iowa Business Council, the Iowa Recycling Association, Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operators, Beautify Iowa, Solid Waste Association of America and others. The RRTTC is actively involved in several associations including the Iowa Recycling Association (IRA), Iowa’s statewide recycling association. The RRTTC Program Manager serves as association Vice President. The RRTTC is also actively involved with several outreach programs and has relationships with several other state and national agencies including the Iowa
22 Waste Exchange, Recycle Iowa, Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations, National Recycling Coalition and the Solid Waste Association of North America. Action 6: CEEE expands educational outreach Most of CEEE’s programs involve public outreach, especially the following: Buy Fresh Buy Local; Rebuild Cedar Falls; eii Teacher Workshops for Environmental Education; Iowa Electrathon; Junior Solar Sprint; Workshops on Waste Reduction; Iowa Energy Poster Contest; Iowa Summer Lakes Study. While it is difficult to quantify audiences for these programs, CEEE estimates that about 9,000 students (K­12), 150 teachers (K­12), 200 farmers, 20 farmers markets, 14 food­buying institutions and about 10,000 adult citizens directly participated in CEEE’s programs in FY 2004. A much larger audience was informed about CEEE programs through mailings, workshop and conference presentations, displays, signage and other media. Action 7: ABIL benefits from corporate relationships ABIL hosted its Annual Farmer’s Day open house event, sponsored in part by Pioneer Hi­Bred International. This year’s event highlighted Norfolk Southern’s conversion to ABIL­developed soy rail greases and featured presentations by Norfolk Southern’s senior vice president, the president of the GM­RMP Division, Portec Rail Products, Inc., the president of Biobased Industries, LLC and the president of ELM, Inc. Action 8: MCC and industry clients benefit from corporate relationships MCC’s success and recognition at the national and international levels have resulted in attracting industry leaders such as John Deere, General Motors, Hormel Foods, Pechiney Electrometallurgie, Selee Corporation, Fairmount Minerals, HA International and Ashland Chemicals. Its relationships with these companies have positioned the MCC to establish long­ term research and testing service agreements. The developing portfolio of industrial partners also positions the MCC to actively pursue federal funding for the upcoming fiscal year to address immediate research and educational needs of the metal casting industry. One of the most successful projects the Center has completed to date is the research using Causticized Lignite as an environmentally friendly replacement for traditional carbonaceous material additions to foundry sand systems. Causticized Lignite was proven to be effective in reducing Hazardous Air Pollutants such as Tetrahydrofuran, MethylEthylkeytone, Benzene, Toluene and other Volatile Organic Compounds or Hazardous Air Pollutants by as much as 85 percent. Lowering the hazardous air pollutants by substitution of materials will allow foundries to save millions of dollars at each facility that otherwise would have been spent on engineering changes and capital equipment to reduce emissions to the environment. Action 9: MCC expands educational outreach to community organizations. Hawkeye Community College and the Metal Casting Center have collaborated to support the EMC 2 program sponsored by John Deere. High school juniors and seniors attend class during the summer to obtain credit for a manufacturing degree from either Hawkeye Community College or through transfer of credits to one of the state’s three Regents Universities. The Metal Casting Center assists the program by conducting a 40­hour class in Fundamentals of Foundry Engineering Technology. The program is innovative in that students use the MCC to cast parts for a vise and then use the castings for their other courses in Machining Principles conducted at Hawkeye. At the end of the program, the students produce a working vise. The program illustrates manufacturing principles with an actual project.
23 Action 10: Community and campus planting projects Faculty and staff of the NRVC provide consultation in planning and directing prairie planting projects in the community and on the campus, such as Big Woods Lake prairie planting with Cedar Falls Rotary, Waterloo Soccer Complex, Waterloo gateway planting, UNI athletic field seeding, UNI Museum prairie landscaping and the UNI gateway planting. Action 11: Lost Landscape film project The Prairie Institute of NRVC produced a documentary film, America’s Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie, for national broadcast on Public Television and for distribution to schools, libraries and museums throughout the Midwest. A premiere showing was held April 20, 2004 on the UNI campus with additional showings at Grinnell College, University of Iowa, the Minnesota State Historical Society and the Roadside Conference held in Harlan. Objective 2.3: Solicit external input and advice regarding UNI’s business and community services outreach programs. Benchmark: Percentage of programs utilizing advisory councils. Cumulative Outcome: All UNI outreach programs actively incorporate advisory councils or committees to evaluate progress and provide input. Action 1: Examples of Advisory Council Participation UNI economic development and technology assistance programs expanded their emphasis on building new partnerships through expanded advisory council memberships, pursuing joint projects with Regents Universities and Iowa community colleges and assisting state agencies and departments. As a result of this emphasis, partnering projects with Regents Universities, community colleges and state agencies have increased again this past year. The RRTTC seeks input regarding the Center’s activities from the RRTTC Advisory Committee and from the members of the business and education community served. The Center continues to partner with other UNI programs as well as other Regents institutions, community colleges, state organizations and agencies. IWRC has an advisory board that meets annually and is comprised of representatives from the Iowa General Assembly, Iowa State University, University of Iowa, Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, private industry and community colleges. The JPEC has an advisory council that brings together UNI faculty and staff with successful entrepreneurs, attorneys and financial sector representatives. IDM has an active 18­member advisory council with representatives from local economic development groups, a community college, ISU extension, U. S. congressional representatives, the Iowa General Assembly and utility companies. Action 2: Technical Societies and Consortium Relationships Metal Casting Center personnel actively participate in several regional and national technical societies and serve on numerous technical committees to expand and build new industrial
24 partnerships. MCC participates or serves in the following organizations and on their respective committees: American Foundry Society, ASM International, Foundry Education and Society of Manufacturing Engineering. Goal 3:Intellectual Vitality: Create and maintain an intellectually stimulating environment for all members of the University community (Supports UNI Goals 1, 2 and 3). Objective 3.1: Integrate the University’s applied research, technology transfer and economic development programs into the relevant academic programs. Benchmark: Percentage of colleges, departments and outreach programs participating in research and/or technical assistance programs. Cumulative Outcome: Each college and nearly 90 percent of academic departments directly participated in applied research and technical assistance projects throughout Iowa. Examples of student and faculty participation in research and/or technical assistance programs: Eighteen MBA students conducted their “capstone” projects for area businesses. These projects included process analysis, marketing plan development, accounting process audit, e­commerce marketing plan preparation, financial analysis of operating costs for a new product line and others. IDM provided research opportunities for six faculty members in the academic disciplines of economics, mathematics, marketing, geography and public policy. Many of these research projects incorporated student group projects and were applied at the community or business level. Some of these research projects included:
· Analysis of value­chain clusters in Iowa
· Economic impact analysis of local economic development projects
· GIS overlays for determining laborshed information for Iowa communities
· Probability models to assess commuting patterns The RRTTC provided applied research funding and student internship support for projects, focusing on the development of economical approaches to solving intractable solid waste problems and providing research and guidance on public health concerns as they relate to solid waste concerns. Faculty and students from several departments and programs, including Biology, Chemistry, Marketing, Health, CEEE and Industrial Technology have been involved in projects within the past year. The projects are multidisciplinary and can be integrated across the curriculum, enhancing the students’ classroom learning experiences. The MCC faculty advisor has coordinated an innovative masters program offered by the Industrial Technology Department through the Division of Continuing Education. The students will earn a Master of Arts Degree in Manufacturing Processes/Metal Casting upon the successful
25 completion of their course work. The program is designed for local foundry employees with an undergraduate degree. MPDC provided opportunities for faculty to work with the private sector to gain knowledge that can be used in the classroom. More than 20 faculty members served as instructors for MPDC programs and classes. CEEE led a multidisciplinary research team comprised of 32 undergraduate students and nine faculty members in the summers of 2003 and 2004, to determine causes of pollution in Casey Lake (Hickory Hills Park on the border of Tama and Black Hawk counties), Silver Lake in Delhi, Iowa (Delaware County), and three Black Hawk County wetlands (Beaver Valley, West Lake and Railroad Lake). In its six summers of operation, the program has offered more than 70 undergraduates unique research experiences on a multidisciplinary environmental research team. Recently, in collaboration with the NASA Kennedy Space Center, we have added hyperspectral remote sensing as a new research component. This initiative provides an invaluable opportunity for students and faculty to gain hands­on experience in a cutting edge technology. NRVC’s applied research projects on regional native prairie ecotypes, involving common garden studies and DNA analysis, involve cooperative research with Biology faculty and students. Three recent M.S. theses in Biology and Environmental Science have consisted of research regarding NRVC technology transfer questions: (1) introduction of forbs into native grass plantings, (2) germination and establishment of prairie cordgrass and (3) effect of cover crops on prairie roadside plantings. Objective 3.2: Integrate experiential learning opportunities, focused on technology deployment and business development, with students’ academic degree programs. Benchmark: Number of experiential learning opportunities provided. Cumulative Outcome: UNI outreach programs provided direct experiential learning opportunities for 370 students and special research projects and classroom projects for another 730 students. Examples of student experiential learning: During the 2003­2004 academic year, ABIL offered experiential learning opportunities to five undergraduate students. Opportunities were offered in the areas of applied and basic analytical research, industrial technology, electronics and instrumentation, basic accounting and public relations. Students frequently participate in field projects with industrial partners, as well as with the monitoring and reporting requirements of those field activities. This year, student staff has participated in several on­site training sessions for operation of specialized analytical instrumentation. IDM provided direct experiential learning experiences for 12 undergraduate students and two graduate students in the areas of community economic development and data analysis. Many of the experiential learning experiences included internships at the community level.
26 Thirteen students participated in experiential learning at the IWRC this past year. These students were integral to IWRC’s applied research, watershed projects, Geographical Information Systems, website maintenance, database management, air­permitting efforts and public relations. IWRC interns comprise a variety of disciplines including MIS, geology, communications, industrial technology and public relations. During the past year, the UNI JPEC supported more than 26 students in experiential learning situations. Two were interns in the Center, meeting with clients and doing research for clients in new venture start­ups. One was an intern working on a proprietary small business financial projections software application to assist small business owners and 12 were interns in the Collegiate VIP program. The JPEC provided transportation and funding to allow more than 200 students to participate in or attend conferences. SMS provided direct experiential learning experiences for 21 students. These included experience in marketing and market research. SMS introduced and now offers a Certificate in Consulting – Market Research. RRTTC student interns participate in experiential learning through “hands­on” research, outreach programs and internships with Iowa business and industry. Working in the laboratory students learn first hand about in­depth research and the development of new technologies. While working with Iowa companies and organizations, students are involved in many projects including the development of recycling programs and development of programs to address additional waste management issues regarding environmental health. The RRTTC has sponsored over 110 internships to date with fifteen students participating in experiential learning opportunities through the RRTTC within the past year. Participation in RRTTC internships provide students with experience and knowledge they can use as they continue their educational careers, secure jobs and become concerned citizen leaders. UNI students assist the RRTTC in providing environmental education opportunities to Iowa’s 5 th graders as part of the Iowa Children’s Water Festival, held each year in Ankeny, Iowa. In 2004, over 2,500 Iowa 5 th graders learned about the interaction of water in their daily lives through “hands­on” activities, exhibits and entertainment. Through the NRVC, experiential learning opportunities are provided to student employees and to students in applied courses. These opportunities enable students to develop techniques and skills that enable them to compete effectively in the job market of their chosen profession.
27 Objective 3.3: Foster the development of faculty and staff through the intellectual properties protection process. Benchmark: Number of intellectual property disclosures. Cumulative Outcome: Intellectual properties policies were updated and improved during the past year and professional staffing was added to the Intellectual Property Committee to provide faculty and staff with advice and assistance in pursuing patent disclosures, applications and licensing agreements. Action 1: New disclosures and patent applications The UNI Intellectual Property Committee (IPC) to date has reviewed disclosures leading to 18 patents, 3 provisional patents, 31 international patents and 9 license agreements. In FY 2004 there were three new disclosures, completion of one provisional patent and one full patent, one phase I marketing analysis and one phase II marketing analysis. Total revenue from royalties on UNI license agreements for FY 2004 was $25,695. Action 2: IWRC holds 31 patents, including foreign and domestic The IWRC has a total of five United States patents and 26 foreign patents for variations of an optical spray paint optimization device and a paint gun incorporating a laser device. A local manufacturer, Laser Touch and Technologies, has licensed The Laser Touch ™. This technology has generated approximately $85,745 in revenues to the IWRC since 1998. Action 3: Seed production rights, trademark and intellectual property The Iowa Ecotype Project of the NRVC has developed and commercially released the production rights of foundation stock of Iowa Source Identified seed to native seed growers, via the UNI Research Foundation. In addition, NRVC staff have developed and registered a federal trademark for the Iowa Ecotype Project via the UNI Intellectual Property committee. Action 4: Intellectual Properties staff mines campus research UNI’s IP Marketing Specialist met personally with more than 40 faculty and staff this past year to cultivate research and determine patent potential and explored private sector partnerships for university intellectual property projects. Action 5: Intellectual Properties opportunities cultivated and marketed on campus UNI's Intellectual Properties Marketing Specialist provided one­on­one assistance to five faculty members this past year regarding patent development, licensing opportunities and marketing analysis. Two projects received initial seed investment from the UNI Research Foundation to fund advanced research and testing.
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