Large-Scale Research
and Infrastructure
Mark Lundstrom, Marietta Harrison
Eli Asem, Jeff Gunsher,
Christian Hans, Monika Ivantysynova,
Phil Low, and Alan Rebar
March 3, 2008
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What are we after?
Large Scale Research
to raise Purdue’s reputation, impact & prestige to the level
of the very best universities worldwide…
to advance knowledge & develop technologies that
address the grand challenges of society
to drive the economy of Indiana and the world
Why?
Grand challenges such as human health, energy, environment
and climate require large scale interdisciplinary research
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strategies
1) Invest in people
2) Invest in infrastructure
3) Define and support strategic initiatives
4) Develop large-scale partnerships
5) Lead with Discovery Park
6) Be guided by rigorous, external reviews
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research infrastructure
Invest in critically needed shared research facilities –
start with instrumentation for the life sciences & animal
housing
Campus-wide plan for computing & cyber infrastructure
Invest in human infrastructure (professional staff,…
Re-engineer research business operation
Provide more cost sharing funds & simplify cost-sharing
process
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strategic initiatives
Couple engineering, physical sciences and the life sciences
• Define a “Purdue approach” to grand challenges such as
human health / energy / environment / climate
• Support high-profile faculty teams in important, emerging
areas such as cyberinfrastructure, homeland security,
space exploration, etc.
• Develop synergies with the liberal arts, business,
education, and other units to add special capabilities to
large-scale science and engineering initiatives
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large-scale partnerships
with industry and governments, domestic & foreign
Examples
$ 250M initiative of Swiss based pharma giant Novartis
for worldwide drug discovery center @ MIT
Clemson University’s International
Center for Automotive Research
(CU-ICAR) – 250 acre techno park
financed by BMW, Michelin, Timken
and South Carolina
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Discovery Park - venue
for Large Scale Research (LSR) @ Purdue
to acquire & operate
large programs
Use Discovery Park
- to re-engineer research business operation @ Purdue
Make Discovery Park
- an internationally recognized research institute
- a model worldwide for a new paradigm in LSR
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resources
• Reallocation existing resources
Return university funds to support research infrastructure
based on overhead generated
• Develop public/private partnerships to support research;
Identify opportunities for out-sourcing
• Development - emphasizing graduate student support,
research infrastructure, and faculty chairs
• Large-scale partnerships with industry and governments
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assessment
Research expenditures:
-measured against the next level universities
College rankings:
-rankings in key programs should increase substantially
Faculty recognition:
-NAE and NAS membership should increase substantially
Large-scale initiatives:
-new faculty-initiated, center-scale projects
-strategic partnerships involving Purdue, industry,
and governments
Regular, external assessment
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Comments or Questions?
• Promote excellence, leadership,
and impact
• Field-defining research
• Develop large-scale partnerships
• Become a model for ‘discovery-todelivery’
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