feature roi sp09

7/27/2019 Feature Roi Sp09

1/6

4

ENG

INEERI

NG

NE

W

S

GILA

DAM

S

GILA

DAM

S

The College of Engineering at

Carnegie Mellon University is

recognized worldwide as a leading

research institution. Housedwithin the College are more than

22 major research centers. These

centers or pillars of excellence

give researchers the freedom to

push the boundaries of technology,

while providing unique educational

opportunities for students. To keep

our researchers attuned to the

real problems facing engineers in

the field, the College collaborates

extensively with industry, resulting i

mutually rewarding relationships.


2/6

55

he College of Engineering receives

research funding from a variety of

sources. Government entities, such as

the National Science Foundation and the

Department of Defense, for example, provide

numerous grants. However, many of the

Colleges centers receive substantial fundingfrom corporate sponsors through membership

programs of varying flavors. These programs

enable companies to influence research

projects and derive benefits that have positive

effects on their bottom line. As expected, CIT

gains tremendously from these programs,

too. We receive financial support that helps

maintain our thriving research enterprise;

however, just like our corporate sponsors,

we benefit in ways that transcend dollars and

cents.

T h e B e g i n n i n g o f B e n e f i c i a lR e l a t i o n s h i p sThe College has a long history of partnering

with companies for research purposes. For

example, in the 1980s, the Center for Iron

and Steelmaking Research (CISR) was

established with industry money that was

matched by the National Science Foundation

(NSF). Back in those days, you had to go

out and get industry members and funding.

An NSF grant was continent on you getting

B Y S H E R R Y S T O K E S

F E A T U R E

Returns on the Investment

industrial support, says Richard Fruehan,

the U.S. Steel Professor of Materials Science

and Engineering and the founding director

of the CISR. If you got 10 or 11 companies

to come on board, the NSF would give you

your money, says Fruehan. The culture

encouraged interaction between academiaand industry.

Today, like during the dawn of the

CISR, Fruehan persuades companies to join

the center by explaining how they can get a

greater return on their R&D money. Steel

companies say, We cant justify or afford

to do the long-term research we need to do.

I say, Lets do it on a collaborative basis.

The research wont be of unique benefit to

one companyall of our members will get

access to 8 or 10 projects instead of just one,

states Fruehan. His approach works. The

CISR started off with 11 industry partners,and that number grew to more than 23, with

a third of those companies outside of the U.S.

(Our research was garnering international

interest decades before globalization

became a buzzword.) Since the center was

founded, the steel industry has endured a

number of recessions. Yet, in spite of mergers

and companies folding, the center has more

than 20 members and is the largest academic

center for steelmaking research in the world.

Most steel companies that produce in the

U.S. belong to the center and there are

international partners, too, says Fruehan,

adding, If we were not the very best, we

would not have survived.

Similar to the CISR, other leading

CIT research centers, including the DataStorage Systems Center and the Center for

Advanced Process Decision-making, were

founded in the 1980s with combinations of

industry and government support. However,

during this same period, a new model for

interaction between academia and industry

took root at Carnegie Mellon: the Center for

Silicon System Implementation was founded

solely with industry funding. This type of

collaboration was unheard of before, that is

industry and universities coming together to

do fundamental research, says Shawn

Blanton, a professor in ECE and the director ofthe Center for Silicon System Implementation

(CSSI). The impetus for this industry support

was that Japan was surpassing the U.S. in the

semiconductor industry. The Semiconductor

Industry Association (SIA) got together and

said, we need fundamental research, and the

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC)

was formed. Carnegie Mellon was the first

school to get a Center of Excellence for chip

design.

TT


3/6

6

ENG

INEERI

NG

NE

W

S

P e o p l e F i r s t Though the years, funding has ebbed and

flowed, yet CITs large, mature research centers

are still running strong as a direct result of the

relationships that have developed between

the faculty, staff and students who work in

the centers and their industry counterparts.

Pointing to a shelf of books hanging above his

desk, Fruehan says, Every one of these blackbooks is a Ph.D. thesis. Ive been at Carnegie

Mellon for 28 years and 30 of my Ph.D. students

are in the steel industry, and they are strong

supporters of the center. Support from alumni

working in the field has proven instrumental in

maintaining a connection between companies

and the College.

Blanton concurs with Fruehans assess-

ment of alumni importance. This past fall, the

CSSI celebrated its 25th anniversary by hosting

an expanded Technical Workshop. (Invitations

to participate in workshops and annual

research review meetings are valuable benefits

that companies receive when they sponsor

CIT centers.) More than 125 people attended

the two-day CSSI event that highlighted the

centers technical homeruns and visions for

the future. Several leading industry figures

delivered presentations, including John Cohn,

Chief Scientist of Design Automation at IBM.

During his talk, Cohn (Ph.D. ECE, 1991)

explained that a number of the key tech-

nologies utilized in an IBM server came from

the seminal work conducted in the CSSI.

Other guest speakers included John Shen, the

founding head of Nokia Research Center, Palo

Alto and Ralph Cavin, III, chief scientist at the

Semiconductor Research Corporation.Working with prominent engineers from

the private sector raises the level of Carnegie

Mellons research. Ignacio Grossmann, the

director of the Center for Advanced Process

Decision-making (CAPD) explains that the

majority of industry people who are active in

the CAPD engage in leading-edge R&D. The

researchers who are involved in our center

are high-caliber. They are the leaders in their

fields, such as Jeffrey Siirola, who is a member

of the National Academy of Engineering, says

Grossmann. By joining the CAPD, eminent

researchers from over 20 major corporations

gain opportunities to network. They have

access to newly published papers or papers

that have been submitted for publication,

giving them a head start on accessing useful

information, says Grossmann.

When asked what he and his fellow

CAPD researchers gain from their involvement

with corporate sponsors, other than financial

support, Grossmann answers with one word:

Problems and for him that is a positive. We

get exposure to new trends and new problems

that motivate our research work, he explains.

This exposure keeps the CAPDs research

focused on salient matters. For example,ExxonMobil is funding a project that aims to

produce the best strategies for planning and

designing offshore oil and gas drilling platform

systems in situations where precise information

is lacking. The fundamental knowledge that is

derived from this project will benefit not just

ExxonMobil, but the industry as a whole.

Our work is highly valuable to the process

industries, says Grossmann, who adds that

when industry personnel participate in annual

Shawn Blanton, CSSI Director

and professor of ECE (above)

II str rtict i tsfrfro 211 comco pan sies atttended th e rrss nnual

t inbr r InIn i t e o orao te Partne srshipip Meetini g.g.


4/6

meetings, companies are able to influence the

centers research.

While benefits for partnering abound,

Grossmann emphatically believes that access

to our students is the chief benefit companies

derive by sponsoring the center. Referring to

the drilling project, Grossmann says One of

our students spent three summers in Houston

working on the offshore project. Many CAPDstudents spend summer internships with

companies. He says, We produce students

with unique skills. It is difficult in the U.S. to

find students that have education and training

like ours. Places like Berkeley, Caltech,

Stanford dont have programs like the CAPD.

Fruehan and Blanton agree with Grossmann

on the great value companies place on CIT

students. Companies hire our Ph.D. students

because they can hit the ground running,

says Blanton. By working with industry

personnel and enlisting for internships,

students pick up on the culture and issues that

different companies are dealing with explains

Blanton. Our students are smart, he says,

and when they spend the summer working

with corporate partners, they get real-world,

practical knowledge. Continuing he explains

that it is through the students that knowledge

migrates from companies to the centers and

vice versa. In a seamless manner, technology

is transferred, says Blanton.

T h e n T h e r e s t h e R e s e a c hOur students are heavily recruited and thats

because in part, they are working and studying in

research centers that have earned international

acclaim. Research that has literally transformedindustries is conducted at Carnegie Mellon,

and a good case in point is the information

storage technology that has been developed

in the Data Storage Systems Center (DSSC).

We are the best academic center in the world

for hard drive technology, says Jimmy Zhu,

the ABB Professor and director of the DSSC.

All of the major hard drive companies sponsor

us because we can help them resolve current

technological hurdles and identify and develop

the next wave in storage technology, says

Zhu. These are not overreaching remarks. A

look at the DSSC Web site (http://www.dssc.ece.cmu.edu) reveals a list of their patents and

affiliates.

The center formed in the late 1980s, led

by University Professor Mark Kryder, and

by 1989, the National Science Foundation

(NSF) designated the DSSC an Engineering

T h e C S S I c e l e b r a t e d i t s 2 5 t h

ann i ve r sa ry by ho s t i n g an

expanded Techn i ca l W o rkshop .

Mo re t han 125 peop l e a t t e nded

t h e t w o - d a y C S S I e v e n t t h a t h i g h l i g h ted t he cen te r s

t e c h n i c a l h o m e r u n s a n d

v i s i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e .


5/6

Research Center (ERC). The goals prescribed

for ERCs are loftythey must act as agents

of change for engineering education and the

engineering community as a whole. This

is accomplished by integrating academic

research, education, diversity, outreach, and

industrial collaboration, which is no small task.

During the 1990s, the hard drive industry was

riding the technology wave, says Zhu, Weprovided industry with trained Ph.D.s who

quickly became leaders in the field. After 11

years, the NSF requires ERCs to graduate

says Zhu, and once again, the center became

dependent on industry funding. During its rein

as an ERC, the center proved its value to both

the scientific community and the corporate

world, which made private funding attainable,

but not easily had. The industry had changed.

The technology matured, and companies were

consolidating, says Zhu.

To secure funding in a tighter fiscal

environment, the center had to sell the notion

that its tack on fundamental research was

crucial to pushing the industry forward. (The

word fundamental is important because as

a nonprofit institution our research must have

scientific merit and propel engineering and

students forward.) The DSSCs comprehensive

approach attracted sponsors. We understand

the hurdles in storage technologies and we

can walk the road that is financially too risky

for industry, says Zhu. The center, unlike a

company, can engage in theoretical research

without worrying about stockholders and

quick financial returns. Another selling point is

that the DSSC (like all CIT centers) is adept at

leveraging interdisciplinary teams. Developinghard drive technology calls for expertise in a

wide range of areas, including physical science,

materials, electrical and computer engineering,

etc., and people with all these backgrounds are

at Carnegie Mellon. Thanks to a long list of

achievements, alumni sited in key positions in

key companies, and top faculty and students,

the DSSC engages in productive collaborations

with its industry affiliates.

Companies will invest in us because

of the quality of our research, our vision and

drive for innovation, says Zhu, adding that

a $250,000/year investment in the DSSC

could result in many millions of dollars in

net gains for a company. Highlighting some

of the key benefits sponsors receive, such as

access to faculty, student recruitment, and

networking opportunities, he notes the value

companies place on advance viewings of

Ano the r way i n wh i ch bo th

i n d u s t r y a n d C I T b e n e f i t

f r o m p a r t n e r s h i p s p e r t a i n st o o u r s t u d e n t s : r e s e a r c h

p rov i de s t h em w i th i n va l uab l e

e d u c a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i es .

.... na io o s

ar t


6/6

DSSC publications, In this industry, all you

need is a six-month lead and you can have the

next big thing.

I n W i t h t h e N e wBecause of their success and longevity, the DSSC

and the other major centers serve as models

for newer Carnegie Mellon research groups.

CyLab, which was founded in 2003 primarilywith Army funding, is following in step and

building a substantial industry membership

program. Driven to secure computer and

communications systems, CyLab is attracting

both large companies and start-ups, including

a number in the Pittsburgh area. We are one

of the largest university-based cybersecurity

research and education centers in the U.S. Our

partners get access to world-class research and

experts, says Gene Hambrick, the director of

CyLabs Corporate Relations. He explains that

start-ups become partners because they get to

network with people from a number of national

and international companies.

We like to say that there are four

reasons to partner with CyLab: reputation,

recruiting, research and return on investment,

begins Hambrick, as he outlines the merits of

membership. Designated an NSF CyberTrust

Center, the center commands respect.

(The National Security Agency named the

Information Networking Institute (INI), which

partners with CyLab to extend educational

and training programs, a Center of Academic

Excellence in Information Assurance

Education.) Our partners find that aligning

with us enhances their reputation, he says.

Another deal-making benefit states Hambrick,echoing his peers throughout CITs research

centers, is that companies can recruit CyLab

students. Partners get preferential access to

our brightest and best. And what makes these

students the best relates to Hambricks third

motive for partnership: research.

We are here for the research, states

Hambrick. We have over 50 faculty members

and 130 graduate students associated with the

center, and these people go across a broad

spectrum of disciplinestechnology, policy,

education. We are a one-stop shop. We can help

companies solve their technical problems or

train their employees. We are a resource for our

partners. We are positioned to capture trends.

The ability to identify and leverage trends

is evident in CyLabs thrust in mobility, which

represents a significant growth area. We have

been doing work in mobility for years, but it

became evident to Dean Pradeep Khosla that

we need to create a center in CyLab to focus

our mobility research, say Hambrick. The

genius surrounding the Mobility Research

Center is that it is based both in Pittsburgh

and at Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, which

broadens opportunities for partners, faculty

and students to interact.

Smart, agile moves like the MobilityResearch Center, the enlistment of top faculty,

and bright students draw companies into

CyLabs fold. When other benefits are factored

inthe capability for companies to band

together to stretch their R&D monies and early

access to research findingscompanies gain

a lot of knowledge for a price that would be

difficult if not impossible to achieve in house.

And this case scenario holds true not just for

CyLab, but for all of CITs major research

centers. The work underway in our centers has

a direct affect on engineering education, the

field of engineering and often, a companys

bottom line.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e c e n t e r si n t h i s a r t i c l e :

Center for Advanced Process Decision-making

http://capd.cheme.cmu.edu

Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research

http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/cisr

Center for Silicon System Implementation

http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~cssi

CyLab

http://www.cylab.cmu.edu

Data Storage Systems Center

http://www.dssc.ece.cmu.edu

Jin Nakano, a post doc in the CISR

demonstrates to journalists the

experimental and computational work

associated with steel research.

feature roi sp09

Documents