Building Kentucky's New Economy with EPSCoR

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT The proposal submitted by the University of Kentucky Research Foundation aims at increasing the Commonwealth of Kentucky's research and development (R&D) competitiveness. This will be accomplished by augmenting the research infrastructure and expertise statewide and concentrating on those areas in which the State's New Economy strategic plan has focused. The KY EPSCoR proposes to increase the State's R&D competitiveness by implementing two key mechanisms: (1) an investment in infrastructure improvement; and (2) an investment in education, outreach, and diversity. The first will be addressed by developing three of the five research areas at the top of the State's New Economy priority list: (a) nanotechnology (with an emphasis on sensors), (b) biotechnology (specializing in metabolomics), and (c) information technology (specifically in the virtual environments area). This effort will be concentrated at three universities: the University of Kentucky (UK), the University of Louisville (UL), and Kentucky State University (KSU). The objective of the nanotechnology initiative is to create a nationally competitive research and education center through strategic improvements in the nanotechnology research facilities and resources throughout the State. The purpose of the metabolomics initiative is to integrate this emerging field with the existing infrastructure of functional genomics and proteomics through the establishment of a state-of-the-art center at UL. Finally, the virtual environments initiative will reinforce a significant but embryonic effort by UK and the Kentucky Office of the New Economy to enable internationally recognized, leading-edge research, education, and industrial outreach in visualization. The second investment constitutes a contribution to the broader impacts of the proposed infrastructure improvement initiatives, including a comprehensive plan to increase the level of competence and public awareness in environmental issues. A new institute at Eastern Kentucky University will coordinate efforts in the eastern part of the State. A continuation of the Kentucky Environmental Research and Educational Consortium will coordinate the western part through the Tracy Farmer Center for the Environment, recently established with private funds on the UK campus. Furthermore, Kentucky will pursue an aggressive plan to increase diversity in the scientific expertise across the State through the Research Enhancement Grant Program, and the Summer Research Program, both of which focus on bringing undergraduate women and minorities into the scientific enterprise.