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I/UCRC Success Stories

Measures of Success

A strong indication of the value of these Centers to industry is the continued participation of industry. Even during periods of economic fluctuation, when industrial inhouse R&D declines, the I/UCRCs are continuing to invoke R&D activity among their members. In FY 2003, I/UCRC research resulted in approximately $75 million in R&D funding investments by member firms. The total industrial R&D investment attributable to the I/UCRCs in FY 2003 is approximatly $100 million. This investment by I/UCRC members may be the most tangible evidence that successful transfer of knowledge and ideas is occurring. The follow-on investment by companies demonstrates that they derive benefits from the I/UCRC program of research that they believe merits further development and commercialization.

The Program's long record of success in this arena is recognized not only by its own members but by outside organizations. In 1998, the Technology Transfer Society of America, a national organization of public and private-sector technology transfer professionals, bestowed on the I/UCRC Program its Justin Morrill award. This award is given annually to an organization that has an "exemplary record of transfer of technology and also has made outstanding contributions to the theory and practices of technology transfer that are widely used by others."

From the standpoint of member companies, one of the outstanding benefits of participation in an I/UCRC is the opportunity to work with graduate students who are experiencing research opportunities of interest to industry with a view toward improving the competitiveness of U.S. industry. Graduates of I/UCRCs represent an effective and longlasting form of knowledge transfer.

To the industry partners, it is results that count. And evaluator surveys show that industry is satisfied with the results of I/UCRC membership—not just in terms of new products and processes (as described in the accompanying fact sheets), but also in terms of access to the best new ideas and firstrate prospective employees. Their enthusiastic participation and support are the proof of their satisfaction.

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Success Stories

Switching to a New Technology in Telecommunications

Telephone providers use specialized switches to route calls across town or around the world. An important issue in telecommunications is Quality of Service (QoS) — that is, how do you allocate sufficient bandwidth to handle the ever-increasing volume of traffic without bringing about degradation of service quality?   In 1997, a professor at a communications-oriented I/UCRC started a company to design a switch from scratch, applying his algorithms for maximizing QoS.  Three years later his company was purchased for $450 million. Today, this center spinoff employs 35 people and is still growing. 

High-Performance Buildings

One I/UCRC has developed award-winning "Guidelines for High-Performance Buildings" that permit significantly reduced energy and environmental impact in building construction and operation (by a factor of five compared to best current-day practices) while at the same time dramatically improving indoor environmental quality (air quality, thermal quality, visual quality, acoustic quality and spatial/ergonomic quality), also by a factor of five or more.  These guidelines have been applied, with the active participation of the Center as systems integrator, in many government and commercial building projects around the world, including not only the United States but also buildings in Korea, Germany, France, and China.  The work has proved that the supposed dilemma between saving energy on the one hand and improving environmental quality on the other is not an either/or choice.

More Efficient Electric Power Systems

A Center focused on solving problems facing the electric power industry is contributing in many ways to improving the ability of power system operators to more efficiently assess, manage, and control the distribution of electric power.  For example, Center researchers are developing improved graphical interfaces for visualization of current power system conditions, that allow operators to better identify, anticipate, and respond to conditions that could affect supply reliability.  Researchers have identified key economic and technical issues associated with industry deregulation and have proposed solutions including the pricing of services and detection of market conditions.  Using experimental economics, they have provided insights into market behavior under various generation auction and price-setting rules, and have presented the results of these studies to operators and state committees in California, New York, and elsewhere.  Center researchers have made recommendations to the Department of Energy about the Federal role in mitigating future power system failures. 

Advanced Driving Simulator

One I/UCRC has created realtime mechanical system simulation methods and software that form the foundation for a National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) being developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This world-class $55 million facility will be operated by the Center's host university to support initiatives in U.S. highway safety research, carried out by both Government and industry. The NADS represents a quantum jump in research capability, offering simulation in which the driver interacts with the vehicle's controls, views an ultra-realistic scene, and experiences realistic sounds and feelings of motion. The NADS simulator now provides the basis for a new era in highway safety research. 

Better Materials for Micromechanical Structures

First developed at an I/UCRC in the 1980s, surface micromachining has been adopted worldwide as a way to produce micromechanical structures for integrated electrical and mechanical systems (MEMS).  Before now, polycrystalline silicon has been the material most frequently used to build mechanical parts.  But recent research at the I/UCRC has shown the advantages of using chemical vapor-deposited films made with both silicon and germanium, to produce poly Si/Ge.  One advantage is that the structures can be fabricated at lower temperatures, after the conventional electronic processing of integrated circuits is completed.  Using this "electronics-first" approach to building fully integrated MEMS permits the use of integrated-circuit foundries to produce microelectronics with high performance at low cost.  This development is expected to have far-reaching significance in the MEMS arena. 

Reliable Electronics for Hot Cars

As automobiles have become dependent on ever more complex electronics, reliable operation in the harsh under-the-hood environment has become a more pressing issue.  One Center explores advanced materials and processes for the manufacture of reliable automotive electronics to meet this need. An example is the search for ways to improve the thermal-cycle reliability of Ball Grid Array (BGA) packages for engine controller.  The use of smaller BGA packages will decrease packaging costs while reducing the size of the controller.  However, solder balls near the silicon die in small BGAs are prone to fatigue failure in thermal cycling.  Center research has demonstrated a cost-effective solution:  underfilling the BGAs with a silica-filled epoxy.  This approach doubles BGA reliability with minimal additional manufacturing cost and cycle time.  An automotive controller with small BGAs is planned for volume production in 2004. 

A Membrane Fouling and Cleaning Meter

Fouling is the most significant problem encountered with the use of membranes in many liquid separation processes such as water treatment.  One I/UCRC adapted ultrasonic time-domain reflectometry (UTDR) as an analytical tool to noninvasively monitor the condition of membrane modules during operation. UTDR provides real-time information about membrane fouling and the progress of the subsequent cleaning process.  This technique minimizes the use of chemical cleaning agents and enables the modules to be placed back on-line as quickly as possible.  A U.S. patent has been issued for this technology, and the development of a commercial version of the fouling and cleaning meter is in progress.

Detecting Metal Cracks

An I/UCRC focusing on precision measurement recently spun off a company that will develop and market sensors for the detection of cracks in metal parts, using Gigantic Magneto-Resistance (GMR) technology.  Center research led to the development of a thin-film GSR sensor and an Application-specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) used for signal conditioning.   This device was tested on a variety of parts with different crack sizes and depths.  The company was then founded to develop the prototype into a suite of sensors.  These products can detect fatigue cracks in aircraft, reactors, railroad tracks, and other safety-critical systems.  The detectors are also able to function near edges and could possibly be built for imaging of a variety of conductive substrates (e.g., coins).  The principals are working with major airframe manufacturers and power generator operators to develop applications and markets for the sensors.


Last Update: 11-feb-04

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