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Release Date: September 09 2003
NSU and CERT receive $600,000 National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation Grant A three-year, $600,000 National Science Foundation grant establishing the North Louisiana Partnership for Innovation (NLPI) could be the catalyst to spur technology transfer and innovation.
The partnership is a joint initiative among the 11 institutions of higher education in North Louisiana and the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, all of whom are members of the Consortium for Education, Research, and Technology of North Louisiana (CERT). CERT members include: the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana; Bossier Parish Community College; Centenary College of Louisiana; Grambling State University; Louisiana Delta Community College; Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center in Shreveport; LSU in Shreveport; Louisiana Tech University; Louisiana Technical College; Northwestern State University; Southern University at Shreveport; and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Northwestern State University President, Dr. Randall J. Webb, is the current President of CERT, with NSU Acting Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Anthony Scheffler, leading the NLPI project. Dr. Steven A. Conrad of LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Dr. Terry M. McConathy of Louisiana Tech University, Dr. Joseph I. Orban of Southern University at Shreveport, and Dr. Paul Sisson of LSU in Shreveport are co-supervisors for the project.
Under the grant, the NLPI will build upon recent advances by the State of Louisiana to implement technology-led economic development through its Louisiana Vision 2020 master plan. Also, NLPI will implement many of the recommendations from CERT's 2000 Workforce Development in North Louisiana study. Specific NLPI activities include:
- The creation of "Science and Technology Action Response and Stimulus" (STARS) teams at each of the 12 CERT-member institutions. These teams will work with regional businesses to seek solutions to industry technology and workforce training needs by creating new degree or training programs and matching institutional research efforts and capabilities to specific business opportunities.
- Small grants for CERT institutions to match campus patent application costs, to fund the creation of business plans developed by graduate students for start-up companies, to provide funding for technicians in new industry-inspired IT training programs, and to provide funding to involve dstudents in developing enhancements to NLPI website and databases.
- The creation of two web-based information and communication resources -- a comprehensive technology resources database of research, expertise, facilities, and equipment assets at CERT-member institutions; and an interactive website for NLPI partners, the workforce, industry, and goverment.
In addition to the grant received for NLPI, Louisiana Tech University also will receive a $600,000 Partnership for Innovation grant, Innovative Ventures for Emerging Technologies in Rural North Louisiana, to create teams of students, experts and tech-transfer professionals that will devise strategies to transform new technologies into revenue-generating ventures. The NSU / CERT NLPI and Louisiana Tech projects, which are the only Partnerships for Innovation projects ever awarded in Louisiana, will coordinate their activities to provide a greater opportunity to impact economic development in north Louisiana.
Other NLPI partners are the Louisiana Board of Regents; the Louisiana Department of Economic Development; Shreveport Chamber of Commerce and its Northwest Louisiana Science and Technology Council; Natchitoches Economic Development Commission; the InterTech Science Park; Red River Pharma; SteriFx, Inc.; Softdisk, Inc,; Praeses Corporation; and Enterprise Computing Systems (ECS).
CERT is a unique collaboration formed to match north Louisiana's diverse educational resources with the research and development needs of the citizens and businesses in the region's 22 parishes. According to CERT Executive Director, Patti Trudell, "CERT serves as the intermediary - the convener and facilitator - that links the five post-secondary systems with industry to support workforce development, technology transfer, and economic development for the growth and success of the region's industry."
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