Outlook

Perspectives: Research and Creative Activities at SIUC, Fall 2007

:: other departments ::

Outlook

John Koropchak, Vice Chancellor for Research

The job of a university is not just to pass along the wisdom of the ages, but also to discover, reinterpret, improve, and create. This issue focuses on the new, and thereby hangs a tale: the varied ways that work done at SIUC affects the public.

Our feature articles this time around include a look at potential new therapies for traumatic brain injury; a visit to a new park, established and being surveyed with SIUC's help, to conserve tropical habitat; and a profile of SIUC's resident playwright, whose new dramas have been winning awards and entertaining audiences around the nation.

A fourth feature examines a sampling of recent projects in which new technology developed or refined at SIUC is being patented or marketed, bringing the fruit of University research to society. Four of SIUC's colleges—Agriculture, Education, Engineering, and Science—are highlighted in this article, demonstrating the diversity of technology transfer here.

Several more tech-transfer stories appear in our Research Survey section, with applications ranging from wheelchair control devices to explosives detection. A number of these projects involve nanotechnology, an area of tremendous growth at the University and nationwide.

Finally, to continue the theme of the new, the Perspectives web site has been given a fresh new look to complement the new print design created by art director Jay Bruce of University Communications. We hope you find this issue both intellectually and visually engaging.

John A. Koropchak
Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Dean