Annual Report
Submitted by Matthew Reilly, Chair
The Engineering Research Council conducted an active program to foster the discussion of problems and the exchange of information pertaining to the research activities of ASEE members. The ERC Executive Board met three times during the year: at the fall planning meeting, immediately prior to the spring Forum, and at the ASEE Annual Meeting. In addition, the annual Business Meeting for the entire ERC membership was held at the ASEE Annual Meeting. Individual committees and working groups met separately and communicated electronically as appropriate.
ERC Workshop. Under the leadership of Carolyn Meyers of North Carolina A&T State University, the 6th annual ERC Workshop was held in March 1996. This workshop is especially useful for those relatively new to research development and administration, but even "old hands" benefit from learning how colleagues at other universities handle troublesome problems and issues. This year, the workshop added a new feature with a keynote address by Lester Gerhardt, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, on "Understanding the Changing Research Environment". William Isler, from North Carolina State University, is organizing the 1997 ERC Workshop.
ERC Forum. The 1996 ERC Forum, was held in Arlington, VA in March with the theme: "Refining the Basics". Organized by Douglas Green of the Johns Hopkins University, with Erich Bloch as the Banquet Speaker, the forum provided valuable opportunities for engineering researchers and administrators to share information with academic colleagues and to interact with high-level officials from industry and government. For example, Bert Marsh, deputy director of the NSF divisions addressed the forum. Especially noteworthy was the breadth of federal agency participation, which, in addition to NSF, included Transportation, Commerce, EPA, Energy, ONR, AFOSR, ARO, and ARPA. Spokespersons from EPRI and SRC addressed the major changes occurring in industrial support for engineering research. Perspective from outside the engineering community was provided by a panel of experts in federal relations, academic development, international programs, and scientific disciplines, as they considered the principal forces that are revolutionizing the academic research environment. The continuing high quality of the technical program coupled with an expanded publicity campaign resulted in a 29% increase in Forum attendance. John Fillo, from SUNY Binghamton, has been asked to organize the 1997 ERC Forum.
Annual Meeting Program. Nicholas Altiero, of Michigan State University, chaired the program committee which organized events at the 1996 ASEE Annual Meeting. In addition to the Executive Board meeting and the Annual Business Meeting, ERC technical sessions focused on topics of combined research-curriculum development, obtaining funding information from the Internet, and the traditional one on research funding opportunities. Charles Dalton, University of Houston, is chair for ERC events at the 1997 Annual Meeting.
Task Forces and Committees. The Publicity Committee is developing new ways of using electronic communications to inform ERC members about upcoming events and activities. The Publications and Telecommunications Committee, chaired by Nicholas Altiero, created an ERC home page on the world wide web. The ERC page links to information about the organization, officers, and functions of ERC; ERC Forum program; annual meeting program; and other ASEE activities. Jean Humphries, of Texas, is chairing an ad hoc task force to update the ERC bylaws to enable a more flexible organization withbroad appeal.
Annual Report
Submitted by Matthew Reilly, Chair
The Engineering Research Council conducted an active program to foster the discussion of problems and the exchange of information pertaining to the research activities of ASEE members. The ERC Executive Board met three times during the year: at the fall planning meeting, immediately prior to the spring Forum, and at the ASEE Annual Meeting. In addition, the annual Business Meeting for the entire ERC membership was held at the ASEE Annual Meeting. Individual committees and working groups met separately and communicated electronically as appropriate.
ERC Workshop. Under the leadership of Carolyn Meyers of North Carolina A&T State University, the 6th annual ERC Workshop was held in March 1996. This workshop is especially useful for those relatively new to research development and administration, but even "old hands" benefit from learning how colleagues at other universities handle troublesome problems and issues. This year, the workshop added a new feature with a keynote address by Lester Gerhardt, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, on "Understanding the Changing Research Environment". William Isler, from North Carolina State University, is organizing the 1997 ERC Workshop.
ERC Forum. The 1996 ERC Forum, was held in Arlington, VA in March with the theme: "Refining the Basics". Organized by Douglas Green of the Johns Hopkins University, with Erich Bloch as the Banquet Speaker, the forum provided valuable opportunities for engineering researchers and administrators to share information with academic colleagues and to interact with high-level officials from industry and government. For example, Bert Marsh, deputy director of the NSF divisions addressed the forum. Especially noteworthy was the breadth of federal agency participation, which, in addition to NSF, included Transportation, Commerce, EPA, Energy, ONR, AFOSR, ARO, and ARPA. Spokespersons from EPRI and SRC addressed the major changes occurring in industrial support for engineering research. Perspective from outside the engineering community was provided by a panel of experts in federal relations, academic development, international programs, and scientific disciplines, as they considered the principal forces that are revolutionizing the academic research environment. The continuing high quality of the technical program coupled with an expanded publicity campaign resulted in a 29% increase in Forum attendance. John Fillo, from SUNY Binghamton, has been asked to organize the 1997 ERC Forum.
Annual Meeting Program. Nicholas Altiero, of Michigan State University, chaired the program committee which organized events at the 1996 ASEE Annual Meeting. In addition to the Executive Board meeting and the Annual Business Meeting, ERC technical sessions focused on topics of combined research-curriculum development, obtaining funding information from the Internet, and the traditional one on research funding opportunities. Charles Dalton, University of Houston, is chair for ERC events at the 1997 Annual Meeting.
Task Forces and Committees. The Publicity Committee is developing new ways of using electronic communications to inform ERC members about upcoming events and activities. The Publications and Telecommunications Committee, chaired by Nicholas Altiero, created an ERC home page on the world wide web. The ERC page links to information about the organization, officers, and functions of ERC; ERC Forum program; annual meeting program; and other ASEE activities. Jean Humphries, of Texas, is chairing an ad hoc task force to update the ERC bylaws to enable a more flexible organization withbroad appeal.
