IGERT Full Proposal

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9987576Marie Thursby - Purdue UniversityIGERT: Innovation Realization Laboratory: Integrating Science and Engineering with Economics and ManagementThis Integrative Graduate education and Research Training (IGERT) award supports the establishment of a multidisciplinary graduate training program of education and research on the realization of innovation. The innovation Realization Lab (IRL) is designed to: (1) graduate Ph.D.s in science and engineering who are technically proficient and understand economic and management principles critical to industrial research and development; (2) produce science and engineering thesis research of scientific merit and market relevance, and (3) train management graduate students in research and development project management. Faculty from six graduate programs (Plant Biology, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Management and Mechanical Engineering) will develop this unique approach to graduate education. Thirty NSF-funded Ph.D. students and their major professors will be teamed with faculty and 30 Purdue University-funded Master of Science students from the School of Management to engage in collaborative technical and market research concerning potential market applications of the Ph.D. students' research. Complementary classes, workshops, and industry internships will introduce students to intellectual property, business, regulatory, and ethical issues that are critical to the industrial application of fundamental research in science and engineering. The IRL experience will provide learning by doing in commercialization and behavioral aspects of project management -- preparing Ph.D. for varied entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial careers as leaders in the realization of innovation.IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of education Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing new, innovative models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In the third year of the program, awards are being made to nineteen institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. The intellectual foci of this specific award reside in the Directorates for Engineering; Biological Sciences; Computer and Information Science and Engineering; and Education and Human Resources.