MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Sherwood (585) 273-4726

May 17, 2002

Air Force Research Laboratory meets to link research with universities

TIME, DATE, AND PLACE: May 21, from 9 a.m. to noon in the Landers Auditorium of the Hutchinson Chemistry building

ADMISSION: The first 150 people to register for the meeting will be assured access. To register for the meeting, link to http://www.htbc.org/romelabs.asp

Representatives from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Rome will describe the process for obtaining research contacts and for setting up business-university partnerships, at the University of Rochester. The meeting is co-sponsored by the University, Rochester Institute of Technology and the High Technology Business Council of Rochester.

The Rome Research Site Operations has 900 military and civilian employees, most of whom are engineers in electronics, physics, computer science and mathematics. In fiscal 2001, AFRL Rome awarded 359 research and development contracts for $310 million. It maintains more than 2,100 active contracts worth $3.4 billion, of which only 224 contracts are to New York State. The purpose of the visit is to expand the relationship of AFRL with the University, Rochester Institute of Technology and Rochester area businesses.

Visiting from Rome will be John Graniero, former laboratory chief scientist and now the university liaison manager, and Frank Hoke, who manages business relationships. Rome is headquarters for AFRL's "Information Directorate," which deals with high performance computing, networking, information security, image analysis, and decision analysis problems, which will be highlighted during the overview presentations. There also is a photonics operation associated with the AFRL "Sensors Directorate," which will also be covered.

The meeting will include formal presentations on the AFRL programs and processes, followed by an informal panel discussion on how grants are obtained, which will include faculty and businesses with current AFRL research and development contracts. Roman Sobolewski, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University, will talk about his experiences with AFRL on the superconducting single photon detector project, and Eby Friedman, also a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University, will be on the panel to describe how the Center for Electronic Imaging Systems could assist with joint local industry-university projects.

About the University of Rochester

The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.

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