hanson

Alfred Hanson, Assistant Marine Research Scientist
Graduate School of Oceanography

Alfred Hanson earned a BS in chemistry from the University of Hartford, an MS in organic chemistry from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in chemical oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. Hanson is founder and president of SubChem Systems, Inc., a small business that offers consulting services and technical support for marine environmental monitoring.

Universities can have a substantial impact on private industry and the local economy through the transfer of new technologies. This transfer can occur by several mechanisms, among which are faculty and researcher communications, consulting activities, and a supply of well-educated students and researchers for the labor market. Other important mechanisms are the licensing of patents and other intellectual property to industry and the creation of new businesses. Start-up companies and technology transfer to existing companies can play a substantial role in regional economic development.
      In addition to creating new businesses, universities can form partnerships with industry that are mutually beneficial. Several federal agencies are actively promoting collaborative partnerships that bring together the first-class research ability and innovative ideas of academia and the entrepreneurial capacity of industry in the United States. This is a new direction for federal funding for scientific research and it has directly affected URI. The development of new technologies and their subsequent transfer have created additional research and educational opportunities at URI, with potential benefits for URI students, local industry, and regional economic development.
      The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is conducting a series of regional Industry- University Partnership Conferences. ONR believes that early partnerships between academia and industry will ultimately provide the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps with the affordable, technologically superior systems they need to ensure our national security. ONR is committed to funding the best science and technology that the United States' industrial and academic communities have to offer to meet its technology requirements. Oceanography, remote sensing, and meteorology are three of the key areas for research partnerships that the Navy is promoting.
      Traditionally, the funds for collaborative academic-industry research grants have been awarded to non-profit academic institutions, which then administer a subcontract with a for-profit business partner. However, a reverse-funding scenario is emerging within some Navy programs. Grant funds are being awarded to the industry partner, which then administers a subcontract to the academic partner. The Navy believes that although academic institutions have the ability to conceive and develop great technologies, private industry is more efficient at transferring and commercializing technology. The Navy intends to shorten the gap between conception and utilization of new technology.
      Many federal and some state agencies have substantial funds that allow, encourage, or require academic-private sector partnerships in oceanographic research and technology development. A few examples are:

The collaborations include partnerships with the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council.
      When university-industry- government collaboration thrives, scientific discovery and the creation of new technology follows, which, in turn, justifies further funding for further innovation. An excellent example of an academia-industry-government collaboration was initiated at URI as an educational research opportunity for undergraduates in ocean engineering. A new class of small Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), provided by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Newport Division, are being used to deploy new environmental sensors that are being developed commercially in Rhode Island with sponsorship from both URI and SCOT. SCOT Director Hugh Murphy and NUWC Director of Science and Technology Richard Nadolink organized an AUV technology transfer program involving NUWC, SubChem Systems, Inc., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), SCOT, and URI education programs in ocean engineering and oceanography. Five URI students participated in the inaugural project for this program, the integration and testing of a submersible chemical analyzer (provided by SubChem Systems) for an AUV. The AUV was WHOI's Remote Environmental Monitoring Unit (REMUS). James Miller, professor of ocean engineering, and I served as faculty mentors. NUWC provided access to REMUS, technical assistance and training, and financial support for three of the students working on the project.
      The success of this project encouraged us to submit proposals to ONR to use REMUS vehicles and chemical and acoustic sensor systems to investigate chemical plumes in coastal waters. As a result, URI was recently awarded $300,000 by the Navy for the purchase of a REMUS vehicle. The URI-based REMUS will be used as a test platform for chemical, optical, and acoustical instrumentation and for field investigations in coastal waters. This funding, based on an academic-industry collaboration, will provide opportunities for URI researchers and students in oceanography and ocean engineering to conduct research with contemporary AUV and environmental sensor technologies in support of the educational, scientific, and operational goals of ONR.
      Universities should capitalize on these research funding opportunities by encouraging partnerships with private industry. These creative collaborations may lead to new discoveries and to the development and transfer of new technologies. There are often significant administrative barriers for communication and trust, two important ingredients for a successful partnership. The University now has a golden opportunity to develop close and imaginative relationships with industry that will advance our scientific and technical knowledge and create educational opportunities while maintaining the integrity and independence of the University, faculty, researchers and students.