Interdisciplinary Research and Training Centers
205 Olin Building
Phone 368-4176
J.L. Koenig
Before 1960, liquid crystals were virtually unknown. Today, they are all around us: they are used in the displays of calculators, lap-top computers, and pocket television sets; they are an important component of high-strength fibers; and they occur naturally in cell membranes of biological systems. Their greatest technological impact has been in displays, where liquid crystals are second only to the cathode ray tube in a multi-billion-dollar market. Their greatest potential is in tomorrow's flat-panel television, optical computers, and integrated optical devices for communications.
It is not surprising, then, that research into advanced optical materials is a high priority in such technologically advanced countries as Japan and Germany.
In order to remain competitive, the United States needs an equally strong, integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the understanding, design, and production of these materials.
It is the mission of the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Advanced Liquid Crystalline Optical Materials (ALCOM) to provide that focus.
Based at the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State University, ALCOM consolidates the internationally recognized and complementary expertise of scientists from Kent State University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Akron and integrates their activities with liquid crystal research worldwide.
The ALCOM consortium serves as an essential link between the academic and business worlds through workshops where industrial and government researchers can obtain meaningful training. Here, too, participating industry can acquire prototypes needed for funding or market study and advanced materials for the development of new or improved products.
ALCOM maintains educational programs at all levels of training. K-12 programs take advantage of the unique and attractive optical properties of these materials to teach and create interest in basic science. Undergraduate through postgraduate programs prepare scientists and engineers for the work force in industry, as well as government and university laboratories.
Bolton Building
Phone 368-2960
J. Thomas Mortimer
The Applied Neural Control Laboratory is a facility of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Applied neural control is an emerging technology based on the electrical excitability phenomenon of nerve tissue. The phenomenon is mediated by voltage controlled ion channels located in the membrane of neural tissue which are, under normal circumstances, responsible for the transmission of neural signals along the length of the nerve. A neural impulse can be initiated by activating these ion channels with a pulsed electric field. The evoked response will then be faithfully transmitted to the end organ that is controlled by activity on that nerve. Because the end organ (or body system) responds only to the incoming signal from a nerve, we have the possibility of controlling, in the human, any end organ or body system (including behavior) that normally is under neural control.
Current efforts of the laboratory are in basic and applied research. The basic aspects that are studied include mechanisms and techniques for activation of peripheral and central nervous system structures using electric and magnetic fields, tissue damage, neurophysiology, the electrochemistry of stimulating electrodes, and the design of electrodes and leads. Applications focus on restoration of limb function in the spinal cord injured patient, automatic control of motor prostheses, treatment of scoliosis by effecting corrective forces through activation of spinal muscles, respiratory assist by diaphragm stimulation, and selective activation of parasympathetic ventral root fibers to effect micturition and defecation.
The laboratory occupies 6,000 square feet of space in the Health Science Complex adjacent to the University Animal Facilities and University Hospitals of Cleveland. Facilities of the laboratory include numerous computers for modeling, data collection, data reduction and graphics, apparatus for intracellular stimulation and recording, a modern well-equipped operating room, an electronics laboratory, a shop, a darkroom, and offices for three faculty, three post doctoral fellows and twenty graduate students. Collaborative research, involving 13 faculty, is undertaken with the departments of chemistry, mechanical engineering, orthopedic surgery, pediatric surgery, medicine, gastroenterology, urology, pediatrics, and neuropathology. Research support for electrical activation of neural tissue is in excess of $3,000,000 per year through the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute for Disability Research and Rehabilitation, the National Science Foundation, the Veteran's Administration, and several private foundations.
Phone 368-5493
Susan Wentz, M.D.
The CWRU Area Health Education Center is part of a state-wide network of public health promotion experiences for medical, dental, nursing and graduate nutrition students in medically underserved areas. The programs are provided by first through fourth year health profession students using the community as a living experiential laboratory in health promotion. Through medical school affiliated community sites, students have the opportunity to gain experience that will be valuable in their future professional activities. Experiences range from clinical options and clerkships to school-based health education programs and community-based public health special projects. Health profession students are prepared by the Urban AHEC staff for their multicultural community activities. They are linked to community sites through the Area Health Education Center staff. The programs have received local, state and national awards of excellence in the health promotion field. Support for the CWRU Urban AHEC programs comes from state and local funding.
Students have the following electives available to develop their skills in health promotion to the medically underserved.
HLTH 501 Community Health Education (3). and HLTH 502 Community Health (3).
Two full-semester, 3-graduate-credit courses offer the latest effective techniques and field experiences in community health education. Open to health science students and others with permission of instructor
Phone 844-1011
Roland Moskowitz
The Northeast Ohio Multipurpose Arthritis Center is one of a limited number of comprehensive arthritis centers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The objectives of the center are to expand clinical and basic research efforts.
Core direction of center programs is carried out as a coordinated endeavor by members of the two rheumatic disease units of Case Western Reserve University located at University Hospitals of Cleveland and MetroHealth Medical Center and in the Department of Orthopaedics. Faculty researchers are engaged in extensive basic research work together with arthritis health professionals in education, physical/occupational therapy, social work, and nursing to provide strong research, educational, and clinical programs. Collaboration with other medical school departments and schools within the university provides a multidisciplinary approach to the study and treatment of arthritis.
Phone 368-2390
Raymond Lasek
Bio-Architectonics is the study of complex biological architectures. This unit was established to explore practical and integrative approaches for analyzing complex biological patterns. Ultimately, biological data take their meaning only in relation to living systems. Often, however, the complexities of these systems make it difficult to put the detailed data back into the context of real organisms. This center is dedicated to working out the methodology by building this bridge.
The center is emphasizing two concurrent research efforts:
- the construction of practical theories and paradigms for rigorously analyzing complex architectures, and
- the application of these techniques to the analysis of complex cytoplasmic patterns, using the intracellular dynamics of axoplasm as the model system.
Olin Building
Phone 368-4186
Anne Hiltner
The Center for Applied Polymer Research (CAPRI) draws on the interdisciplinary talents of faculty and students from six departments in the University. With the benefits of close interaction with the long-range research and development interests of the sponsoring companies, CAPRI research activities focus on structural composites and polymer blends and alloys. Specific research projects are motivated by the requirements encountered by polymeric systems in high performance applications such as toughness, strength, heat distortion, and chemical stability. Facilities of the center include state-of-the-art instrumentation for mechanical and solid state structure analysis.
Students in undergraduate and graduate programs who participate in the research projects have the benefits of interdisciplinary education as well as opportunities to interact with the industrial research community. This not only provides invaluable experience to the large percentage of graduates who will take employment as industrial scientists and engineers, but also introduces them to the advanced technologies that industry needs in the rapidly changing field of polymer science.
Glennan Building
Phone 368-4052
Wyatt Newman
The Center for Automation and Intelligent Systems Research (CAISR) is an interdisciplinary effort directed at developing advanced computer based automation and information processing technologies with real world applications.
The availability of relatively low cost computing power has created a huge new universe of what is feasible for the control discipline. But since all manufacturing and processing--all science and business--are dynamic functions, the optimal control mechanism must be flexible and adaptable.
In essence, industry needs machines, systems, and tools that "think" or adjust to changing conditions.
Our investigations of the phenomenon loosely labeled "artificial intelligence" involve a number of potential approaches and different technologies. These include:
Neural Networks. Based on the belief that knowledge is a function of inference from pattern recognition, or learning by example. Thus, each time a system performs, its ability to perform is enhanced.
Expert Systems. The capture and application of proven expertise and procedure within a computer program, for subsequent application and training.
Fuzzy Logic. The linking of symbolic (qualitative) processing and numeric (qualitative) computations, since both aspects are essential to systems dealing with real-world tasks.
Automation. Driven toward the autonomous machine; minimizing the man/machine interface to the point where a system is able to operate in the unknown.
Visual, Tactile & Sonic Sensing. Enhancing a system's ability to react to changing conditions by creating the equivalent of reflexes and the capacity for instantaneous multiple adjustments.
High Speed Systems. The development of the faster input recognition and output reaction needed to permit unattended systems and equipment to attain acceptable production rates.
Model Based Control. The construction of mathematical models of the cause, effect, and interaction of multiple process control variables.
Simulation. The creation of software programs that permit real-time human "experiences" without real-life costs or hazards.
The mission at CAISR is threefold.
- Conduct world-class, basic and applied research in machine/process/data control and intelligent systems.
- Engineer the required hardware and software.
- Collaborate with industry to transfer the results into practical use and competitive advantage; to apply the thought, software, and equipment to real needs.
CAISR was CAMP's first university-based affiliate, and the first to provide basic research capability to its members and sponsors.
White Building
Phone 368-6215
Eric Baer
Establishment of Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) is one of the most important steps taken by NASA to encourage the U.S. private sector to become more involved in space.
A number of Fortune 500 industrial firms and scores of small businesses are affiliated with these innovative research and development centers, which combine government support with the expertise of American universities and commercial interest and investment of U.S. industry.
Corporate participants in CCDSs are encouraged to access low-cost spaceflight opportunities through a Pre-Joint Endeavor Agreement.
NASA established the Office of Commercial Programs to support high-technology space ventures, commercial application of existing aeronautics and space technology, and commercial access to NASA capabilities and services. An example of the latter is the availability of the facilities of NASA Lewis and NASA Langley to the CCDS on Materials for Space Structures.
The Center for the Commercial Development of Space on Materials for Space Structures (CMSS) was established in 1987 at Case Western Reserve University as an interaction among seven industrial corporations, NASA, and the University, through its Department of Macromolecular Science and Department of Materials Science and Engineering. In addition, the State of Ohio contributed funds through its Thomas Edison Program. CMSS has expanded to include 19 corporations, 10 other universities, and eight government agencies.
The primary goal of CMSS is to provide materials for space structures that are capable of being processed in space and capable of withstanding the space environment. The materials are being developed to have low density, plus high strength and stiffness--properties that are also applicable for Earth-based uses. As a result, CMSS is in a unique position to take a leadership role in the commercialization of these materials, not only for their intended use in space, but also for their commercial use on Earth.
CWRU is an excellent site for CMSS, with a strong research base in materials, outstanding interactions with industry, and proximity to the NASA Lewis Research Center. Because of the University's extensive research programs on materials for space structures, particularly composites and coatings, additional interactions occur with NASA Langley.
The University provides both financial and facilities support, and the Center is part of the overall CWRU research program. The large materials research program successfully combines outstanding investigators with modern equipment and facilities. The result: significant contributions to materials science.
A.W. Smith Building
Phone 368-6525
Robert Savinell
The Case Center for Electrochemical Sciences (CCES) coordinates research and education in electrochemistry on campus and promotes interaction with industrial and governmental laboratories through joint research projects, seminars, workshops, and special courses. Electrochemistry has reached a high level of national importance because of energy and environ- mental concerns and the need to maintain an internationally-competitive position in various industries dependent on electrochemistry.
Electrochemistry is highly interdisciplinary. CCES brings together the diverse expertise of faculty in eight departments: biomedical engineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical engineering and applied physics, macromolecular science, mechanical and aerospace engineering, materials science and engineering, and physics. The CWRU Electronics Design Center and the Edison Sensor Technology Center are also collaborating organizations. The 140 members of CCES include faculty, research associates, graduate and undergraduate students, visiting scientists, and supporting staff.
The principal research areas in CCES are electrocatalysis, surface science aspects of electrochemistry, electrochemical engineering, electroplating, corrosion and passivation, electrolytes, colloidal systems, membranes electrochemical sensors, battery and fuel cell electrochemistry, and development of new in-situ electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques (e.g., Raman, Fourier transform infrared, ellipsometry, Mossbauer, EXAFS). This research is funded by government, industry, and private sources.
The educational program of CCES includes:
- seven undergraduate and graduate courses in electrochemistry and related subjects
- a five-day workshop on electrochemical measurements, held annually on campus during the Fall
- a similar workshop in electrochemical engineering, held annually on campus during the Spring
- an extensive seminar-lecture series for academic and industrial scientists, including the annual Eltech Systems Lectureship in Electrochemistry
- an annual research day highlighting the research accomplishments of the center
- sponsorship and organization of international conferences in various areas of electrochemistry and electrochemical technology
CCES has available a wide range of support technology and equipment. Much of this instrumentation is provided through the facilities of the participating departments.
The center has an Industrial Affiliates Program which places center personnel in intimate contact with industry. A number of research projects are being carried out in the center in cooperation with industrial and governmental laboratories.
Phone 368-5961
G. David McCoy
Environmental health sciences focuses on the study of chemicals, both endogenous and exogenous, and indoor as well as outdoor, which have either documented or potential adverse health effects on humans.
The Center for the Environmental Health Sciences is a multi-disciplinary unit that draws on expertise from many areas of the University. It unites professionals from the School of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case School of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Weatherhead School of Management. Its objective is to understand and evaluate the role of life-style and environmental agents on the causation of disease.
The center fulfills four major needs:
- Research is largely devoted to elucidating the mechanism of action of carcinogenic substances.
- Epidemiology, the statistical examination of the incidence and distribution of disease in a population, is an essential component of environmental toxicology. Since environmental hazards may first express their effects through death, illness, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, or birth defects, careful studies are undertaken by the center to monitor specific populations for increases in these effects.
- The collaborative attitude that the center stimulates within the University extends outward to the community through the center's role in the risk assessment process. The center offers direct benefits to the public, government, and industry by providing current and reliable information that can be used to guide policy formulation at the local, state, national, and international levels and in the selection of the safest alternatives among several technologies and/or industrial intermediates under consideration.
- The center sponsors a graduate program leading to a joint M.D. and M.S. in environmental health science, enabling medical students to obtain both degrees in a four-year period.
Olin Building
Phone 368-4365
Hatsuo Ishida
The NSF Center for Molecular and Microstructure of Composites (CMMC) has been established by Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron in cooperation with the National Science Foundation, the Edison Polymer Innovation Corporation (EPIC), and the State of Ohio. Located in the world's center of production and utilization of composite materials, the center facilitates efficient communication to both small and large com- panies. The joining of faculty expertise at both universities has created a strong and diverse research base which has concentrated efforts to meet specific current needs in the composite field.
The center has initially concentrated its core research on understanding the chemical and molecular aspects of composite materials and processing. A more systematic approach based on characterization, controlled structure, and tailored properties has been developed. A strong educational program, extending to the middle, high school, and undergraduate levels, has also been included with the center, thus introducing the study of composite materials to students who wish to pursue careers in this area. An efficient methodology of technology transfer between academia and industry has been instituted. CMMC represents an unprecedented cooperative venture in the field of polymer composites, joining together the federal and state governments, industrial companies, and two universities.
The purpose of the State/Industry/University Cooperative Research Center Initiative (S/IUCRC) is to join state governments, the National Science Foundation, and industry in support of centers focused on research contributing to national and local economic development. In 1991, the Center for Molecular and Microstructure of Composites (CMMC) was one of the first centers chosen for this new S/IUCRC Initiative. The collaboration consists of Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron, serving academia; the Edison Polymer Innovation Corporation, connecting industry and the State of Ohio; and the National Science Foundation representing the state and federal governments. Under this initiative, CMMC provides "core" research which is industrially relevant and fundamental to industry. CMMC will expand its research using state and industrial support to do experimentation leading to "non-core" sponsored projects with more immediate development potential.
233 Yost Hall
Phone 368-5349
Robert Lawry
The Center for Professional Ethics provides opportunities for students, faculty, administrators and professionals to explore more fully the foundations of personal and professional ethics. The center sponsors Monday Evening Dialogue Forums as well as seminars, conferences, and training events for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who are concerned about their ethical development. All programs are free and open to the public. A steering committee composed of students, faculty members and administrators plans the programs at the center. The center's director (and co-founder) is Robert P. Lawry, professor of law. Therefore, the center has specially emphasized law and law-related ethical concerns.
106 Bingham Building
Phone 368-6119
Gail B. Namesch
The Edison Sensor Technology Center (ESTC) is affiliated with the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program (CAMP). ESTC exists for the purpose of providing sensor and sensor related technologies which can be utilized by Ohio based industries to improve existing products and processes, create new business opportunities, and improve the quality of life and health. Funding provided to the center by the State of Ohio is intended to generate core technology of a non-proprietary nature to be utilized on a general basis. In addition, the center will accept and undertake proprietary projects (based upon its core technologies) which are compatible with its skills and resources.
A broad-based Core Technology Program establishes the center as a viable force in the eyes of industry. The objective of the Core Technology Program is to enhance center capabilities, provide product concepts, and demonstrate feasibility as the basis for industry-sponsored projects. Such projects, resulting in end items with commercial impact, can be jointly undertaken by the center and industry or by the center with industry funding.
The center has an Industrial Membership Program which provides member companies with the opportunity to interact with the faculty, staff, and students of the center. A number of levels of industrial membership permit both small and large organizations to participate in center activities with benefits in proportion to their financial support.
Assessment and study projects are carried out to define areas of need and high opportunity as the basis for modifying and focusing the Core Technology Program and identifying specific targets. Industry input is sought and utilized.
Technology transfer takes place through a variety of supporting memberships, conferences, seminars, newsletters, tests of prototype devices and is a clearing house for makers and users of sensors.
The facilities of the Electronics Design Center at Case Western Reserve University are provided at modest cost for the fabrication and testing of sensors and related electronics for the industrial and scientific communities.
The center educates and trains students and presently-employed industrial engineers and scientists in sensor-related technology.
Bingham Building
Phone 368-2964
C.C. Liu
The Electronics Design Center is a goal-oriented interdisciplinary research center in the University. The center has in-house microelectronic fabrication and integrated circuit processing facilities which are used for University-wide research and educational activities. The center provides opportunities for faculty members and graduate and undergraduate students of different academic disciplines to work together to develop and assess new research ideas. It also provides students with hands-on experience in microelectronic fabrication processes.
The center has excellent facilities, including equipment for photolithography, thick and thin film metalization, chemical and plasma etching, oxidation, diffusion, and ion-implantation. These facilities are also made available to outside academic and industrial researchers. There are ample opportunities for research, education, collaboration, and technical service in the center for students, faculty members, and outside scientists and engineers. Full-time professional members, in addition to faculty members, maintain the general facilities, and provide technical support and service to the users.
The center has special strengths in the areas of fabrication of unique microelectric devices, chemical, physical and biochemical sensors, and monitoring and telemetric instruments. Development of packaging technology for microelectric devices, sensors, and actuators is vigorously pursued in the center. The EDC also has extensive experience and expertise in the area of medical and biochemical sensors and instrumentation.
Phone 844-7246
Jerome Kowal, M.D.
The Geriatric CARE Center (GCC) is a joint effort involving the medical school, University Hospitals of Cleveland (UHC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This broad program in clinical geriatrics, coordinated with research and educational activities,was developed in response to a growing concern for the medical and social problems of the elderly.
General goals of the center are to develop multidisciplinary programs for clinical care at University Hospital of Cleveland and the Cleveland VAMC, to expand and develop research and educational programs in aging, and overall, to strengthen interest in geriatrics and gerontology throughout Case Western Reserve University and the community. Major components of the GCC include a Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC), funded by the National Institute on Aging, and the Western Rerserve Geriatric Education Center, funded by the Bureau of Health Professions. The geriatric program is one of 13 "Centers of Excellence", designated by the John A. Hartford Foundation.
The clinical programs at University Hospitals of Cleveland are based at the ElderHealth Center (EHC) which is located off-campus at the Fairhill Institute for the Elderly and the Acute Care Unit for the Elderly(ACE Unit). The EHC provides a range of diagnostic activities, counseling, and referral services, with a strong emphasis on cognitive function, nutritional and metabolic problems, incontinence, and gait disturbances.. The 15-bed ACE Unit is designed to foster the physical independence of the older patient. The ACE Unit is the site of a major clinical research study supported by the the OAIC which focuses on interventions which may reduce hospital stay, increase quality of life, and reduce institutionalization of the elderly.
An 18-bed inpatient Geriatric Evaluation Unit, 200-bed skilled nursing unit and a multi disciplinary Ambulatory Assessment Unit are operative at the Cleveland VAMC. An active involvement with area nursing homes provides networks between academic tertiary care centers and long-term care facilities.
Clinical education for medical students, residents, and other health professionals is an integral part of the programs at both the University Hospitals and VAMC. Elective courses and clinical clerkships are offered for medical students. Residents in medicine, psychiatry, and family medicine have the opportunity to rotate through the geriatric service. The Geriatric CARE Center offers two- and three-year clinical and research geriatric medicine fellowship programs. More than 25 investigators active in aging research participate in these programs, which are supported by the national Institutes of Aging and the Bureau of Health Professions.
The Western Geriatric Education Center provides continuing education and curriculum development for training of faculty in geriatrics and gerontology and for other health care professionals throughout northern Ohio. Satellite offices are located at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) and Bowling Green State University.
The center works closely with Amasa B. Ford, associate dean for geriatric medicine and director of the Office of Geriatric Medicine at the School of Medicine. The Office of Geriatric Medicine, which is supported by the State of Ohio, has been responsible for coordinating programs in academic geriatric medicine at the medical school and affiliated hospitals since 1978. Dr. Ford is the director of an NIA-supported Teaching Nursing Home (TNH) program project. Under the auspices of the TNH, OAIC and Hartford Foundation, a broad-based pilot project program is made available to students and faculty investigators throughout the CWRU campus.
Enterprise Hall
Phone 368-2143
J.B. Silvers
The Health Systems Management Center is a joint venture between the School of Medicine and the Weatherhead School of Management. The center's aim is to coordinate and sponsor teaching, research, and service that merge the viewpoints of medicine and managment. The center is concerned with the costs, benefits, organization, and financing of health care. Particular focus is on the interaction among physicians, health managers, and corporate and governmental purchasers of health care. The joining of skills of these three key decision-making groups is of critical importance to the optimal utilization of scarce health care resources. Their interaction often sets future directions for the system.
The many activities of the center include individual, group, and joint research on a variety of relevant topics including corporate management of employee health cost, the physician as manager, the economics of hospital capital expenditures, clincial decision analysis, and strengthening hospital nursing. Faculty and students from both sponsoring schools and other schools of the University participate in the the research.
The center's focus on research and education in the area of the physician-manager recognizes the changing, increased demands the dual role requires. As part of the focus, course work and research in continuous quality improvement is being developed.
The M.B.A. program in the Weatherhead School of Management offers a concentration in health systems management. For physicians, nurses, and managers in the field, the center offers a health care executive education series that provides core management development programs as well as advanced issues topics.
Olin Building
Phone 368-4172
John Blackwell
The facilities in Olin 601 previously occupied by the Research Computing Laboratory (RCL) have been converted to house the new EPIC Center of Molecular Modelling of Polymers. This center has been initiated by EPIC at CWRU and University of Akron with a total funding of $504,000 over 1990-93, including matching funds from CWRU, University of Akron and B.F. Goodrich Co. The directors are J. Blackwell (CWRU) and W. Mattice (UA), and the centers are configured for research by faculty and colleagues in industry.
At CWRU computation is handled by a Silicon Graphics 4D/220GTX Power Center with 32 Mb of memory, and 1-2Gb hard disk. There is also a Silicon Graphics 4D25G 20MHz Personal Iris Computer with 16 Mb of memory and 380 Mb disc. Both systems have FORTRAN compliers. Molecular modelling is facilitated by the Tripos SYBYL Modelling package. Additional computer power is available in the form of Micro Vax Server of the original RCL, which remains as the center of the departmental network of theMicro Vax computers and work stations, and also provides the link to the campus network and to the Ohio Supercomputer Center (Cray Y-MP). The OptroNix Filmscan densitometer allows analysis of the intensities of X-ray diffraction patterns, with the aid of an AED 512 color graphics terminal.
CWRU Provost's Office --
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