Microsensor initiative

CWRU will collaborate on microsensor initiative

photo courtesy NASA

At a signing ceremony for the new $21 million Glennan Microsystems Initiative at NASA Lewis Research Center, Mehran Mehregany (left) demonstrated a silicon wafer with MEMS devices to CWRU President Agnar Pytte (right) and Case School of Engineering Dean James Wagner. Mehregany will oversee research at CWRU that focuses on MEMS, a new method for manufacturing low-cost, miniature, high-performance electromechanical devices and systems.

by Kathleen McDermott

CWRU, NASA Lewis Research Center, and the State of Ohio will collaborate with industry on a five-year, $21 million initiative that could help companies in Ohio and elsewhere cash in on microsystems technology.

Microsystems combine sensors and actuators on a silicon chip the microscopic size of a dust mite. The technology is the basis for "smart" devices that can monitor pressure and temperature inside tires, control deployment of automotive air bags, improve fuel efficiency in automotive engines, and detect changes in the body's glucose levels. The technology could develop into a $10 billion industry by the year 2000.

NASA announced the startup of the Glennan Microsystems Initiative at a June 19 signing ceremony with Ohio Governor George Voinovich, CWRU President Agnar Pytte, and Donald Campbell, director of the NASA Lewis Research Center.

The initiative is expected to build on the strengths and resources of Ohio-based microsystems technology and address the research, development, and applications needs of NASA and industry. It will focus on physical and chemical sensors and actuators that must operate in harsh environments, such as those with high temperatures, large vibrations, and corrosion.

CWRU will be responsible for executing the research program through Mehran Mehregany, the George S. Dively professor of electrical engineering and applied physics. NASA Lewis will be responsible for the technology agenda through Walter Merrill, chief of the Instrumentation and Controls Division at NASA Lewis.

An oversight board including industrial representatives will govern the initiative and guide the executive director, who will be housed at the Great Lakes Industrial Technology Center (GLITeC), a joint state-federal-industrial organization that is a national leader in managing collaborative initiatives.

The initiative is named for T. Keith Glennan, president of Case Institute of Technology from 1947-66 and the first administrator of NASA.

"T. Keith Glennan was a visionary who helped shape technology in the 20th Century, and it is appropriate that this initiative is named for him," said Pytte. "This collaboration with NASA and industry will allow us to continue Keith Glennan's commitments to both scientific and civic endeavor, and promises to be a force in technological innovation for the 21st Century."

CWRU has been a pioneer in this technology for 30 years with its research in solid state transducers. The University has state-of-the-art fabrication and clean room facilities. It is ranked as having one of the top four programs in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the country, along with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, and the University of California at Berkeley.

In the sensor and instrumentation area, NASA Lewis has more than two dozen investigators in related areas, along with cutting-edge analytical and testing facilities, two R&D 100 Awards, and a NASA Center for Excellence.

"This is an important milestone for the Case School of Engineering," said James Wagner, the school's dean. "It recognizes that we are one of the nation's leaders in microsystems technology, and affirms the caliber and progressive nature of our research. At the same time, we recognize our responsibility to see that this strong base continues to grow more fully, not just for the University, but for the region and the state."

The initiative includes $16 million in federal and $4.5 million in state funds. The State of Ohio is providing support through its newly established Technology Action Fund, designed to leverage federal capabilities and resources. Although the emphasis is on Ohio industry, participation is open to any U.S. company.

"Undoubtedly this initiative will result in excellent research and advance the state of the art in microsystems, but the real success will depend on how seriously industry taps into it and incorporates that technology in their products," Mehregany said.

Cleveland Tomorrow's Technology Leadership Council led in the development of the Glennan Microsystems Initiative. Cleveland Tomorrow is an organization of chief executive officers of Northeast Ohio's largest companies.

The Glennan Microsystems Initiative will couple the cutting edge microsystems capabilities at CWRU and NASA Lewis with industry. It also will offer a coordinated program that delivers microsystems to a range of manufacturing and technology-intensive companies as diverse as bearings makers, medical device and imaging companies, aircraft suppliers, and tire manufacturers.

"This is a technology that will have immense impact on industry throughout Ohio," said Voinovich. "The Glennan Microsystems Initiative will provide great benefit to Ohio companies as they deploy this powerful technology in their new products and processes. It is very appropriate that this will be the inaugural award of the Technology Action Fund."

NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin also considers this an important collaboration. "Microsystems is an area of increasing international competition, and joint activities such as these are essential to ensure U.S. leadership," he said. "I believe this will greatly benefit both NASA and industry."

Mehregany said that other Ohio universities will be involved in the initiative through MEMSNet, a research consortium that unites Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Dayton, Wright State University, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and the Air Force Institute of Technology.

In addition, the initiative will use a network of existing public-private technology intermediaries to commercialize its technology. GLITeC will lead this effort. The Ohio Edison centers, particularly the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing Program (CAMP) and the Edison Biotechnology Center, will be part of this effort . The Lewis Incubator for Technology, Ohio Aerospace Institute, and other selected universities also will participate.