May 07, 2001

University Research Important In New Economy, Patton Says

Bowling Green, Ky. - Science, technology and entrepreneurial initiatives at Western Kentucky University underscore how important universities are to building the state's new economy, Gov. Paul Patton says.

Members of the Kentucky Innovation Commission met Monday afternoon in a joint session with the seventh annual EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Research) Conference to discuss new economy initiatives and how universities, government agencies and industries can work together to attract high-tech jobs to Kentucky.

The joint meeting "is a testament to the role our science program at Western is beginning to play in the economic development of the state as a whole," Western Kentucky University President Gary Ransdell said.

Dr. Ransdell outlined several initiatives under way at Western, including a planned Innovation and Commercialization Center funded in part by the Kentucky Innovation Act.

A multi-million dollar high-tech construction grant from the state will help Western turn a former retail shopping center (the old Bowling Green Mall) into a science center for economic development, he said.

The center will house Western's Applied Physics Institute and Materials Characterization Center along with high-tech companies. "Given Western's reputation in engineering and science, high-tech companies are now contacting us," Dr. Ransdell said.

House Speaker Jody Richards said the Kentucky Innovation Act is a $53 million attempt to develop the state's economy by promoting research at universities, encouraging business innovations, attracting high-tech businesses and enhancing skills of the state's work force.

Dr. William Brundage, the state's commissioner of the New Economy, said the state has been divided into four regions for strategic economic planning. His office also is working to identify gaps in the state's information technology infrastructure and is planning a technology inventory of every community in the state that will include businesses, homes, schools and government offices.

The seventh annual EPSCoR meeting continues Tuesday at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

Dr. Lee Todd Jr., president-elect of the University of Kentucky and chair of the statewide EPSCoR committee, is scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

EPSCoR, a national program launched in 1979 by the National Science Foundation, is designed to help states compete for research and development funding and includes the U.S. departments of Energy, Defense and Agriculture, NASA, Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health. Representatives from several agencies and university researchers will meet Tuesday afternoon.

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