Sunday Gazette-Mail: Rockefeller scientists to join forces at new facility

This article orginally appeared in the March 23, 2008, edition of the Sunday Gazette-Mail.

By Veronica Nett
Staff writer


Scientists and researchers of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute are coming home to Morgantown.

Two groups of 10 scientists and researchers affiliated with the neurosciences institute are scheduled to relocate to its new $32 million research facility on West Virginia University's health sciences campus this summer.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., founded the neurosciences institute in 1999 in honor of his mother, Blanchette, who died in 1992 of Alzheimer's. It is the only nonprofit facility in the nation solely dedicated to the study of both human memory and diseases of memory.

Since 2000, the two groups of scientists affiliated with it have been working in separate labs at WVU and Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, Md.

Their new three-story, 78,000-square-foot facility includes more than 20,000 square feet of lab and office space, state-of-the-art open laboratories with 10 feet of counter space for each scientist, a darkroom, specialty labs for microscopy and electrophysiology, and a two-story commons area and a terrace with expansive views of Morgantown.

In all, the building will provide enough space to house up to 100 scientists.

Architects designed the building to provide research teams with every available comfort while in laboratories or offices, said Mark Cochran, executive director and chief executive of the institute.

"Laboratories that are really successful keep their scientists in the lab," he said.

The institute's mission is to accelerate the process of applying neurological discoveries - including diagnostic tools and treatments - to patients, Cochran said.

"Once you connect the dots from the benches to the bedside, that's good science," he said.

West Virginia provides the perfect setting for this to happen, Cochran said, since it has the oldest and most stable population in the nation, he said.

"It's a perfect laboratory to study diseases of aging, particularly of memory and Alzheimer's, and we have the excellent resources from WVU right at our fingertips," Cochran said.

The state's stable population allows researches to follow family lines easily and trace the history of a disease, he said. "We're taking something that is generally seen as a negative stereotype and turning it into something positive."

There are about 47,000 West Virginians suffering from Alzheimer's in the state, and that number is expected to jump to 50,000 within the next 10 years, Cochran said.

Researchers will also bring to WVU several new patents and approaches to Alzheimer's treatment, particularly the use of bryostatin, a drug developed for cancer patients. Other study areas include a new way to bypass the brain's protective barriers safely for delivering test substances directly to the brain.

Cochran said the institute has about 80 pending patents all over the world.

His goal, Cochran said, is to bring in scientists who have already secured research grants. In exchange for bringing their research to Morgantown, the institute will pay for half of their grant and provide lab space designed for the research team's needs, he said.

By doing this, the institute will ensure it is bringing in the best of the best, Cochran said. The institute will also get a percentage from the sale of patents and other research developments made at the institution, he said.

The building is about 85 percent complete, and about half of it will remain unfinished for outside research teams, he said.

Opening ceremonies are scheduled for Sept. 19.

Cochran said so far he has raised about half of the money needed to get the facility up and running. Last year, the institute spent about $6 million, this year it will spend another $7.5 million and next year it is projected it will cost about $8 million, he said.

"Research is not cheap, but to me it is all an investment," Cochran said. "My hope is to get half of my money from grants, 25 percent from patents and 25 percent from donations."

To keep going, he said, he estimates that the institution will need to pull in about $2.5 million in donations alone every year.

Cochran accepted the position of CEO of the institute in 2006. He brings with him extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, venture capitalism and as a scientist.

WVU has committed $10 million to the institute, which also got a $19.6 million federal grant obtained with the assistance of Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., and $10 million in West Virginia state economic development funds.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in September, the institute will also unveil a U.S. Postal Service Alzheimer's awareness stamp, made to honor the caregivers who work with those who suffer from Alzheimer's.

WVU's enhanced surveillance and biometrics research to benefit national security

West Virginia University has joined an international group of universities, industry, government partners, think tanks and others that will advance research and training on border security issues.

The Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration, led by the University of Arizona, is funded by the Department of Homeland Security, and includes law enforcement, local government and agencies in the U.S, Canada and Mexico with interests in securing international borders. The Department of Homeland Security has allocated $15 million over six years to the Center.

“Securing our borders is of utmost importance to the safety of our nation. By forming this partnership, the path to fixing our broken borders is taking a giant step forward,” said Senator Robert C. Byrd, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. “I am proud the university is being called upon to bring its expertise in biometrics technologies and unmanned aerial vehicle-based sensor networks to help solve one of our nation's top national security issues.”

WVU is contributing two of its key assets to the Center: The WVU Center for Advanced Research in Autonomous Technologies (CARAT) and WVU’s National Science Foundation Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR).

“WVU’s work with the Center for Excellence for Border Security and Immigration, coupled with our partnership with the FBI, will bring together the nation’s best minds to address tough national security issues,” said WVU President Mike Garrison.

CARAT, led by WVU Professors of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Mridul Gautam and Marcello R. Napolitano, will collaborate with the University of Arizona in the evaluation of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based sensor networks for enhanced surveillance and situational awareness. CARAT will work closely with partners in the proposed collaborative effort to design protocols which will lead to autonomous environments and minimization of need for human intervention.

According to Gautam, CARAT will aim to establish a prototype Autonomous AERial Network (AERNet) for border surveillance. “The development of AERNet – a network of heterogeneous small and inexpensive UAVs, with state-of-the-art perception, communication, and cooperative capabilities – could provide powerful tools for improving national security,” he said. UAVs and the autonomous aerial network will be designed, and developed by WVU.

Gautam said AERNet, comprised of autonomous small UAVs, could be deployed as part of a larger and more comprehensive border surveillance system. It will provide agencies such as the Customs and Border Protection, US Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, Citizenship and Immigration Services, Drug Enforcement Agency, and other law enforcement entities with the capability to improve the security of our nation’s borders without impeding the flow of commerce and travelers. AERNet will allow real-time information connection with law-enforcement databases.

WVU’s National Science Foundation Center (NSF) for Identification Technology Research (CITeR), led by Professors Lawrence Hornak and Bojan Cukic, will lend its extensive research capabilities in biometrics and identity management to the Center. WVU serves as the lead site for CITeR, the only NSF Research Center focusing on the rapidly growing area of Biometric Identification Technology. The University of Arizona is an NSF Site of CITeR addressing the area of human credibility assessment.

WVU’s leadership in CITeR recently enabled a new partnership between WVU and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI partnership leverages the University’s academic research and knowledge in the biometric identification arena and identifies WVU as the academic arm of the FBI’s Biometric Center of Excellence.

The Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration has identified five key areas of research that it will address over the six-year term of the Homeland Security contract. They are:


· Surveillance, Screening, Data Fusion and Situational Awareness
· Population Dynamics, Immigration Administration and Immigration Enforcement
· Operational Analysis, Command, Control and Communications
· Immigration Policy, Civic Administration, and Citizenship
· Border Risk Management and International Governance

The group will create education and training programs to develop science, technology and management approaches to make agents more effective and to prepare the next generation of border security professionals. It will also provide tools and practices that can be delivered rapidly to end users. The University of Arizona will lead the research functions of the Center and the University of Texas at El Paso will lead its educational components of the Center.

WVU named national leader for FBI biometrics research

WVU is the FBI's lead academic partner in biometrics research under an agreement signed today (Feb. 6) by Thomas E. Bush III, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division (left), and WVU President Mike Garrison. WVU researchers, administrators and students were on hand for the signing at Blaney House. "We are very excited to be involved in a project that will not only impact national security efforts but will also have worldwide significance," Garrison said. "The center will provide WVU students with an academic opportunity that they will not find at any other institution in the United States." Photo by Brian Persinger.


West Virginia University is the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s lead academic partner in biometrics research, under the terms of an agreement signed today (Feb. 6) on the WVU campus.

“West Virginia University has comprehensive, integrative research and education programs in biometrics and is known worldwide for its identification technology research,” said Thomas E. Bush, III, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division. “The University is uniquely positioned to serve as the liaison to the academic research community for the FBI’s Biometric Center of Excellence.”

The agreement, signed by Bush and WVU President Mike Garrison, leverages the University’s academic research and knowledge in the biometric identification arena and identifies WVU as the academic arm of the FBI’s Biometric Center of Excellence. WVU’s role is to provide biometrics research support to the FBI and its law enforcement and national security partners and serve as the FBI liaison to the academic community of biometric researchers nationwide.

“WVU’s expertise in biometrics positions us to distinctively perform with capabilities central to the FBI’s mission, as well as to bring together academic networks in those areas,” said Garrison. “We are very excited to be involved in a project that will not only impact national security efforts but will also have worldwide significance. The Center will provide WVU students with an academic opportunity that they will not find at any other institution in the United States.”

Added Senator Robert C. Byrd, “A partnership between WVU and the FBI is a winning combination. The men and women in Clarksburg and Morgantown will be on the forefront of securing our nation while also working to advance biometric technology. I am proud to have supported this initiative from the very beginning, and will continue to do all I can to help further its advancement.”

The FBI Science and Technology Branch is creating a Biometric Center of Excellence to coordinate biometric and identity management activities within the FBI and partner with other U.S. Government agencies. The FBI Biometric Center of Excellence will facilitate research, development, training and other activities related to biometric technologies and systems. Through the FBI Biometric Center of Excellence, the FBI will provide quality biometric services and technologies to fight terrorism and aid in investigative and intelligence efforts.

WVU’s National Science Foundation Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) is the internationally recognized biometric research asset that enabled the new partnership. CITeR faculty and students have a well established history of forming academic teams to address specific areas of research and of reaching out to other academic institutions to form multiuniversity collaborations based on the needs of sponsored research.

“We are proud of the enabling role that CITeR is playing in WVU's partnership with the FBI's new Biometric Center of Excellence,” said Alex Schwarzkopf, a long-time centers expert and director of NSF's Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRCs) program. “NSF fosters the creation and maintenance of I/UCRCs throughout the U.S. by providing a small amount of seed funding and management guidance. Led by West Virginia University, with the University of Arizona as a partner, CITeR is a model of I/UCRC goals. By leveraging industry, academe, and government resources, the center strengthens U.S. competitiveness by bringing the brightest minds from multiple universities to solve the tough security problems that we face.”

Byrd Professor Lawrence Hornak, Cco-director of CITeR stated, “The teaming process will be used as the mechanism to reach out to other universities to perform biometric research or to engage in technology transfer to mission critical systems for the FBI. This partnership will develop an understanding of the FBI’s systems needs and cultivate and evolve an academic research portfolio to help address those needs,” Hornak added.

WVU and Biometrics

West Virginia University serves as the lead site for the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR), the only National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Center in Biometric Technology.

In addition:

• CITeR’s scope of research at WVU spans the spectrum of physiological biometric identification technologies including traditional algorithms (iris, face, fingerprint, etc.) as well as novel modalities (sclera), and multimodal fusion.

• It further encompasses applied areas including, but not limited to, biometric systems test and performance evaluation, vulnerability reduction, and system level assessment. WVU CITeR faculty include; Co-Director, Dr. Bojan Cukic; Dr. Arun Ross; Dr. Natalia Schmidt; Dr. Donald Adjeroh; Dr. Xin Lee and Program Manager and Developer LaRue Williams.

• Keith Morris of the Forensic and Investigative Sciences at WVU is undertaking research in a number of areas related to forensic fingerprint examination that will strengthen WVU’s contribution to the FBI Biometric Center of excellence. The FBI presently provides an instructor who assists in the teaching of the latent fingerprint examination courses.

• The first in the world to establish a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biometric Systems, WVU also offers a graduate level certificate and Master’s degree emphasis in Biometrics.

• The Student Society for the Advancement of Biometrics is an active student group participating in research, professional activities, and service.

• Complementing these strong research and academic endeavors is the Biometric Knowledge Center (BKnC), led by LaRue Williams, which is the program arm for Biometrics at WVU. This interweaving of academic research, academic educational programs, and program management and development leverages the wealth of academic knowledge in service to the FBI COE and will enable the FBI to maintain its leadership role in biometric identification.

About CITeR

CITeR is the only National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) focusing on the rapidly growing area of Biometric Identification Technology.

CITeR is composed of two major sites:

West Virginia University (lead site) and University of Arizona

Collaborating universities include:

University of Chicago
Clarkson University
Michigan State University
University of Missouri – KC
Oklahoma State University
University of Pittsburgh
Rice University
Rutgers University
St. Lawrence University
University of Tennessee
University of Texas at San Antonio

For more about CITeR, visit http://www.citer.wvu.edu/.

Sputnik: It’s Time for Another Science Education Drive in the United States

This op ed commentary appeared in the October 7, 2007, edition of the Sunday Gazette-Mail (Charleston).

Paul L. Hill and Jay Cole

Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of the Soviet launch of Sputnik I — the world’s first artificial satellite. A watershed event, it caught the U.S. public off-guard and marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-Soviet space race.

Sputnik captured the world’s attention, both as a singular technical achievement and as a symbol of overall Soviet superiority in scientific and technical fields. The Soviets had defeated the Americans in the first leg of the space race, so the launch created a real sense of urgency about improving math and science education in this country.

As a result of public and political outcry, the U.S. Congress passed and President Eisenhower signed the National Defense Education Act in 1958. One of the primary purposes was to produce more and better math and science students — the next generation of scientists and engineers who would ensure America was able to compete with the Soviet Union.

Fifty years later, the world is a very different place. The Soviet Union no longer exists. And, thanks to extraordinary achievements such as the space shuttles, the International Space Station and the Mars Rover missions, space exploration has come light years since Sputnik.

But the need to improve math and science education in America is more urgent than ever. Instead of Sputnik as a single, simple, galvanizing event, we now confront more numerous and complex forces — climate change, human genomics, terrorism, disease, energy dependence and technological revolutions. As great as the challenge of Sputnik was, these challenges are far greater and require a larger commitment and level of investment in order to produce the next generation of scientists and engineers who will ensure the continued progress of human civilization.

The U.S. Congress recently took decisive action to achieve this goal with the passage of the America COMPETES Act. It will be to the first half of the 21st century what the National Defense Education Act was to the second half of the 20th century —a landmark piece of legislation that will affect the lives of millions of students and thousands of teachers in every school district and on every college campus across the country.

The act authorizes doubling the budgets of the National Science Foundation, the foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. It will increase funding for young researchers and significantly expand the foundation’s funding for the Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program and its Math and Science Partnerships. The bill also includes a number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education initiatives to ensure students are prepared for the needs of higher education and the workplace.

What a victory for science and for the entire United States! Even though the appropriations cycle is not yet complete and we do not know how much will be set aside for these initiatives, it is certain that the America COMPETES Act is a major step forward for our country and its future.

Here in West Virginia, academic leaders from kindergarten through college have already begun working together to ensure an overall state strategy that will allow us to gain the maximum benefits from the act. We must not miss out on the opportunities the act affords. The stakes are simply too high.

West Virginia’s own Senators Robert Byrd and Jay Rockefeller were co-sponsors of the Senate version of the America COMPETES Act. We should be proud of their leadership on this vital issue.


Hill is the vice chancellor for science and research at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the executive director of West Virginia EPSCoR. Cole is the education policy adviser to Gov. Joe Manchin III.

Byrd Moves Funds for WVU Forensic Science Programs

West Virginia University (WVU)’s Forensic Science initiative will benefit from $4 million that U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., added to legislation that has received key committee approval.

"WVU’s forensic science programs are key to developing new and better ways to use forensics in the nation’s defense and homeland security efforts. These programs answer the call for cutting-edge forensic technologies and highly-trained forensic specialists. Such crime-fighting tools are helping to convict criminals and make Americans safer," Byrd said.

Byrd added $4 million to the Fiscal Year 2008 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill for WVU’s forensic science initiative. The legislation has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and will next come before the full Senate for action.

"Senator Byrd's longstanding support of WVU's forensic sciences program has helped push the university into the forefront of the national effort against crime and terrorism," said WVU President-Elect Michael S. Garrison. "This program meets a real need–to apply the best science we have to the protection of our homes, industries and transportation infrastructure. The additional assistance that Senator Byrd has secured will advance this work, help West Virginia grow, and serve the needs of the country. We truly appreciate his advocacy on behalf of WVU and his untiring work to make this a stronger university."

The WVU programs support forensic science research and professional training, including WVU’s first-of-its-kind specialized undergraduate degree program; develop new methods for collecting and examining evidence; and provide resources to improve forensic science in crime labs across the nation.

"Forensic science is a rapidly changing field, and WVU is helping law enforcement to stay ahead of the curve. The university is researching new technologies and methods to combat crime, providing forensics training for current law enforcement officials, and educating the next generation of forensic scientists," Byrd said. "WVU’s forensic degree program is the school’s fastest growing undergraduate curriculum and helps to attract students from West Virginia and throughout the nation. Investing in technology education is another way to bring employers and good paying jobs to the Mountain State."