This proposal describes the Indiana Pervasive Computing Research (IPCRES) Initiative, a partnership between Indiana University and the Lilly Endowment to develop a world-class research and development capability in Indiana in some of the fundamental technologies that will drive the 21st century information economy, and an initiative focused on developing the growth of the information economy in Indiana.
Growing the new information economy in Indiana will contribute to building the high-wage segment of the workforce most closely connected with information technology which is the fastest growing segment nationally but which is growing very slowly in Indiana. It will also contribute to the retention of highly trained graduates in Indiana who are leaving the State for jobs in this segment of the economy in other States and on the coasts.
The broad strategy of the Indiana Pervasive Computing Research (IPCRES) Initiative will be to:
The goals of economic development and improved employment will be further advanced as the State's workforce benefits from the education and practical training that will be available to students in conjunction with these fundamental IT research activities.
The close connection between great centers of research and the prosperity of adjacent information industries is now widely acknowledged. Elsewhere in the country, some states are aggressively leveraging and building on the strengths of their research universities and other research concentrations as engines of economic growth. The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), for example, was established as a strategic partnership among Georgia's universities, the business community, and state government. GRA works to increase technology-business formation by creating slots at Georgia's research universities for some of the world's most eminent scientists and engineers, supporting them with the resources and mechanisms that promote the rapid transfer of new technology to private enterprise.
A report evaluating one of the nation's first technology incubatorsthe Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), affiliated with Georgia Institute of Technologyfound that one of the primary positive impacts of ATDC was the value that companies derived simply from their affiliation with a leading research university, including intangible factors like heightened credibility. (Georgia's Advanced Technology Development Center: An Assessment, R.Culp and P. Shapira, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, June 1997.)
Until recently the State of Indiana has not aggressively supported technology-based economic development strategies. Now, however, initiatives such as the 21st Century Research and Technology Fund and the State's enthusiastic support of Indiana University's leadership in the Internet2 effort evidence an important shift in policy and commitment to innovation that is essential if Indiana is to grow its information economy.
The private sector is expressing greater confidence in the State's ability to step up and compete with other regions of the country, indeed the world, as Indiana seeks to attract high-growth jobs. Eli Lilly and Company's decision to invest $1 billion to expand the Lilly Corporate Center and Lilly Technology Center in Indianapolis, adding thousands of scientists, physicians, computer specialists, and technicians to their workforce represents an unprecedented opportunity for dramatic economic growth. Likewise, Escient LLC, the Internet-based technology leader headquartered in Carmel, has announced expansion plans and will add 500 new information technologists to its organization within the next several years.
For high-tech industries to grow and thrive in Indiana, the State must enhance its research capability, address issues of seed and venture capital, train and keep talented technologists, create more infrastructure, and nurture a technology culture. Indiana University in partnership with the Lilly Endowment proposes to confront these issues head on with the establishment of a major economic development initiative of true international standing in information technology that will become a new force for economic growth within the State.
The key to the IPCRES strategy will be to significantly increase the research and development capabilities in Indiana focused on areas of information technology that are fundamental to pervasive computing. This will be done by establishing at Indiana University six world-class research laboratories, each laboratory headed by a researcher of international standing who in turn would attract highly talented young staff and graduate students. Section 3 gives an overview of the field of pervasive computing, describes the broad research areas around which Laboratories will be created, and indicates why this field represents an opportunity.
Indiana University is committed to achieving a position of national and international leadership in the field of information technology. Evidence of this commitment can be seen in a number of major University efforts including: the establishment of a five-year Information Technology Strategic Plan and the commitment of funding provided by the State to the implementation of many of this plan's recommendations; the decision by IU to create its first new academic school in twenty-five years, the School of Informatics; and by IU's significant contributions to the development of national and international next-generation network architectures and software infrastructures, which are the foundation for pervasive computing technologies in the 21st century. These accomplishments among many others at Indiana University will provide the bedrock upon which the research initiatives of IPCRES can be built. Further details of these accomplishments and their significance are presented in Section 4.
The strategy of IPCRES is to build Indiana's research and development capabilities in a key area of information technology, to leverage this to grow Indiana's information economy and hence to produce more employment in the information industries and retain more Indiana graduates. This strategy is developed in more detail in Section 5 and then in later Sections.
The IPCRES Laboratories will be located so as to leverage Indiana University's information technology strategy and its academic strengths in this field. IUPUI is the center of IU's extensive telecommunications infrastructure and IU Bloomington is the center of IU's computation and information infrastructure. IPCRES Laboratories established at IUPUI will be in areas of telecommunications research that underpin pervasive computing, and IPCRES Laboratories at Bloomington will focus primarily on the development of computationally and data-intensive systems for pervasive computing. Section 6 provides a more in-depth description of some of the specific research areas that might become the basis for creating individual IPCRES Laboratories. Section 9 describes briefly Indiana University's strategy for establishing locations for IPCRES research activities.
The IPCRES Laboratories will in turn be central to the broader IPCRES economic development strategy. IPCRES will establish an Economic Development Office and among its goals will be to increase the level of technology innovation occurring within the State, hasten its development, and augment technology commercialization efforts. As part of its economic development efforts, IPCRES will provide researchers a forum for collaboration with industrial partners on joint research projects and offer a venue for a variety of business development and support services to attract new industry to the State of Indiana, including start-up companies. Section 7 provides further details of the IPCRES economic development strategy. Support for technology transfer and formation of start-up companies is proposed as a key role that the IU Advanced Research and Technology Institute (ARTI) will play in IPCRES. These plans are also detailed in Section 7 of this proposal.
A major element to the success of IPCRES as a force for economic development in the State of Indiana will be an increase in the number of IU graduates who are trained in information technology. IPCRES, through its association with the IU School of Informatics, will advance this goal by helping with the development of new courses and new curricula that emphasize the practical application of information technology across a variety of disciplines and professional settings. Section 8 of this proposal presents in greater detail IU's plans for the School of Informatics and its role in the overall IPCRES initiative.
Sound management and institutional commitment to IPCRES on the part of IU are essential to its success. Section 10 of this proposal outlines initial plans for the organization and management of IPCRES, under the direction of a Steering Committee whose members will be the Indiana University President (Chair), the IU Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, the IPCRES Science Director, the IPCRES Director of Economic Development, the Dean/Director of the School of Informatics, and the President of the Indiana University Advanced Research and Technology Institute (ARTI).
Finally, Section 11 of this proposal provides indicative milestones for all aspects of the IPCRES.
Attachment 1 contains brief biographical statements about the senior Indiana University executives who will comprise the IPCRES Steering Committee. Attachment 2 lists the IPCRES Planning and Drafting Taskforce who produced this proposal.
1. The Problem for Indiana | Table of contents | 3. The Opportunity: Pervasive Computing
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