Media Contact: Hugh Imhof, (509) 335-4528, [email protected]
Bill Loftus, (208) 885-7694, [email protected]
Story Contact: James Petersen (509) 335-1003, [email protected]
COLLABORATION BRINGS NEW RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES TO REGION
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - A unique collaboration of regional universities is expected to lead to enhanced opportunities for research, higher education and job creation throughout the Inland Northwest. Among the first anticipated impacts of the collaboration are advancements in environmental cleanup technologies.
Seven universities formed the Inland Northwest Research Alliance (INRA) in the spring of 1999. The member universities include Boise State, Idaho State, University of Idaho, Montana State, University of Montana, Utah State and Washington State.
INRA is a partner with Bechtel BWXT Idaho, the corporation responsible for managing and operating the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) near Idaho Falls. In its managing role, INRA will help set the direction for scientific research performed at INEEL.
In the past the INEEL site was used for nuclear reactor research and storage of nuclear waste from America's defense programs which left contamination below the surface of the land. Today INEEL scientists work in a wide range of disciplines with a major emphasis on the development of environmental cleanup technologies.
University of Idaho President Robert Hoover says INRA gives the institutions involved a chance to collaborate with the national lab on some major environmental problems. He adds, "The immediate goal will be to develop new science that will help us understand the transport of materials in the subsurface. We don't have a very good sense today of what happens to contaminants underground. There is not much data and there is no predictive model."
The collaboration will also help each of the INRA universities meet education goals and advance scientific knowledge. "This is an opportunity for contracts and grants, to increase the research strengths of the member institutions. It is also an opportunity for graduate study and all the things we seek to do in higher education," says Hoover.
Over the next 10 years, INEEL expects to add some 1,000 Ph.D. positions. Many of these individuals will be educated by INRA institutions.
The presidents of the INRA schools recently appointed an interim management team for the alliance. James Petersen, Washington State chemical engineering professor and director of WSU's Center for Multiphase Environmental Research, serves as interim executive director. A search for a permanent director is expected to conclude within six months.
The interim management team also includes Roy Mink, a University of Idaho professor and director of the Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, and Jim Stout, who serves as legal counsel for the group.
"Our first task will be learning in greater depth the capabilities of the various INRA institutions and developing ways to integrate them to better serve the region, including an integrated, comprehensive research and education package," says Petersen.
Representatives from INEEL will be visiting the seven INRA campuses during the next two months. They will meet with university researchers and discuss potential collaborative projects.
12/16/99-INRA
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