| If it's April, it must be nearly time for congressional subcommittee and committee work in Washington, D.C. John Walda, IU's executive director of federal relations, and his staff have done the leg work in making presentations and submitting requests in Washington for federal funding that will advance a number of the university's prioritized projects.
These IU projects are currently in various stages of the funding process. Some are completely new to the priority lineup and looking for federal monies; some have been funded and will continue to be; others are reaching a mature stage in seeking final funding.
Wherever the projects stand, all may benefit from the additional discretionary and agency funding built into President George W. Bush's proposed fiscal year 2003 budget. He has suggested dramatic increases in discretionary spending allocated to defense and homeland security and also would give substantial increases or new funding to 21 "other priority initiatives."
Among those benefitting would be the National Institutes of Health, whose budget could be doubled, and federal science and technology spending, which is slated for a proposed 9 percent increase.
Currently on IU's appropriations priority agenda are the following projects with updates on each.
Early stage projects:
HIV/AIDS Project:
While few details were available on the HIV/AIDS project at the time of this writing, the project directly reflects specific interests in Washington. In this case, Rep. Julia Carson (D-Indiana, 10th District) has requested a plan for a program which would treat pregnant women with HIV and AIDS.
Urban Ecosystem Restoration Strategies Assessment Initiative:
Through the Center for Earth and Environmental Science at IUPUI, this initiative is a five-year multidisciplinary wetland restoration and monitoring program, to include evaluation of performance standards, quantification of restoration success strategies and evaluation of best management practices on three restoration projects. Wetland types to be evaluated include three sites developed for study purposes—forested riparian ecosystems, depressional wetlands and wet prairies. IU is requesting $425,000 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be used for technical support for additional design elements, scholarships to train wetland researchers, professional development workshops and seminars for state and local government employees and environmental consultants, and monitoring equipment and supplies.
http://www.cees.iupui.edu
The Indiana Genomics Initiative (INGEN):
IU is seeking federal support in two areas of INGEN, an initiative developed to harvest information provided when the sequence of the entire human genome was published early in 2001. The first IU request for INGEN support is for $3 million which will be used to continue plans for a new research building at IUPUI and for development of next-generation support technology on the IU Bloomington campus through the Health Resources and Services Administration in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill.
The second IU request for INGEN is for $3 million through NASA in the VA-HUD appropriations bill. It will be used to fund research in areas such as cell biotechnology, macromolecular biotechnology and exploration biotechnology, all of which are relevant to NASA's mission.
http://www.ingen.iu.edu
Life Sciences Research Initiative:
The City of Indianapolis and IU will seek $2 million through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to begin development of a Life Sciences Research Park in downtown Indianapolis, including facilities for INGEN. This funding would go directly toward establishing an initial physical presence to delineate a Life Sciences Research Park as the locus for private and public research and development facilities, high technology and science-based companies, and the effort to transfer technology and business skills between the university and industry tenants.
http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/032902
Multiple Fast Proton Pulse Capability for Nuclear Weapons Simulation:
In the absence of the capability to perform underground nuclear testing, several simulator facilities have been or are being developed to test 21st-century space and missile systems and their components using pulsed X-ray, neutron and electron sources to validate system performance in the case of a nuclear weapons event. In collaboration with the IU Cyclotron Facility and NSWC Crane, the university is requesting $1.5 million through Program Element 602715 BR, Nuclear Sustainment and Counterproliferation Technologies, Research, Defense, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E). Funding would sustain a two-year development of a multiple fast proton pulse nuclear weapons simulation capability at IUCF by appropriately modifyiing its CIS/Cooler.
http://www.iucf.indiana.edu
The Transatlantic Consortium:
The School of Public and Environmental Affairs on the Bloomington campus is seeking $325,000 to support consortium activities. Founded by IU and Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris, this is a project of several European and American academic and training institutions in the fields of education and research for public policy and administration.
http://www.spea.indiana.edu/tac/background.htm
Mid-stage projects:
Knowledge Projection for Fleet Maintenance:
For a proposal led by NSWC Crane, IU will request $5 million through the Program Executive Officer for Theater Surface Combatants to continue this project. The purpose of the project is to develop technologies for improving the use of systems knowledge to provide a more cost-effective approach for maintenance operations on Navy vessels. What is proposed is an automated information system that can dynamically create diagnosis and repair strategies to guide technicians of widely differing levels of expertise to the fastest possible solution for an equipment failure and to generate focused training.
http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/051101
Criminal Imaging Response Center:
This proposed center would be located at the Institute for Forensic Imaging (IFI) at IUPUI, and $800,000 will be requested through the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary appropriations bill for its completion. With the response center, IFI would provide specialized assistance to help law enforcement agencies and school districts develop, integrate and deploy imaging technology systems.
http://www.engr.iupui.edu/ifi/
Midwest Proton Radiation Institute (MPRI):
The establishment of MPRI at the IU Cyclotron Facility in Bloomington will provide proton therapy to eradicate cancer cells in patients throughout the Midwest with fewer side effects and without damaging surrounding tissue, particularly in the treatment of small lesions or tumors close to critical organs. IU will request $2 million from the National Institute of Health to build a gantry in the MPRI's first gantry room. A gantry is a large device which allows the transport of the proton beam around a patient to aim at specific points calculated to most effectively reach a lesion or tumor site.
http://www.iucf.indiana.edu/MPRI
http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/011802
Mature projects:
The Center on Congress:
This center was created in the late 1990s by former U.S. Rep. Lee H. Hamilton and IU to improve broad public understanding on Congress—its role, its strengths and weaknesses, and its daily impact on the lives of ordinary people. To further its goal, IU is requesting $650,000 through the Department of Education in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill to develop programs that could be used on radio and television to educate the citizenry. This funding would initially allow for the development and promotion of a two-part PBS documentary on Congress.
http://congress.indiana.edu
Rural Center for HIV/STD Prevention:
The major focus of the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention (RCAP) is the promotion of HIV/STD prevention in rural America, with the goal of reducing HIV/STD incidence. The center develops and evaluates education materials and approaches; examines the behavioral and social barriers to HIV/STD prevention, which can be applied to prevention programming; and provides prevention resources to professionals and the public. The center is currently funded through the Center for Disease Control and is beginning to look into options for international funding sources.
http://www.indiana.edu/~aids
Project TEAM:
The project recruits talented minority college students into teacher education. It provides them with honors work beyond the regular teacher education courses, and creates opportunities for them to work with promising minority students. IU is requesting $750,000 through the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Education Account for continuation of Project TEAM at the Bloomington, IUPUI and IU Northwest campuses and expansion to the IU East and IPFW campuses, and eventually to IU South Bend, IU Southeast and IU Kokomo.
http://php.indiana.edu/~proteam
Program for Dislocated Workers:
Established originally in response to layoffs in Bloomington of General Electric employees, nearly 20 people are enrolled in and using one-on-one academic counseling and support services through IU's Division of Continuing Studies. IU will request $500,000 through the Department of Labor's Dislocated Workers program for continuing the program goals of combining an associate's degree with a non-credit, high-level technical computer certificate.
http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/051101
| 
