Congress spotlights MSU research

Mississippi State was among a select group of universities whose national defense research was showcased recently on Capitol Hill.

The Washington, D.C., exhibition was designed to demonstrate to members of Congress and the national media how university research is key to the U.S. military's technological superiority. Co-sponsored for the fourth year by the Defense Department, Association of American Universities and members of Congress, this year's presentations involved research from 33 universities.

Five MSU defense-sponsored projects, four at the MSU/National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center and one in the Computer Science Department, were among approximately 100 illustrated. The MSU group included:

• Designs that can improve the maneuverability of navy surface ships. The research team includes David Whitfield, Min-Yee Jiang and Murali Beddhu.
• Techniques to advance the knowledge of propulsion forces such as are found in jet fighter ejection seats or missile booster rockets. David Marcum and Robert Moorhe lead the project.
• Design studies to help the Navy improve the shallow-water maneuverability of its submarines. This research is under the direction of David Bridges.
• A project to assist the Navy in identifying geologically similar regions of the ocean floor. Computer scientists Julia Hodges and Susan Bridges are the lead researchers.

Also included are projects of the Major Shared Resource Centers, an industry-university coalition coordinated by MSU to strengthen the nation's defense computing capabilities. The ERC's Joe Thompson heads this team effort.

"These projects are representative of the nearly 50 defense-related research contracts now under way at Mississippi State," said Melvin Ray, the university's acting vice president for research. "We are extremely proud that Mississippi State is among fewer than three dozen American institutions invited to take part in Washington."

Ray represented the university at the exhibition, along with MSU research outreach coordinator Marc McGee and Engineering Research Center industrial liaison Ray Vaughn.

"This event underscored higher education's continuing key role in helping the United States meet its national security responsibilities," Ray said.