Contact: Maridith Geuder, Bob Ratliff
The first Mississippi-made Nissan will not roll off the assembly line until next May, but Mississippi State University engineers already have been on the job to assist with design-to-production processes.
From reducing product design time to improving passenger safety and developing alternative power systems, research at Mississippi State will have a major impact on an industry that ultimately will employ more than 5,000 in the Canton area, said MSU Interim President J. Charles Lee.
"We often talk about the total amounts of research contracts and grants," he said. "It's important to remember that the impact of those dollars invested in Mississippi State's research program is felt in every county of our state."
MSU this week reported a total of $123 million in research contracts and grants for the fiscal year ending June 30, along with an additional $17 million in federal support for student financial aid.
In the case of Nissan, Mississippi State is providing expertise through a newly formed Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, an interdisciplinary research center that targets the needs of the auto manufacturer and dozens of suppliers.
"Our goal through research is to improve opportunities for Mississippi and for every citizen of our state," Lee said. "It's our mission as a land-grant institution."
As another example, he noted agriculture and forestry management are taking a dramatic leap into the technological age with Mississippi State remote sensing research, which earned $11 million in research funding last year.
By capturing data from aircraft- or space-based platforms, scientists in MSU's Remote Sensing Technologies Center can survey fields and forests to identify specific areas that need attention, explained Charles L. Hill, RSTC deputy director.
"Remote sensing data can allow a grower, for instance, to target only a specific part of the field that may require irrigation, herbicides or other applications," he said. Now being farm-tested, the space-age approaches offer the potential for more efficient, productive and environmentally friendly farming and forest management practices.
Major funding for the center comes from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Transportation.
The university recently moved to the No. 10 spot among U.S. universities for its supercomputing power, primarily due to the capabilities of its Engineering Research Center. The interdisciplinary research center, now 12 years old, traditionally has focused on computational solutions for design problems in the physical sciences.
A recent three-year, $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health is allowing two of MSU's Giles Distinguished Professors to lay the groundwork for a similar biomedical computing research center at the university.
Aerospace engineer Joe F. Thompson of the ERC and toxicologist Janice E. Chambers, who heads MSU's Center for Environmental Health Sciences, are collaborating to focus computational simulation tools on biological processes.
The goal is to better predict the effects of individual and combined chemicals on the health of humans.
"These projects are dramatic examples of the power of research," said Lee, noting that Mississippi State's research awards in the last fiscal year included more than 1,500 sponsored projects and major funding from the U.S. departments of Defense, Agriculture, Energy, and NASA.
"Faculty members at Mississippi State University are aggressively and effectively pursuing research that makes a difference to all of Mississippi," Lee added.