It's all about jobs, U.S. Rep. Boehlert advises at CU's Technology Showcase

By David Brand

Addressing a gathering of the leaders of Cornell research centers in McManus Lounge of Hollister Hall, Aug. 6, New York Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-23rd Dist.) noted that their cutting-edge science "all boils down to my favorite four-letter word, and you can use it in polite company -- jobs."

U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert gives opening remarks at the Cornell Technology Showcase, Aug. 6, in the McManus Lounge of Hollister Hall. Robert Barker/University Photography

Boehlert, who chairs the highly influential House Science Committee, also made it clear that his committee's leadership in "putting the National Science Foundation on the path to double its budget over the next five years" is aimed at business expansion and job creation. "When all is said and done, that's what this big business is all about," he said. "It's the big business of government, academia and industrial development -- it's creating and expanding opportunities for people."

Boehlert was on campus to attend a "Technology Showcase," an opportunity for five Cornell research centers and the College of Engineering to present an overview of their resources and a look at their broad areas of research to about two dozen local companies. Organizer Abby Westervelt, director of corporate and foundation relations in the College of Engineering, said it was the first in what she hopes will be a series of events aimed at creating strong links between the university and industry for the benefit of research, recruiting, education and technology transfer.

At the presentation, the state of the economy was clearly on the minds of Cornell administrators, as well as on Boehlert's. "The four-letter word, jobs, is basic to us, so linking basic research and biology with economic development is fundamental to what we do," said Professor Stephen Kresovich, director of Cornell's Center for Advanced Technology in Biotechnology, and one of the presenters.

Boehlert, a Utica native, is seeking reelection in November to represent most of Tompkins County under new federal redistricting lines. He has served on the science committee since 1983 and was elected chairman in 2001. The committee has jurisdiction over all federal nonmilitary scientific and technology research and development programs, including the NSF, on which Washington spends more than $30 billion a year.

Cornell is a major recipient of federal funds from agencies over which Boehlert's committee has jurisdiction. These include the NSF ($74.9 million received in fiscal year 2001), NASA ($9.3 million) and research and development initiatives within the Department of Energy ($4.4 million).

Kent Fuchs, the newly arrived dean of Cornell's engineering college, noted that Boehlert's "responsibilities are quite relevant for us here as we look at research and the impact that engineering and science can have on economic development."

The congressman shrewdly noted that "Cornell knows they have me lock, stock and barrel, because that is advancing their programs." But he called the linkage of government with the research and business communities "an ideal partnership" in the creation of new job opportunities. Noting that Duffield Hall, the new Cornell center for nanotechnology research, is rising on the Engineering Quad, Boehlert emphasized that its importance is not just in research, but also in the promise of transferring new discoveries to the private sector "to enable you to do more effectively and wisely what you are already doing so that you can expand."

Frank DiSalvo, director of the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR), was among the presenters who emphasized the "strong bond" between Cornell research and companies. For example, he said, the CCMR's Polymer Outreach Program works with 12 companies and has more than 100 industrial collaborations, focusing on "bench-to-bench interaction between science groups at Cornell and a group within the company."

Other presenters, including Alexander Pechenik, associate director of Cornell Nanofabrication Facility, and Graham Kerslick, associate director of the Nanobiotechnology Center, also emphasized the industrial use that is made of their shared facilities.

Following the presentations, the participants, including a handful of legislative aides, were given a tour of Cornell's research facilities.