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LAWRENCE -- Last June, Mabel Rice, director of the Merrill Advanced Studies Center at the University of Kansas, organized a conference for scientists from public research universities in the region.
Their objective was to discuss a strategy for aiding the country in its war on terrorism.
The result was "Science at a Time of National Emergency," a three-day summit from June 12 to 14 in Valley Falls with scientists from KU, Kansas State University, Iowa State University and the University of Nebraska.
The presentations from that conference now are available to the public online and in print. Online, the compilation of presentations can be viewed at http://www.merrill.ku.edu. Bound copies are available from the Merrill Center, 3031 Dole Human Development Center.
Rice said she was not surprised at the amount of expertise available in this region.
"The leading scientists at the public universities in this region are among the leading scientists in the nation," she said. "They are included in that national dialogue."
Every year for the past six years, Rice has organized a conference series, "The Research Mission of Public Universities," for scientists at institutions throughout the Midwest. The conference typically addresses issues such as research funding opportunities and collaboration on projects.
This year's conference addressed those same issues, but in a much broader context, she said.
"It was an opportunity for us to get together and talk about the various areas of scientific expertise and to identify the areas where we could collaborate and build larger models of cooperation among the universities," she said.
Leading scientists from each university represented a wide spectrum of expertise, from crisis management to food safety.
Among the presenters were:
• Jerry Dobson, professor of geography and researcher at the Kansas Applied Remote Sensing Program at KU. Dobson provided information on the Land Scan population database, which he helped develop with scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The global population database uses geographic information systems to provide the most accurate population counts possible. The database has a number of applications, from helping officials determine the number of emergency responders needed for a given incident to helping in the planning of humanitarian efforts.
• Curtis Kastner, director of the Food Science Institute at Kansas State University, gave an overview of food safety research at K-State. He also addressed agricultural biosecurity challenges in the nation.
• Mark Ackermann, professor of veterinary pathology at Iowa State University, delivered a presentation on the relationship between animal health research and national security.
• Prem Paul, vice chancellor for research at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, presented a paper by Dennis Alexander, professor of electrical engineering in the Center for Electro-Optics at the University of Nebraska, on the use of femtosecond lasers as a method for detecting biological and chemical agents.
Along with presentations from scientists, the conference also featured a keynote address by Martin Apple, president and CEO of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents.
Several KU administrators also contributed to the discussion, including Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost David Shulenburger; Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for university relations; Donald Hagen, executive vice chancellor at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.; and Robert Barnhill, vice provost for research.
The conference concluded, she said, with an understanding that the best way the scientists could help their country was to continue developing their research projects.
"You have to be prepared before it happens," Rice said. "The way to be prepared is to ensure we have a strong, broad base of research under way."
A complete list of the 2002 conference participants can be found at the Merrill Center for Advanced Studies Web site.
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