AAAS Assessment Team

USM March 6-9, 2005

As part of USM’s Review of Research, Creative and Scholarly Activity, the following team of individuals has been assembled by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Research Competitiveness Program. The AAAS Research Competitiveness Program (RCP) draws upon the resources of the American science and engineering community to assist universities, government agencies, research consortia, and other institutions in planning, reviewing or evaluating programs and initiatives in research, development, and innovation. Since 1999, the RCP has worked to assist researchers, universities, research institutions and state government agencies that support R&D to improve their research competitiveness. Team members for USM include: Al Teich, Ed Derrick, Frank Calzonetti, Chris Hill, John Owens, and David Prior. Brief biographical information is presented below.

Albert H. (Al) Teich is Director of Science & Policy Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a position he has held since 1990. He is responsible for AAAS’s activities in science and technology policy, directing a staff of 40 and serving as a key AAAS spokesman on science policy issues. The Directorate for Science & Policy Programs includes the AAAS S&T Policy Fellows Programs, the R&D Budget & Policy Program, and the Center for Science, Technology & Congress, as well as programs in science and human rights; law and science; research competitiveness; and dialogue on science, ethics and religion.

Dr. Teich is a Fellow of AAAS and the recipient of the 2004 Award for Scientific Achievement in Science Policy from the Washington Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the editorial advisory boards to several journals; the author of numerous articles and editor of several books, including Technology and the Future (9th edition, Wadsworth Publishing, 2003), the most widely-used college text in technology and society, which has been in print continuously since 1972. He is also founding co-director of the Center for Innovation Policy Research and Education in Budapest, Hungary; chair of the Advisory Board of the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech; vice chair of the Board of Governors of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation; and a member of the external research advisory board of the University of California, Davis and the Norwegian Research and Technology Forum in the United States.

Edward G. Derrick is Director of the AAAS Research Competitiveness Program. The Research Competitiveness Program (RCP) encompasses the Research Competitiveness Service (RCS), which provides review, evaluation and guidance to the science and engineering community on the development of quality research programs. It is an entirely self-sustaining unit with four full-time equivalent employees. As director, Dr. Derrick has responsibility for the development of new business and oversees all aspects of the design and execution of projects. Besides the RCS, the RCP conducts studies in science and technology policy and includes the Research Infrastructure Project, which analyzes and articulates the needs of the academic research community for high performance computing and networking.

Dr. Derrick has had extensive experience in all aspects of the design and execution of peer review projects. He has also coordinated and facilitated national and regional conferences and symposia on topics in science policy and research competitiveness, and has reviewed proposals in science and education for a number of agencies and foundations.

Prior to joining AAAS, Dr. Derrick served as a consultant to the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Research Council. He spent two years as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Germany. His Ph.D. dissertation was in theoretical particle physics, and his undergraduate thesis in biophysics. His work experience includes one and a half years as a nuclear design engineer for Ontario Hydro. Dr. Derrick’s publications include papers in refereed scientific journals, technical reports, conference proceedings, software documentation and newspaper articles.

Frank J. Calzonetti is Vice Provost for Research, Graduate Education and Economic Development, Professor of Geography, at The University of Toledo. Dr. Calzonetti’s areas of research and teaching expertise include: regional and economic development, manufacturing and producer service location, state science and technology planning, and energy facility siting.

Since joining UT in October 2000, Dr. Calzonetti has been serving as the Chief Research Officer for the University as well as providing overall leadership for economic development. In January, 2004 Calzonetti’s position was modified so that the Dean of the Graduate School reported to him. Reporting to the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management, Dr. Calzonetti is responsible for enhancing the research stature of the University, increasing sponsored research programs, improving the University’s technology commercialization and technology transfer activities, and making The University of Toledo into a major asset in the revitalization of the Northwest Ohio economy. In addition to providing direct oversight and daily management of the UT Office of Research, the following offices and centers report to Dr. Calzonetti:

• Intermodal Transportation Institute
• Urban Affairs Center
• Graduate College
• Animal Care Program
• Radiation Safety Program
• Institutional Review Board
• Northwest Ohio Partnership on Alternative Energy Systems
• Office of Research Collaboration (for the UT campus)

Christopher T. Hill is Vice Provost for Research, George Mason University. Dr. Hill brings nearly 30 years' experience as a university professor, government official, and analyst/researcher in the profit and nonprofit sectors. A Mason faculty member since 1994, Hill was previously director of the doctoral program in public policy. He brings experience as a senior policy analyst at the RAND Critical Technologies Institute and as the executive director of the Manufacturing Forum at the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences, both in Washington, D.C. He also has held positions at the Congressional Research Service, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of Technology Assessment, and Uniroyal. He was a professor of technology and human affairs and chemical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis for eight years.

John Murray Owens is Vice President for Research at Boise State University, overseeing research activities in the university as well as directing the Office of Research Administration. In this role, he has overseen the creation of university policies to support development and expansion of research, and the development of strategic research plans for the university and colleges. He also provides the Idaho Congressional delegation with information on proposed “earmarks” for BSU and is responsible for tracking the status of these activities. Dr. Owens has a background in electrical engineering, with extensive consulting and instructional experience. He has been Director of the Engineering Experiment Station and Associate Dean for Research at Auburn University, overseeing research activities in the college and authority over a state research budget. He also served as program director in the Engineering Centers Division of the National Science Foundation.

David J. Prior is Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at University of Wisconsin-Superior. In this role, he established a one-stop University Advising Center, facilitated the adoption of a faculty/academic staff promotion/tenure portfolio, and established the Provost’s Administrative Fellow’s Program. He also facilitated economic development and technology partnerships across northern Wisconsin, and established a campus-wide integration of strategic planning and budget review process. Dr. Prior served as Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Northern Michigan University and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Northern Arizona University.

Dr. Prior’s research and teaching areas are in neurophysiology and zoology; he has received a Fellowship in Neurophysiology from The Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass; has been a visiting scholar to the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University; Visiting Professor to the Department of Zoology at the University of Maine as well as appointments at the University of Washington and University of Kentucky. He served as National Science Foundation Panel Member in the Faculty Enhancement Program.