CITI program fosters cross-campus collaborations

CITI program fosters cross-campus collaborations

BY ANN LUGG
Special to the Rice News

If necessity is the mother of invention, money must be its father. An idea, no matter how innovative and useful, often needs funding to become a reality. That is the philosophy behind the Computer and Information Technology Institute’s program, Enriching Rice through Information Technology (ERIT).

“We enthusiastically support the types of groundbreaking research the Enriching Rice through Information Technology (ERIT) program is funding. So many good ideas never become reality for lack of funds, and ERIT enables more of these innovative concepts to see the light of day.” CINDY LINDSAY ’73 and STEVE SHEAFOR ’72

Now in its second round, ERIT funds proposals from faculty across campus who need seed money to undertake projects involving information technology. The program has brought together faculty from the George R. Brown School of Engineering with faculty from the humanities, social sciences and other disciplines to collaborate on a variety of truly innovative projects.

The Sheafor/Lindsay Innovation Fund, which fuels ERIT, was established in 2001 with a generous gift from Rice alumni Steve Sheafor ’72 and Cindy Lindsay ’73.

“We enthusiastically support the types of groundbreaking research the ERIT program is funding,” Sheafor said.

“So many good ideas never become reality for lack of funds, and ERIT enables more of these innovative concepts to see the light of day,” Lindsay added. In addition to ERIT, the fund made possible a Rice-hosted national symposium on digital library technology, the Sheafor/Lindsay Digital Library Symposium, in 2001.

This year’s funded proposals involve faculty from history, art history, economics, management, statistics and mechanical engineering, as well as staff from the Digital Library Initiative and the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning. The purpose of ERIT funding is to get the projects started on a small scale and better enable researchers to get support from outside sources to further the projects.

“The experience from the first round of funding has been great,” said CITI Executive Director Jan Odegard. “Of the five projects initially funded by ERIT, three have received additional substantial support from external sources, which amounts to more than $1.5 million.”

This year, 11 proposals were submitted to ERIT, and six were funded. The total for the six grants was about $125,000 for the first year, with an additional $50,000 for second-year support for two of the projects based on midterm progress reports. This year’s projects include:

“Understanding the Open-Source Business Model: Application to Connexions” with co-principal investigators Paul Dholakia, assistant professor of management; Richard Baraniuk, professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Geneva Henry, executive director of the Connexions Project and Rice’s Digital Library Initiative.

Connexions is a Web-based open-access repository of educational materials and open-source tools to create and navigate the materials. A crucial issue for the long-term success of Connexions is its ability to generate adequate revenue to fund operations and growth. The preparation of a business plan is a necessary step toward doing so, and to prepare a business plan, it is necessary to better understand the open-source business model. With CITI funding, Dholakia, Baraniuk and Henry will conduct extensive field research in 2005, including library searches, interviews and surveys. The trio will apply the insights gleaned from this research to making key decisions in the business planning for the Connexions Project to ensure its long-term viability and success.

“Informed Networking for the Economic Security of our Nation” with co-principal investigators Katherine Ensor, professor of statistics and department chair; James Thompson, the Noah Harding Professor of Statistics; Rudolf Riedi, assistant professor of statistics and of electrical and computer engineering; and Robin Sickles, professor of economics and of statistics.

This research addresses the communication and financial network layers on which the banking industry relies and how those layers are tied to the greater security of the nation. Attacks orchestrated by adversarial organizations may have economic destabilization as a primary goal. Through informed network modeling, Ensor, Thompson, Riedi and Sickles will attempt to determine if a connection between the communication and financial networks used by major financial institutions would result in a stronger line of defense from such attacks.

“Nano Haptic Robotic System to Enable Nanomanipulation, Nanoassembly, and Nanofabrication” with co-principal investigators Fathi Ghorbel, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of bioengineering; Marcia O’Malley, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science; and Rick Barrera, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and department chair.

Nanotechnology plays a key role in the advancement of medicine, biology, space explorations, and computer and information technology. Current research in robotics at Rice could enable new and innovative ways to change, interact with and control material at the nanoscale. Ghorbel, O’Malley and Barrera will work with Rice’s new Zyvex S100 Nanomanipulator System to develop new techniques for manipulating nanoscale objects. For example, the development of “force feedback” software and hardware could translate contact between nanoparticles and the manipulator’s tip — which measures just a few atoms across — into motion that a scientist could “feel” through joystick or robotic glove. This would allow scientists to both “feel” and see their samples — via an electron microscope — in real-time, while they move them about. Nanomanipulation with visual and haptic, or tactile, feedback will promote new science, new collaborations and new research across disciplines and with leading research groups outside Rice.

“Teaching Ancient Rome: City and Empire” with co-principal investigators Michael Maas, professor of history and director of Rice’s Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations Program; and Caroline Quenemoen, assistant professor of art history.

Maas and Quenemoen will create a multidisciplinary undergraduate course on the development of the urban fabric of ancient Rome. Covering a period of nearly a thousand years, the course will trace the city’s development as it grew, flourished and then declined at the end of antiquity. Students will learn how the development of the city reflected the expansion and decline of Roman imperial power throughout the Mediterranean world. Course materials will explore the art, architecture and topography of the city of Rome and will examine ancient texts and modern interpretations. Materials will be presented in part in modules. The prototype module will focus on Roman triumphs, the parades through the heart of the city that celebrated victorious generals and their conquests.

Society and Technology: Multimedia Case Studies in Connexions” with co-principal investigators Anthony Gorry, the Friedkin Professor of Management, professor of computer science and director of the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning, and Leslie Miller, senior research scholar at the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning.

Gorry and Miller will create modules with multimedia cases concerning effects of information technology on society and develop them in Connexions’ Content Commons. The modules will engage both undergraduates and executive-management students with issues such as privacy, authority and intellectual property.

“Gaming@Rice Group Planning Grant” with co-principal investigators Joe Warren, professor of computer science; Devika Subramanian, professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering; Richard Stoll, professor of political science; David Lane, associate professor of psychology and statistics; James Thompson, Noah Harding Professor of Statistics; Patricia Seed, professor of history; Sarah Thal, assistant professor of history; Tony Elam, associate dean of engineering; and Leslie Miller, senior research scholar at the Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning.

This planning grant will support faculty and staff from five departments and one center as they explore the viability and applicability of gaming to education and research at Rice. This funding will facilitate meetings, participation in conferences and exploration of the use of gaming to create an exciting new interdisciplinary course for undergraduates.