Strategic Use-Inspired Research Growth and Engagement (SURGE): a model for Regional Public Universities

The role of regional public universities (RPUs) has never been more important, given recent efforts to grow advanced manufacturing and technological innovation nationally. This project will serve as a model for RPUs in the United States by demonstrating the potential for these institutions to excel at use-inspired research. Use-inspired research centers on real-world problem solving.

It often engages industry and the public, embodies the mission of RPUs, and represents their context-specific promise for building the future STEM workforce. Growing use-inspired research capacity at RPUs, especially in the industrial Midwest, will strengthen economic activity by providing the advanced technical training and industry-engaged research experiences needed to meet workforce demand for skills across many sectors (i.e., automotive, software, energy, and semiconductor).

This project investigates the impact of key investments in the professional support staff needed to build and sustain a research-active culture at a regional public institution and allow it to innovate and grow in step with the need for economic development and educational innovation in its regional setting. The project team is focused on three long term goals during this five-year effort to reshape research culture: (1) expand support and training of faculty through targeted investments in human capital in the research enterprise; (2) grow use-inspired research, team building, and external partnerships; and (3) investigate how these investments and new processes impact research culture across the institution.

This project is expected to significantly grow research expenditures over five years, expand the capacity for industry-engaged research, and dramatically expand access to hands-on research and real-world problem-solving experiences for students at a regional public university.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.