FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2004
FY04-10
ORAU Elects Four New Members to Consortium
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.— Oak Ridge Associated Universities has opened the door to new educational and research opportunities with the election of three new institutions and a new associate member to its consortium. Arkansas State University, Indiana University, the Medical College of Georgia and Detroit-based Wayne State University joined the consortium at the annual meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions held recently in Washington, D.C.
“From neutrons to nanoscience, ORAU is promoting the next generation of scientific research in the United States,” said ORAU President Ronald Townsend. “These excellent institutions bring unique research capabilities and knowledge that further our mission to forge collaborative partnerships with our country’s national laboratories and to pursue major science initiatives in technology and the biological sciences.”
ORAU now has 91 member institutions and 10 associate members, which are found in states across the nation as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and London. Consortium members take part in ORAU-sponsored or administered scientific research programs. Faculty and students also benefit from opportunities for travel grants, internships and laboratory research at federal facilities.
Indiana University has an array of research facilities, including the IU Cyclotron Facility, a multi-purpose nuclear accelerator laboratory. In partnership with the National Science Foundation, IU is constructing the Low Energy Neutron Source, a neutron-scattering facility, to promote the study of the inner workings of molecular systems through high-resolution neutron radiography.
Chartered in 1828, the Augusta-based Medical College of Georgia, which has colleges of medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health sciences and graduate education, is committed to fostering health sciences research. Scientists at the college are exploring diverse fields such as biomaterial tissue interaction, cancer and cardiovascular research, epithelial cell biology, gene regulation, molecular immunology, neuroscience and the study of sickle cell disease.
Located in Detroit, Wayne State is Michigan's only urban research university. In the past 20 years, the university’s research budget has grown 15 percent annually, with research expenditures reaching nearly $200 million in 2002. Over 75 percent of research at the university focuses on the life sciences.
Joining as an associate member, Arkansas State University has more than 10,000 students pursuing 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in 10 different colleges under the direction of more than 450 faculty. Arkansas State promotes research in biomedical agriculture, through the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, to improve the health of state residents and to enhancing collaboration in the common research areas of agriculture, bioengineering, tobacco-related illnesses, nutrition and related sciences.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a university consortium leveraging the scientific strength of major research institutions to advance science and education by partnering with national laboratories, government agencies, and private industry. ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the U.S. Department of Energy.
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