EIT THE MICHIGAN DAILY TU ?esearch Activities Bring Increased Knowl JESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1967 ? dge, By ROBERT JOHNSTON and MARK LEVIN esearch of all shapes and sizes become an integral part of educational process at almost of America's colleges and uni- ities. Competition for the lim- t supply of research funds pro- d by the federal government the huge private foundations intense. Extensive staffs of aly skilled technicians devoted rely to procuring the necessary incial support can be found 'king feverishly on college npuses throughout the nation. he achievements of research ducted here at the University he social and physical sciences numerous, significant and ex- ng. The permanent research in- ltes established here since rld War II continue to bring ie and literally fortune to this idly expanding educational iplex. Much of the University's ansion in the past 20 years - v buildings, laboratories, com- ers, reactors - are direct re- s of the major research com- ment it has made. Vast Commitment Last year, the University receiv- the second largest amount of eral research funds alloted to 7 educational institution. Hw- r, the vast commitment to re- rch which the University has eloped may be seen not only in sheer volume of research ex- iditures, but also in the many cialized research facilities on 'pus and the number of re- rchers involved. .he development of the Univer- 7 as a resear yh-education insti- Lon was spa rked by the emer- icy conditionis of World War II. ams of engineers and scientists e specifically assembled at the iversity, supported by federally nsored war research develop- r1 projects, to help the war ef- recognizingthe connection be- yen research and a progressive demic program, the University >t these research groups togeth- after the war as the federal gov- iment provided continuing sup- 't for space and technology or- ted projects. 'oday working on their own ,nfred grants with suoervision, assisting a faculty member or earcher, one out of nine Uni- 'sity students is involved in re- patterns than wrenched out and placed in a separate institute with other programs with which they have very little in common. It was thought for a while that the insitute could fall back on a program of aid and encouragement for Michigan industry, but there has never been much iq the Uni- versity that could be related dir- ectly to Michigan's economic de- velopment. IST does have a productive In- dustrial Development Division, but there isn't enough there to fill a program on the scale set up for the institute. So the director, Prof. James T. Wilson, is left with a beautiful building and various programs picked up from odd places in the University, none of which really fit together. These include the Biophysics Lab and the Electro-Optical Sci- ences Lab, the only original prod- ucts 'of the attempt to make IST a real science institute. And the Electro-Optical Sciences Lab has in fact proved a tempest in a tea- pot within the IST organization, as Prof. George W. Stroke, its head, almost had a large part of the University's research apparatus in orbit before he was finally shif- ted to the electrical engineering department and settled down with some generous research grants. Great Lakes Research The other part of IST is the Great Lakes Research Division - which existed long before IST and still has a life of its own - and the Willow Run Laboratories. nto The Willow Run Labs were add- or ed on to IST in 1960, in hopes of al- some sort of mutual benefit which hasn't really materialized yet, za- though there are still hopes. Wil- any low Run work is very defense or- the iented and is usually classified. ad- There is a minimum of relation- are ships with either faculty or stu- the dents from the University, most of ose the work being done by profession- sity al researchers. Most programs in the fields of3 science and tech ioiogv are more easily fitted to olW deoartmnntalI and Prof. Ralph Gerard is in neu- rophysiology. Altogether the academic staff with PhD's numbers about 60. Re- search at MHRI delves into every aspect of information systems, biological systems and social sys- tems, from artificial models to hu- man subjects. "Theory," often ex- pressed in some sort of mathema- tical modeling of the essential elements of a real system, is a common word-game theory, com- munications theory of urban growth and others. As with ISR, the excitment generated by the critical mass of researchers working at MHRI has search Lab, the Propulsion Lab spilled over into many departments and the Wind Tunnel Labs. and schools, serving to attract good students and faculty, generate Stu- (The engineering college has a dents for a Democratic Society and penchant for organizing endless teach-ins, and generally to throw- numbers of "labs," of which these ng of sark in grat anyare some of the larger. They arise ing 'off sparks in a great many- as one or two faculty in a particu- directions., a aa + ,,- It was in the engineering college that research at the University first got started back before World War II, and a great deal of the research program is still there. The aerospace department, pre- sides over a comfortable amount of space research sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Sapce Administration and the Air Force. Myriad projects are organi- zed into the Space Physics Re- search Lab, the High Altitude Re- ia~r area gather in considerable re- search support and a graduate stu- dent following. This is combined with lots of specialized equipment, so a shingle over the door soon follows.> Engineering Research Elsewhere in the engineering college there is a lot of research that falls on the line between basic and applied. This has put the engineering faculty into a pos- ition of continually having to de- w I Sprawling Computer Centers Aid Social Scientific Analysis of Human Behavior In the hiring of new faculty, compensation for non-teaching gress that doesn't really fit it "teacher-scholar" orientation is work .Research, however leaves an overall research program maintained throughout the Uni- less time in the classroom. that creates faculty: graduate, s versity. The professor is expected At the same time, tho.gh much try, or other imbalances. to give his prime attention to >f the research money th'tt comes The old departmental orgaini teaching, but in many depart- nto the University is tied into tion is also severely tested in ma ments interest in research activ- graduate work in some way. A pro- ways. Chairmen, drawn from1 ities has been the major prerequis- fessor's research projects often faculty, must become expert ite for advancement. provide a fertile ground for thesis ministrators. Large programs; Currently about 1300 graduate ;rojects among his students. They almost impossible to fit into1 students at the University are in- also provide fairly lucrative work old structure. Faculty tend to 1 volved in research projects in their for both graduate and undergrad- their loyalties to the Univer, field of study. This is seen as a uate students. - first and to their departments s prime reason behind the fact that Of course, research has spawned codtheiremosee mce and an American Council on Education many problems. Once underway Washington or a foundation study last year ranked ten of the -,maller projects become consoli-W University's graduate departments dated into large programs that of- However, superimposing a among the top ten in the county. ten tend to acquire a great deal of million research program has cr There is little doubt among most nomentum. Equipment is pur- ted exciting new possibilities t administrators and faculty mem- .hased, building space is filled, of- may make the administrat bers that the principal beneficiar- m new administrative units problems worth it in the end. E ies of the federal largess are the spring up, in practice if not in or- certainly the disciplined old graduate students and faculty ;anization charts, and personnel partmental system will never themselves. Research money al- are hired. The University may soon the same. lows the faculty to draw high ind itself with an ongoing pro- Interdisciplinary appointme: centers and institutes and sti programs have proliferated,a may have the most tenuous of lationships to any of the depa ments connected with them. The largest and internally m cohesive unit at the University the Medical Center, even thoi in this case the term refers to g graphical arrangement and not administrative organization. Even so, the Medical Venter often more of a cohesive, w structured unit capable of und taking a variety of related ta Si r than are most administrative ur to which the term "center" is plied. Presided over by School of Me cine Dean William Hubbaed, Medical Center operates alm autonomously from the rest of University. Research in the biomed sciences is growing faster than e ~any other field. This fact, coup with the tremendously high l of financial support given to me cine in general in the Uni . .States makes research at the M ical Center exciting, expandi productive and expensive. After the Medical Center the stitute for Science and Technol is the largest University resea unit. Established in the late 19; after the Sputnik spur to edu tion, IST has never really got }. ! off the ground as an organic driving force for research ands N.::.ucation largely because thereC never enough thought given to ictly how it would fit Into University. cE ec Social Research or The Institute for Social Re- - search is probably the most spec- tacularly successful of the inter- $52 disciplinary operations. However, 'ea- this very success must be troubl ;hat ing to administrators because of tive the unlikelihood of duplicating Scientists Explore Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Reactors at Phoenix Project 3ut, elsewhere within the University de- the conditions that have made be the ISR possible. This institute is a product of the nts, labor and genius of Rensis Likert, udy Its director, who founded it in the and early 1950's. ISR was started in re- connection with the burgeoning rt- pseudo-science of survey research. From meager beginnings - the ost University offered Likert and his y is colleagues heat, light and space ugh but no money for operations and y eo- salaries - Likert built the insti- t to tute into one of the greatest social science operations in the world, r is with some outstanding theorists, oll- economists and assorted interdis- er- ciplinary types on the staff. It was sks one of the University's greatest nits bargains. ap- Even more important than ISR's own research has been the stim-P obably wondered Rdi- ulus it has provided to other parts the of the University. The people that ost work there have proved to be a the powerful attraction to draw in new programs in social science fields, iicin along with excellent faculty anxSP in ious to be a part of the "critica SDTO led mass" of talent that- comprises evel ISR. The economics and psycho- di- logy departments have certainly are all about ted benefitted, while the most spectac-ab ed- ular "spin-off" has been the Men- ng, tal Health Research Institute, var- iously identified as a bastion of In- systems theory ard a spawner of At Michigan there are five men's, five women's and one mar- ogy radicalism. rch InnocuousMHRI ried couple's co-ops which house about 240 students; an 50's MHRI's innocuous title masks additional 125 "boarders" take meals only. ca- one of the most exciting and di- ten verse centers of activity at the zed, University. Prof. Anatol Rapoport W 1 OWNS AND RUNS THE CO-OPS? WE DO ed- professes to be in a field called was mathematical biology. Prof. Kon- In each house each member, new or old, shores equal responsibility for all decisions; ex- stantin Scharenberg is in neuro- what to eat, how much to spend, how much to work ... the pathology; Prof. Merrill Flood is The co-op houses are owned by the Inter-Cooperative Council (I.C.C.), a corporation another mathematical biologist, set up and run entirely by the students who live or eat in the houses. WHO MAY JOIN THE CO-OPS? Anyone beyond the freshman year or who is over 21 who agrees to participate in running the co-ops democratically is welcome. Members are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, without racial, religious or political discrimination. There is no pledge or initiation period. ROOK S RV1// WHAT ARE THE LIVING & EATING ARRANGEMENTS? As a roomer, you are provided furnished living quarters as well as social space and eating privileges. As a boarder, you get 20 meals a week. E SMALLEST "Guffing," our traditional between meal snacking, is one of our most cherished privileges. RE IN TOWN Everyone has free access at all times to milk, bread, butter, jam, and leftovers. Other items are charged at cost. Any member may invite guests. There are adequate laundry facilities. Co-ops stay open during vacation periods and in the summer. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? GGEST Each house sets its own budget. Average costs for the past semester have been: Week Semester Room and Board $18.75 $300.00 USED TEXTBOOKS Bord only $12.25 $196.00 New members pay a $20 deposit when they join; it is refunded when they leave. aper, ntebooks, supplies) THE WORK? WE DO All cooking, dishwashing, maintenance and management is done by the members. Any member, new or old, can be elected officer: president, house manager, food purchaser, accountant ... It takes from four to six hours a week per member to run a co-op. The exact work time is decided by house vote. , . 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