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Spring 2002
Kansas has high hopes in 21st century
By Jeanette Steinert
Kansans have always looked to the future.
Adopted in 1861, our state seal’s glowing vistas envision agriculture, commerce and wealth. With feet firmly planted on Kansas soil at the brink of the Civil War, U.S. Senator John Ingalls proposed our inspiring state motto, “Ad Astra per aspera,” or “To the stars through difficulties.” Assuredly, he looked upward for Divine guidance and toward dreams of prosperity and peace for our new state.
The 20th century brought new, even literal facets to the motto. Flight began in Kansas in 1910, birthing a new industry. Clyde Tombaugh discover Pluto in 1930. Astronauts Ron Evans, Apollo 17; Joe Engle, Space Shuttle Columbia STS 2; also Steve Hawley, who deployed the Hubble Space Telescope from the Space Shuttle Discovery--all blasted Kansans into a new frontier.
Technology is the new frontier of the 21st century, with society and economy revolving increasingly around it. The 2001 Kansas legislature passed the KAN-ED network bill, authorizing a high-speed internet connection to link schools, libraries and hospitals statewide for long-distance learning. In January, Kansas tied with Illinois for first place as a leader in information technology in a report issued by the national Progress and Freedom Federation and the Center for Digital Government.
Our state, long recognizing the importance of emerging technology in economic development, established the non-profit Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC) in 1987, its mission “to create and grow Kansas enterprises through technological innovation.” KTEC works in research, investment and business assistance areas, ably overseen by administrators such as Kevin Carr, VP of Investment and Commercialization.
In the research field, KTEC has designated five Kansas Centers of Excellence, each dealing with an important area of Kansas technology. These centers and their administrators are:
- Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI), Kansas State University
Brad Kramer
785-532-6329
ami@ksu.edu
- Higuchi Biosciences Center (HBC), University of Kansas
Charles Decedue
785-864-5183
decedue@ku.edu
- Information and Telecommunication Technology Center (ITTC), University of Kansas
Tim Johnson
785-864-4896
johnson@ittc.ukans.edu
- Kansas Polymer Research Center (KPRC), Pittsburg State University
Phil Halstead
620-235-9435
jhalstead@pittstate.edu
- National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), Wichita State University
Gerald Loper
316-978-6427
gerald.loper@wichita.edu
KTEC also participates in the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), matching federal dollars in six areas to boost research in Kansas and provides direct investment to companies statewide for applied engineering or scientific research.
Kansas has three research colleges. Kansas State University, Manhattan, received total research awards of $84 million in fiscal year 2001.
At the University of Kansas, Lawrence, for fiscal year 2001, $156.5 million was funded in the science, engineering, research and development areas alone.
Wichita State University’s fiscal year 2001 awards for research, training and service reached $25.6 million, up 20 percent from 2000. Research projects in science, engineering and mathematics accounted for 44 percent of ‘01 grant/contract funding.
Other regents colleges which participate in research are Emporia State, Pittsburg State, and Fort Hays State universities.
This newsletter has a vision of Kansas on the forefront of high-tech and space research and education--a Kansas known nationally and internationally as the “Ad Astra” state.