Virginia Tech is employing a unique model of distributed research that marries university expertise with regional assets. Faculty helped initiate this model as they saw opportunities to enhance their research by linking their activities to assets in Southside. Distributed research also provides faculty members the ability to play a vital role in the revitalization of an economically depressed region; as faculty of a land grant university, Virginia Tech professors view public service as a core responsibility.

A perfect example of this partnership is the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research, or VIPER. Mehdi Ahmadian, professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, is the program director. Ahmadian’s research expertise lies in vehicle dynamics; he also serves as the director of the Advanced Vehicle Dynamics Lab at VT. By locating the VIPER program in Southside rather than on campus in Blacksburg, Ahmadian and his team have access to a world-class track, Virginia International Raceway (VIR). VIR provides VIPER with a home that offers a testing environment that simply could not feasibly be recreated on campus. By merging a regional asset with research faculty, unique spheres of knowledge and service will be created to bring about economic development and revitalization throughout Southside.

In June, IALR officially opened the research labs found within the main facility, located in the burgeoning Cyber Park. The Research Wing features sparkling new lab space for all of IALR’s research centers. “While we have certainly had our share of challenges, the fact that we were able to design and outfit the lab around our needs is an ideal situation from a research standpoint,” said Jerzy Nowak, ISRR co-director and professor and head of the horticulture department at VT. “The ISRR lab is equipped to make great strides in the agriculture community that will help introduce new crops into the landscape, helping to bring diversity and new economic opportunities to Southside’s agriculturists.”

New research and commercial opportunities are on the horizon as well. The construction process on an additional IALR research facility has begun in the Cyber Park. This 35,000 square foot structure will focus specifically on private research endeavors. As opportunities grow out of breakthroughs made at IALR research and service centers, laboratory space in the new facility will be available to cultivate these new ideas into small businesses. Existing companies may also choose to locate within the Cyber Park research facility to benefit from the proximity to Virginia Tech and IALR researchers.

For economic transformation to occur, a climate that caters to new high tech industries must exist within the region. The presence of IALR with its research efforts makes this possible, along with the Southside region’s growing commitment to encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation. The IALR serves as a means to attract firms, but more importantly, IALR is a pipeline for the creation of new firms. The future growth of Southside centers on the development of new companies, in turn creating wealth and new job opportunities.

In the coming weeks, IALR will announce the hiring of several new research faculty members. “These faculty are all-stars in their respective research fields and make outstanding hires for IALR,” said Timothy Franklin, executive director of IALR. “The intellectual community continues to grow in Southside. With it comes the capacity to innovate and a brighter economic future.”