From testing NASCAR race cars to launching satellites into space soon, Old Dominion University's College of Engineering and Technology has caught the entrepreneurial spirit and run with it.

While economic development initiatives are usually thought of as the stuff of business and industry, William Swart, dean of the college, is blurring the lines between academia and the outside world.

Not one content to sit inside the ivory tower, Swart is leading the college's economic development charge, backed by eight "enterprise centers," which serve distinct business and industry markets. From the Center for Advanced Ship Repair and Maintenance to the Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel, these centers are helping fulfill the demands of business and industry, which are turning to Old Dominion more and more for resources to assist them with their real-world problems.

COET Inc. is how Swart often refers to the College of Engineering and Technology nowadays. "Few universities in urban areas have close relations with industry," he explained. "Our centers offer resources to help with issues in industry, such as manufacturing problems, maritime concerns and access to space. They bring together the theory of the classroom while dealing with applied-problems research.

"I think of the eight enterprise centers as the Inc. part of the College of Engineering and Technology. While the centers use university faculty and students as resources, we also partner with other institutions. We are customer-oriented to bring together the best possible resources."

Four of the college's centers are profiled below. (For more information about any of the enterprise centers' services, call toll free: 877-861-8665).

When new environmental standards required the shipbuilding industry to remove TBT (tributyltin) in shipyard wastewater, the college's Center for Advanced Ship Repair and Maintenance came to the forefront. CASRM received $4.28 million in funding from Congress, the EPA and the Commonwealth of Virginia to assist Virginia's shipyards in removing TBT in an environmentally safe manner. With this funding, CASRM intends to build a state-of-the-art water treatment pilot plant on a floating barge to remove TBT from shipyard wastewater.

A partnership between Old Dominion and 13 Virginia shipyards aimed at solving environmental problems, CASRM applies technology to improve the productivity and quality of ship maintenance and repair operations. The center concentrates its efforts on developing cost-effective equipment and processes that meet or exceed environmental regulations. In 1997, CASRM developed a machine, called the "Bottom Blaster," which removes paint from ship hulls in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way.

With CASRM focusing on ships and the maritime industry, the university's Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel is concerned with other modes of transport. From race cars to tractor-trailers to aircraft, the wind tunnel is testing some rather dynamic - make that aerodynamic - vehicles.

Located on the Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, the 30-foot by 60-foot wind tunnel is the second largest in the world, and offers a maximum airspeed of 80 miles per hour. An exclusive choice for many NASCAR teams, the wind tunnel is ideal for low-speed testing of large, high-drag and high-blockage models. Its relatively low cost has attracted the likes of Penske and Volvo.

The tunnel was recently adapted for testing large tractor-trailer vehicles and, at the other end of the scale, it has even been used to test Rubbermaid outdoor sheds for wind resistance.

Many industry problems these days are being solved using computer modeling and simulation. Old Dominion's Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, located in Suffolk, is helping a number of companies become more efficient and profitable with its high-tech know-how. The center, established only in 1997, has already attracted dozens of industry, university and government partners. VMASC has collaborated with many companies and governments on simulation-based projects, including port traffic research, a CD-ROM for the City of Portsmouth and a virtual training program to teach employees how to use machinery before the actual equipment arrives at the plant.

VMASC will play a leading role with SACLANT in hosting the first NATO/Modeling and Simulation Conference, Oct. 21-22, which Swart believes will put Hampton Roads on the map in terms of modeling and simulation education and service.

Because of the demand for modeling and simulation professionals, the College of Engineering and Technology began offering a master's program in modeling and simulation last fall, which has met with overwhelming response.

While simulation technology may seem out of this world, the Virginia Space Flight Center will actually take vehicles there - into space, that is. VSFC is gearing up to provide companies access to space with an affordable means of launching their satellites.

Located at the Wallops Island Space Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore, VSFC has just completed the first phase of building a commercial spaceport, and hopes to begin launching vehicles in 2000.

"Virginia's spaceport will offer a low-cost, high-quality means of blasting satellites into orbit," says Old Dominion's Billie Reed, executive director of the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. VSFC is already vying for commercial projects with such companies as VentureStar, Lockheed Martin and Sverdrup Corp.