ODU Joins Elite Group of U.S. Universities in Research Center
July 20, 2018
Old Dominion University has been invited to join the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), one of only 13 University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) in the country.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) established UARCs to encourage collaboration among 30 participating universities and to provide funding opportunities for research.
The SERC is a partnership of 25 U.S. universities, including Johns Hopkins, Virginia Tech, Penn State and MIT.
Membership in the SERC will provide ODU more opportunities for federal funding and projects, according to Morris Foster, vice president for research.
"Participation in SERC lets ODU accept contracts as a sole source from the DoD and other federal agencies," Foster said. "Only 30 other universities have access to that kind of contract vehicle."
Eric Weisel, executive director of the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC) at ODU, says the focus of the SERC - systems engineering - closely aligns with ODU's strengths.
"We'll be collaborating with colleges across campus and with faculty in research areas that support the SERC mission," Weisel said. "Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary study of complex systems, and ODU excels in engineering management, systems science, modeling and simulation, data analytics, and cybersecurity."
VMASC will serve as the executive agent for ODU's SERC contracts.
