Arkansas research matters

The story came out of Fayetteville last month, and it was exciting. A group of University of Arkansas engineering professors led by Alan Mantooth received a $17.87 million grant from the National Science Foundation to operate a national silicon carbide research and fabrication facility.

“The national impact of having a fabrication facility such as this is enormous,” Mantooth said. “The country that leads the world in advancing silicon carbide semiconductor design and fabrication will also lead the race to market nearly all new game-changing technologies, including those used by the military as well as general electronic devices that are essential to our economy.”

The UA facility will be the only one of its kind available to external researchers. In addition to paying for infrastructure, equipment, technology installation and enhancements to existing facilities, the money will cover three full-time staff members and a post-doctoral researcher for four years.

The facility initially will be in the Engineering Research Center at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in south Fayetteville.

In three years, Mantooth plans to move into a 15,000-square-foot building that will include 10,000 square feet that will be cleaner than a hospital operating room. The good news in Fayetteville has me thinking of Jerry Adams and the Arkansas Research Alliance, the subject of last Saturday’s column. That’s because Mantooth is a 2015 ARA fellow.

In 2010, ARA began its signature program, the ARA Scholars. The initiative is designed to recruit research talent from outside Arkansas and provides a three-year $500,000 grant to each scholar.

In 2014, the ARA Fellows program was initiated to complement the ARA Scholars and recognize existing research talent in the state with a threeyear $75,000 grant.

Researchers from both groups comprise the ARA Academy of Scholars and Fellows. The academy has an annual meeting to enhance collaboration and explore additional research opportunities. It’s the fulfillment of the dream Adams had when he founded ARA in 2008.

Modeled after the Georgia Research Alliance, ARA assembled a board of trustees that represents many of the state’s prominent companies. Also included are chancellors of the state’s five research universities — the University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas State University and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

“We created a close alliance with the private sector, academia and various state and federal government organizations,” Adams says. “Since our founding, the purpose of ARA has expanded and evolved. We brought into the fold the National Center for Toxicological Research [NCTR], the only Food and Drug Administration center located outside Washington.

The relationship with NCTR is invaluable to researchers across the state seeking knowledge and resources.”

In August, the acting FDA commissioner and Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a five-year renewal of the memorandum of understanding between NCTR and ARA. The signing took place during events celebrating NCTR’s 50th anniversary. The agreement was first signed in 2011.

That agreement “continues a long, fruitful relationship that will yield even more life-changing research by worldclass scientists,” Hutchinson says.

Hopefully the person elected governor in 2022 will commit additional state resources to enhancing the work done by ARA. Research matters, and it will play a role in improving the per capita income of Arkansans.

“Neil deGrasse Tyson, a noted astrophysicist and ambassador for science, once said that ‘science literacy is the artery through which the solutions of tomorrow’s problems flow,’” Adams says. “His words are confirmed here in Arkansas, where research facilities are working to solve many of the world’s pressing challenges. The breadth and scope of the science is impressive.

“Research in Arkansas is detecting and fighting disease, strengthening food crops and developing next-generation materials that bend the laws of physics. Through science, Arkansas is becoming a leader in virtual reality, bioinformatics, drug discovery, power electronics and agricultural science. The future is without limit.”

Adams took on ARA at age 65 following a 34-year career at Acxiom Corp. Five years ago, Bryan Barnhouse joined ARA as vice president. Barnhouse later became chief operating officer and now has taken the chief executive officer role from Adams.

Prior to joining ARA, Barnhouse oversaw industrial recruitment, workforce development and site location marketing for the Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County. Before that, Barnhouse handled foreign direct investment recruitment for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. He previously worked in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Barnhouse holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California. Adams believes he will take ARA to the next level.

“Not only do we connect researchers with like-minded academics, we link science to the state’s economic growth by attracting and retaining valuable minds in Arkansas,” Adams says. “Circling back to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s words, ARA is a vital artery through which Arkansas’ solutions flow.

“The progress of ARA is progress for Arkansas. Since 2008, we’ve come together in understanding that to advance research is to advance our state. Our mission is far from over. We’ve only scratched the surface of what can be achieved.”