FROM: Susan G. Harris

SUBJECT: Minutes of the Meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Research on June 7, 2018

The Ad Hoc Committee on Research of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia met, in open session, at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, June 7, 2018, in the Board Room of the Rotunda. Jeffrey C. Walker, Chair, presided.

Present: Frank M. Conner III, L.D. Britt, M.D., Thomas A. DePasquale, Maurice A. Jones, and Margaret F. Riley

Absent: Babur B. Lateef, M.D.

Whittington W. Clement, Elizabeth M. Cranwell, Tammy S. Murphy, James B. Murray Jr., James V. Reyes, and Brendan T. Nigro also were present.

Present as well were Teresa A. Sullivan, Patrick D. Hogan, Thomas C. Katsouleas, Melody S. Bianchetto, Jonathan D. Bowen, Susan G. Harris, Donna P. Henry, Ronald R. Hutchins, W. Thomas Leback, Mark M. Leullen, Melur K. Ramasubramanian, Debra D. Rinker, Colette Sheehy, and Robert M. Tyler.

Mr. Kevin Skadron was the presenter.

Mr. Walker opened the meeting and gave the floor to Mr. Ramasubramanian.

Researcher Perspective

Mr. Ramasubramanian introduced Mr. Kevin Skadron, the Harry Douglas Forsyth Professor and Chair of Computer Science Department in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Mr. Skadron recently received a $27.5 million grant from the Semiconductor Research Corporation, which will be used to establish the Center for Research on Intelligent Storage and Processing in Memory (CRISP). The CRISP team is comprised of 20 faculty at 8 universities. The center’s goal is to breakdown the memory wall that exists in computer systems because of the physical separation of processers and memories. This separation hinders computation speeds. The goal is to embed processing in the data. The resultant increase in speed will allow real-time computing on the streaming of big data with data processed more quickly to support real-time decision-making.

Mr. Skadron said CRISP could be the start of an opportunity for the University to be a leader in software and hardware for microprocessors. Microprocessors are going through a revolution, which is creating a number of unsolved challenges. He said the University is well known for computer architecture and semiconductor devices. No other university has the right mix of expertise to develop integrated solutions. In addition, the University is better at interdisciplinary collaborations. To be a leader will require $6 to $7 million for faculty, facilities, seed projects, and bridge support. The center will prepare a Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) proposal.

The chair suggested the center would be a candidate for donor funding if a SIF proposal is not successful. He also suggested that participating universities consider pursing a larger grant.

Report on Enhancing Research

Mr. Ramasubramanian reviewed the 3 Cavaliers program and the faculty expertise database; both are designed to increase collaboration. The 3 Cavaliers program uses seed funding to quickly test ideas by providing $15,000 to $60,000 for projects where 3 faculty from different departments collaborate on new ideas. The faculty expertise database, which goes live in mid-July, will give faculty access to one page project descriptions and to faculty profile pages, which may be searched by area of research expertise. The project descriptions will list team members and have space for comments. Mr. Ramasubramanian concluded by announcing the appointment of Mr. Dean Evasius as the new Associate VP for Research Development starting August 1^st.

Mr. Murray asked if the structure of the Patent Foundation, which is royalty based, was sufficiently flexible to encourage innovation and suggested that a palette of offerings allowing researchers equity and ownership interests in the transformation of their ideas into commercial products might encourage more research. Mr. Ramasubramanian said having a piece of the development would be a good incentive. There would be a need to address conflict of interest issues, which Stanford University handles by providing faculty with leaves of absence to develop their companies. Mr. Murray asked the chair if the committee could discuss alternative compensation measures. The chair said this topic is on the committee’s list and suggested Mr. Ramasubramanian reach out to alumni with venture capital experience.

The chair adjourned the meeting at 8:55 a.m.

SGH:wtl

These minutes have been posted to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors website: http://bov.virginia.edu/june-6-8-2018-meeting-board