The introduction this Wednesday of two acclaimed researchers as the newest Arkansas Research Alliance Scholars may go unnoticed by many Arkansans. After all, the ARA Scholars program enters its second year operating mostly under the public radar.
But it’s very much on the forefront of the state’s big-picture economic development plans.
The program annually recruits two scientists who bring with them not only research and expertise in areas identified as the state’s strategic focus areas, but the promise of commercialization.
The state is counting on ARA Scholars to enhance the work already being done at its research universities and, potentially, to spawn startups and high-paying jobs.
Business leaders think the program will. ARA’s board is filled with 15 of the state’s more prominent ones, in addition to the leaders of the state’s five research universities – the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock; the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro (see sidebar).
ARA’s primary mission is to support job-creating research, and the scholars program helps supply that research. Created in 2007 by funding through the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority, ARA was born of Accelerate Arkansas, a private, volunteer network of state business leaders focused on promoting knowledge-based job growth.
Once ARA’s target scholars have been identified and vetted, ARA President and CEO Jerry Adams gets involved, making the equivalent of an in-home visit by a college football coach on the recruiting trail. Adams’ two latest recruits will be introduced on Wednesday in Gov. Mike Beebe’s conference room, and he promises "big hitters" in their fields.
"The program was very successful last year with the first two scholars," Adams said. "It’s really an ongoing story. Hopefully, these will continue to be very clear, positive steps."
‘Upstream’ From Job Creation
Adams is quick to point out that economic development initiatives like ARA Scholars are "upstream" from the creation of the kind of technology-based, high-paying jobs the state hopes to attract. But they’re necessary ingredients as well.
"How far upstream? This can create some major economic ripples that hopefully will create some level of job creation," Adams said. "This is part of the overall puzzle."
Last year, Ranil Wickramasinghe and Daohong Zhou became the program’s inaugural scholars. Their research in the fields of bioenergy and stem cells has set a high bar for future program participants, Adams said.
Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan by birth, was recruited to the UA’s Fayetteville campus from Colorado State University and is considered an authority in the fields of sustainable bioenergy and purification of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products.
He received his education at the University of Melbourne in Australia and the University of Minnesota, and he serves in the Department of Chemical Engineering in the UA College of Engineering.
Zhou, born and educated in China with postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, is an expert in the fields of stem cell and cancer research. He was recruited from the Medical University of South Carolina, and works with the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Institute and the UAMS College of Pharmacy. His research has led to a developing collaboration between UAMS and scientists at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan.
Zhou (pronounced Joe) said several things attracted him to Arkansas, among them its potential for research growth.
"Our state is one of three or four in the country with a budget surplus," he said. "That’s really a big advantage for research and education. Gov. Beebe is very supportive of UAMS and higher education. That provides a huge resource and potential for future growth.
"I was really amazed at the resources and facilities at UAMS. In our field, we have one of the strongest research programs in the country, and it’s still growing."
Each scholar works with a three-year, $500,000 grant. Adams believes the scholars’ work will help attract more federal research money to the state. These days, Arkansas gets roughly $1 for every $5,000 spent for federal research and development.
A 2009 Battelle study commissioned by ARA revealed that while university research funding in Arkansas had increased by 70 percent from 2001 to 2007 (growing from $141 million to $240 million), it accounted for just 0.25 percent of the state’s economy in 2007. Nationally, university research made up 0.36 percent of total economic output.
"I think ARA Scholars is a valuable program that could have a significant long-term impact on Arkansas," said Calvin Goforth, a former UA researcher and president of Fayetteville’s Virtual Incubation Co. and early-stage startup SFC Fluidics. "Bringing top scholars into our state’s universities will help us get a larger slice of federal research and development expenditures. It could be an economic driver for Arkansas, in addition to strengthening our universities."
Goforth said the state has seen progress in recent years but continues to play catch-up on the research front. The presence of the ARA scholars and their cutting-edge research is expected to help. Coupled with an agreement Beebe recently signed with the federal Food & Drug Administration that creates nanotoxin research collaboration between the state and the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, the state appears to be on its way.
See also: Scholars Program Copies Georgia Model
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