Table of Contents

Research Enterprise at UM-St. Louis
 

Office of Research Administration
The Office of Research Administration (ORA) provides support services to faculty,  graduate students, and staff seeking external grant funds for research, instruction, and service from federal, state, and local government programs, as well as private  foundations.  Several specialized research units report to the Office of Research  Administration.  In addition, the ORA facilitates technology transfer through assisting inventors in filing for patent applications, negotiating licensing agreements, and setting up start-up companies. 

The ORA works together with faculty committees to award and administer internal  research grants, including coordination of the University of Missouri Research Board competition, Research Awards, the Small Grants Funds, the Chancellor's Awards for Research and Creativity, and the Grants Incentive Funds.  The ORA also works through faculty committees to monitor University compliance with various federal and state regulations for research.  http://www.umsl.edu/services/ora/

Center for Emerging Technologies
The Center for Emerging Technologies is a public-private-academic partnership, which includes the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the Missouri Department of Economic Development.  The mission of the Center is to position the St. Louis region as an important center for advanced technology and knowledge-based economic  development.  The Center primarily functions as an incubator for startup companies.   With 90,000 square feet space, it houses fifteen startup companies. Inventions that lead to the establishment of these startups often originate from university research laboratories and faculty and graduate students provide valuable expertise to these enterprises.  In addition, the Center presents educational seminars to help entrepreneurs with legal matters related to patents and licenses, information on venture capital financing, and other business strategies.  http://www.emergingtech.org/

Missouri Enterprise
Missouri Enterprise is a non-profit statewide operation affiliated with the university.  It assists small businesses with industrial, manufacturing, and design engineering projects; it helps in developing strategic business and marketing plans; and in setting up performance evaluation.  Missouri Enterprise specialists advise businesses on all aspects of their operations, from tactical product promotions to complete, company-wide five-year business plans.  Their services assist businesses in improving personnel management, safety, manufacturing efficiency, research funding, communications  services and record-keeping, feasibility studies, and more. http://www.missourienterprise.org/

Public Policy Research Center
PPRC is the focal point for the University's role as a metropolitan institution, committed to meeting the diverse needs of Missouri's largest urban region. The center's professional staff and faculty from a wide variety of disciplines are dedicated to improving public strategies that foster livable communities, the economic well-being of the region's people, and the sustainability of the natural and built environments. In particular, the PPRC focuses it resources on issues related to neighborhood and community development, economic vitality, governance (at the local, county, and regional levels), and land-use and transportation-policy planning.

The center undertakes these tasks by developing partnerships with local, county,  regional and state governments and agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and citizen's groups. It also promotes policy research through faculty fellows.  Drawn from a variety of disciplines such as public policy administration, economics, political science, business, sociology, nursing, education, social work and history, fellows receive PPRC support to undertake and disseminate applied research.  PPRC also serves as a policy laboratory for a number of graduate students participating in research and outreach activities. PPRC is organized around four activity areas: research, community and neighborhood development, metropolitan information and data analysis services, and publications and communication. It also mounts regularly changing photographic exhibits. http://www.umsl.edu/services/pprc/index.htm

Center for Business and Industrial Studies
The Center for Business and Industrial Studies is organized within the College  of Business Administration for studying managerial problems and performing applied  research. The center operates on a not-for-profit basis, helping organizations  nationwide to understand factors affecting their business environments and to enhance their productivity. University faculty, supported by powerful computer systems, statistical databases, and sophisticated software, provide multidisciplinary consultation in a wide variety of business applications. Studies are undertaken in computer systems, operations management, human resources management, planning and business development, facilities location, distribution, marketing, and financial analysis. Organizations contract with the center for studies tailored to their specific needs. For a brochure outlining the center's services, call  (314) 516-5857. http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/business/ncbis/cbis.html

Center for Transportation Studies
This center is an interdisciplinary center, bridging contemporary and historical aspects of transportation.  It brings together scholars from Business, History, Economics, Political Science, English, Art History and others. The Center is pioneering a new program in Supply Chain Management, developing funds for research into the role private sector transportation plays in the provision of public transportation services.   http://www.umsl.edu/depts/cts/

Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and Continuing Education-Outreach to support and enhance economic education in elementary and secondary schools. The center provides in-service programs in economic education to area teachers. Working closely with local school districts, the center serves to improve and evaluate economics curriculum. The center develops and publishes curriculum units for K-12 classrooms.  Entrepreneurship education is another focus for center activities. The center also promotes the goals of entrepreneurship and economic education among business, professional, educational, labor, and other organizations and individuals in the St. Louis community. http://www.umsl.edu/~econed/

International Center for Tropical Ecology
The Center for Tropical Ecology promotes education and research concerning the study of biodiversity, conservation, and sustainable use of tropical ecosystems.  The center was established to centralize the activities of faculty at UM-St. Louis and researchers at the Missouri Botanical Garden who specialize in ecology, evolution, systematics, and conservation biology. A priority is to provide funding for graduate students interested in tropical biology and conservation who are enrolled in the cooperative graduate program between UM-St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Garden. The International Center for Tropical Ecology sponsors multidisciplinary lectures and symposia on biological, political, and cultural issues related to tropical ecosystems. The center also provides funding and assistance to the undergraduate Certificate in Conservation Biology, which focuses on Missouri conservation, and the graduate certificate in Tropical Biology and Conservation.  For further information visit the ICTE Web page: http://icte.umsl.edu.

Center for Molecular Electronics
Molecular electronics lies at the cutting edge of recent developments in the study and application of thin-film materials, the growth of semiconductor device material, the fabrication of electronic sensors and devices, and the development of high-performance polymers. In all these areas, knowledge and control at the atomic or molecular level is essential for state-of-the-art materials and devices. In recognition of the critical importance of research, education, and industry-university cooperation in these areas, the University of Missouri-St. Louis has established the Center for Molecular Electronics. The goals of the center are both research at the forefront of the field of molecular electronics and assistance in development of high-technology products by St. Louis-area corporations.

To encourage cooperation between university and corporate scientists and engineers,  the membership of the center includes physicists, chemists, and engineers from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University, MEMC Electronic Materials, and Monsanto Company. http://newton.umsl.edu/cme.html/

Center for Neurodynamics
This center sponsors basic research on transmission and processing of information by the brain and the sensory nervous system. Research functions are performed largely by faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral research associates, though exceptionally talented and motivated undergraduate students also make valuable research contributions. The center is interdisciplinary, composed of faculty from the departments of Biology and Physics and the School of Optometry. It maintains a program of external associates with whom collaborative research projects are pursued. Current associates are in Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Mass.; and Viatech Imaging Inc., Ivoryton, Conn. The center is host to frequent scientific visitors and maintains an active program of seminars on contemporary problems in neuroscience and in the physics underlying neural  processes. For further information consult the URL http://www.umsl.edu/~neurodyn/

Missouri Research Park
The University of Missouri System Strategic Plan establishes a mission and goal to promote economic growth for the state and provide assistance in manpower training, technology transfer, innovation and research and development through productive partnerships.

The Missouri Research Park is a result of that vision and has been the catalyst for high-tech development along the Hwy. 40/61 corridor in St. Charles County.  Major corporations have followed the trend and are clustering near the Missouri  Research Park. http://www.umtechparks.com/home.html

Center for Trauma Recovery
CTR is a multi-disciplinary center of the University of Missouri-St. Louis whose purpose is to foster research, graduate and undergraduate education, and service in the areas of trauma and victimization.

The Center consists of faculty affiliates from six departments in the University who have research, teaching or service interests in trauma related topics.  These individuals share a common set of goals.  The Center sponsors a colloquium series every semester and offers an undergraduate certificate in Trauma Studies.  The CTR is housed in the Kathy J. Weinman Building which also contains the Weinman Child Advocacy Center that provides services to traumatized children. http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/artscience/psychology/CTRHome.html

 Kathy J. Weinman Children's Advocacy Centre  
The Weinman Children's Advocacy Centre(CAC) is located on the campus of the  University of Missouri-St. Louis. The mission of the Centre is to address the many needs of children and families who are impacted by child sexual abuse.

The Centre provides the investigative and medical component which traditionally has been provided in child advocacy centers throughout the nation and in the greater St. Louis community.  Additionally, the center provides much needed assessment, intervention and prevention services.  Also, outreach, community education, continuing education and educational outreach are undertaken. http://www.umsl.edu/services/casgsl/homepage.htm