The overriding KT objective is to sustain theoretical and experimental frameworks for the broad interfaces and application domains of TA. This integration will encourage breakthroughs with positive societal impacts by ingraining input from NewFoS stakeholders, including industry, small businesses, community leaders, policymakers, education-thought leaders, and society.
The three major Knowledge Transfer (KT) objectives of the center are:
(a) KT between members to robustly integrate our research and education among all team members.
(2) KT with industry to rapidly translate our scientific breakthroughs into new technologies.
(3) KT with policymakers, community leaders, and society to effectively inform the widest possible audiences and societal needs.
Execution Strategy
The KT director, Dr. Keith Runge, and KT research scientist, Dr. Araceli Hernández Granados, form the KT team. The KT team will conduct and guide knowledge transfer i) between members of the NewFoS center, ii) between the center and industry partners, and iii) between the center and policymakers, community leaders, and society.
KT between NewFoS members is organized around the center’s research plan pillars: i) unknown aspects of TA, ii) problem-driven projects, and iii) possibility-driven projects and the education and broadening participation strategy. While working at the University of Arizona, the KT team facilitates communication among members by participating in regular research and education meetings and making visits (at least annually) to the other NewFoS university sites.
KT between Members
The KT team will be attending and contributing to regular in-person and virtual meetings organized around the research plan pillars of the center. The meetings will be held on a regular, e.g., weekly or biweekly, and as need basis to facilitate exchanges of information regarding progress among the center’s research pillars and the center educational activities, as well as an integrated strategy for planning next steps. In addition to these regular meetings hosted at the University of Arizona, the KT team will make regular visits, at least annually, to the other university sites which are included in the NewFoS team.
All participating institutions are parties to the NewFoS IP Management (IPM) agreement which enables open, productive discussions and collaborations. IP training will be provided to all members of NewFoS including undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, faculty, and staff by experts in the field. Annual refresher trainings will keep the members of NewFoS up to date on their responsibilities and opportunities in the development and deployment of IP generated by the center.
Work sponsors in the NewFoS Multiscale Panspectral Acoustic Testing Shared (MPATS) facilities can be at different partner institutions.
Data Management: NewFoS generated data will be managed using FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data principles, which will set the standard for the general TA community.
KT with Industry Partners
Level 1 will engage companies through attendance at the annual Stakeholder meeting which will begin in Year 2.
Level 2 will involve two-way personnel exchanges, e.g., student internships and temporary company-personnel embeds in the Center.
Level 3 will open access to company equipment and/or facilities otherwise unavailable to academic institutions. Finally, Level 4 will fund satellite projects of interest to a company that build on the Center’s expertise.
NewFoS will host annual Stakeholder meeting in which undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doc will present the latest developments in TA science to representatives of NewFoS industry partners. Presentations will take the form of elevator pitches, scientific talks, and/or poster sessions. The poster session will include ‘lightning talks’ to help the presenters focus on the novelty and importance of their research advances. Representatives of industry partners will coach NewFoS students and post-docs on resume preparation, interview skills, and the conduct of research and technological development in the industrial setting.
Recognizing a two-way exchange of personnel is effective for KT between academia and industry, we will establish a Faculty Fellow program for NewFoS personnel to conduct R&D at industry partners. We will also encourage industry researchers to embed in the STC environment to germinate ideas and enhance innovation, e.g., visiting researcher summer internships at NewFoS funded by the companies.
NewFoS facilities are state-of-the-art, however, the capabilities of some industrial partners will provide unique opportunities for novel research. Two examples of the use of facilities from NewFoS partners include the use of a specialized laser-drilling machine at AdValue Photonics, Inc. and the loan of 40 seismometers from the Earthscope Consortium for deployment at the Murphy Dome location.
Satellite projects: NewFoS industry partners will fund satellite projects of interest to a company that build on the Center’s expertise.
KT with Policymakers, Community Leaders, and Society
Policymakers will be contacted, at least annually, by letter from the KT team, transmitted electronically, to inform them of the progress and capabilities being made by the NewFoS. The communications will include an invitation for briefing these policymakers or their designees on the science, technology, and education issues that TA is uniquely positioned to address.
The KT team, with support from other NewFoS members, as appropriate, will brief policymakers or their designees on TA and the potential impacts and legacies of the center upon request. These briefing will take place, either in the NewFoS home in the GCRB or at a site suggested by the policymaker.
As invited, members of the NewFoS team will give presentations to community groups, e.g., the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Tucson Metro Chamber, to raise awareness of the promise of TA and its associated technology for economic and social development.
NewFoS will also engage the International Phononics Society (IPS). With members from all continents, IPS and its biannual international conference are venues for NewFoS outreach. Indeed, as one of the three founding members of IPS, NewFoS Director Deymier will engage the IPS board members in TA-related outreach activities to raises awareness in DEI-conscious practices that relate sound to all areas of life.
NewFoS’ will lead events centered around the annual UNESCO Week of Sound, which UNESCO’s 39th session proclaimed for January each year. These events will be conducted on the University of Arizona campus including public spaces near NewFoS home in the GCRB.
