Great ideas sought for WID competition
To chart the direction of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID), the committee and campus leaders charged with formulating the vision for the new interdisciplinary institute have issued a call for research theme proposals from UW–Madison faculty.
The call for proposals was distributed to all faculty today (Aug. 27) by e-mail.
“The research themes competition will generate new ideas that bring together biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology in ways that will have important implications for human health and welfare,” explains WID Interim Director Marsha Mailick Seltzer. “WID can provide the context and resources to support these new ideas and the discoveries they will generate.”
WID is the public half of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, which will also include the private Morgridge Institute for Research (MIR). Both institutes will occupy the $150 million building now under construction in the 1300 block of University Avenue.
The competition, says Seltzer, will culminate in the selection of five research themes, each of which embodies research that will bring together at least two of WID’s three “thrust” areas: nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology. Each theme will ultimately involve a group of four faculty, one a currently tenured UW–Madison faculty member who is the successful author of a theme proposal, and three who will be newly recruited to the UW–Madison campus.
“Of course, we are hoping for an enthusiastic response and, based on the response to our previous programs, we are optimistic,” says Seltzer who, with the help of a broad-based program committee composed of UW–Madison faculty and staff, has been shaping the mission and scientific scope of the institute first proposed by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle in 2004.
“WID will offer new opportunities and resources for intellectual and scientific growth for the UW–Madison,” says Seltzer, who also directs the Waisman Center.
Chancellor John D. Wiley, who will assume the WID interim director’s role Nov. 1, says the theme competition gives faculty a rare opportunity to build an integrated, interdisciplinary research program from the ground up: “We’re not just putting up a building. This competition represents a chance to help set the intellectual tone for the university for decades to come. We think this will be a model program and we’re very excited by what might emerge through the creative powers of our faculty.”
Like many other UW–Madison interdisciplinary centers and institutes, WID will exist under the auspices of the UW–Madison Graduate School and will have programs that engage faculty, staff and students from across campus. “Our goal is for WID to exceed the walls of the building by engaging students and faculty from throughout the campus. Other research centers and institutes on the UW–Madison campus have members and affiliates who are located in diverse departments and centers. There is every reason for WID to cast a broad net. This is in the tradition of interdisciplinary programs of the UW–Madison,” says Seltzer.
Seltzer’s comments were echoed by Graduate School Dean Martin Cadwallader: “Just as existing centers and institutes reach beyond their individual programs, WID’s influence is going to be felt in nearly every corner of the campus. We’re excited because the programs developed by our faculty are going to be influential beyond the scope of the WID building itself.”
The WID theme competition, according to Seltzer, begins with a call for pre-proposals, due Monday, Nov. 3, and will culminate with the selection of the five successful full theme proposals by September 2009. Full proposals, due Wednesday, April 1, will be reviewed by a faculty committee and as many as 10 proposals will be recommended to the UW–Madison chancellor, provost, Graduate School dean and WID director, who will collectively select the final five WID themes.
The five faculty members who are successful in their theme WID proposals will be expected to move to the new WID facility when it is completed in 2010. Each will be asked to chair a search committee for the three new faculty members who will comprise their respective research themes.
Faculty interested in proposing for the WID theme competition are encouraged to attend one of three informational sessions where questions can be answered and more details provided. The sessions are scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8, from 1–2 p.m. at the Memorial Union (check TITU); Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 1–2 p.m. in 1610 Engineering Hall; and Friday, Sept. 12, from noon–1 p.m. in the John D. Wiley Conference Center (Room T216) at the Waisman Center.
WID theme competition timeline
- Aug. 27: Announcement of WID theme competition
- Nov. 3: Pre-proposals due
- Feb. 2: Themes selected for full proposals announced
- April 1: WID theme full proposals due
- April 15–June 1: Faculty committee review of full proposals
- September 2009: Five WID themes selected
- October 2009: Five faculty search committees appointed
- End of 2010: Faculty move into the WID building
Information sessions
- Sept. 8, 1–2 p.m., Memorial Union (check Today in the Union)
- Sept. 10, 1–2 p.m., 1610 Engineering Hall
- Sept. 12, noon–1 p.m. John D. Wiley Conference Center (T216), Waisman Center
