Local leaders of the federally funded Virgin Islands
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR)
say scientific research conducted in the U.S. Virgin Islands can be
used to grow the local economy. Organizers of a conference held
Monday on St. Thomas examined ways to develop that kind of growth.
The occasion was the VI-EPSCoR Annual Conference, which took place
Dec. 6 at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef Resort on St. Thomas.
The VI-EPSCoR Annual Conference has been hosted on the St. Thomas
campus of the University of the Virgin Islands since 2005,
supported by the National Science Foundation. The theme of this
year's conference, which was co-sponsored by the UVI Small Business
Development Center, was "Integrating Science and Economic
Development: A Model for Island Ecosystems."
In his welcoming remarks, UVI President Dr. David Hall said one of
the goals of the conference was to find practical applications for
research being carried out by university-based scientists and
students.
The keynote speaker for the Monday conference was Dr. Gilberto
Marquez, director of the Center for Innovation and Technology,
affiliated with Puerto Rico's SBTDC (Small Business and Technology
Development Center).
In his address Dr. Marquez offered a step-by-step method for
helping those who feel their discoveries, systems and inventions
have market potential to package and present them, approach venture
capitalists and investors, protect their intellectual property and
more. A number of Puerto Rico-based researchers have found success
in this way, he said.
The conference also presented ways the Virgin Islands can integrate
science and the economy while focusing on the environment. Much of
the EPSCoR-sponsored research in the territory is marine and
terrestrial in nature.
"In the Virgin Islands the environment is a major driving force to
our economy," said Dr. Richard Nemeth, director of the McLean
Marine Science Center on UVI's St. Thomas campus.
Included in a presentation called "From Ridge to Reef," were
remarks by Dr. Gaboury Benoit, Director of Yale University's
Centers for Coastal and Watershed Systems and Urban Ecology -
School of Environmental Studies. One concern is non-point source
pollution, particularly erosion brought on by modern-day
construction methods.
"Development is important but it has consequences," Dr. Benoit
said. "We're working on ways you can do it so that you can have
sustainable impacts."
A presentation by architect Doug White, founder of the Island Green
Building Association, provided the audience with simple
conservation practices that can save the average home or business
between 25 and 30 percent in energy consumption.
In conjunction with the conference, UVI-SBDC held a mini business
expo featuring entrepreneurs who are already bringing innovation to
the local market. Sean Corsaut, president of Horizon Energy
Systems, spent the day guiding visitors through presentations of
building products and services designed for energy
conservation.
There was also the SunBug, presented by Dr. Nelson Edwards, a
partner in the development of the solar powered vehicle. Edwards
invited visitors to climb behind the wheel of the SunBug, which is
about the size of a golf cart, and zip around the hotel parking
lot. The SunBug can achieve top speeds of 22 mph, he said, and was
recently approved for limited road use in Christiansted and
Frederiksted by the Motor Vehicles Bureau and the Virgin Islands
Police Department.
Approximately 30 EPSCoR programs are scattered across the United
States. EPSCoR's goal is to provide strategic programs and
opportunities for EPSCoR participants that stimulate sustainable
improvements in research and development capacity, allowing them to
become more competitive. The program also seeks to advance science
and engineering capabilities in EPSCoR jurisdictions, promoting
discovery, innovation and knowledge-based prosperity.
EPSCoR also seeks to fortify the teaching of science, technology,
education and math (STEM) and present STEM-based careers as viable
options for future generations.
For additional information please contact VI-EPSCoR Program
Coordinator Nicolas Drayton at (340) 693-1239.
UVI Internet