Frequently Asked Questions by Industrial Collaborations

You are in industry, and you would like to explore possible interactions with us. How should you go about this? We suggest that you go through the following short checklist that will help you decide whether it makes sense to contact us.

1. Are you looking for help on an issue that is related to microstructure? Texture? Characterization? Microstructural Evolution? Orientation Imaging Microscopy? Atomic Force Microscopy? Computer Simulation of Grain Growth/Recrystallization? If one of these key phrases matches your interest in some way, then there is a good chance that we can help.
2. Have you looked at the home pages for the faculty involved in the MRSEC? There is a list of the faculty and each of us maintains a home page. Often we do not keep it up to date as well as we should, but it does give you an idea of what we are interested in. If either of these general questions produces a positive answer, then the next step is to figure out who to contact. If you know a particular faculty member, then go ahead and call him or her, or send them an email. If you don?t know anyone, please contact me at 412 268 3177, or rollett@andrew.cmu.edu, and I will be delighted to discuss your needs with you.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The answer to this question is that it all depends on the scope of the question to be answered. We might be able to give you some quick guidance for no cost. At the other end of the scale, you might have a question that deserves some careful investigation for which supporting a graduate student while he or she pursues a (typical) 4 year doctoral thesis research. Without quoting specific amounts, this requires funds for both the student?s tuition, stipend and faculty oversight. It is important to understand that university research makes sense when there is an issue that we can uniquely help you with. We cannot function as a contract research laboratory because our primary mission is education of the future workforce. Many productive collaborations between the MIMP and industry begin with either some faculty consulting or a short undergraduate project. These can then grow into larger projects depending on how the interaction evolves.

WHAT ABOUT DELIVERABLES?

The deliverables from the program are entirely a matter for negotiation between your company and the MIMP. In general it makes sense to keep deliverables at as high a level as possible. The work will largely be carried out by students who are still learning how to schedule research.

WHAT ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY?

The university has an industrial relations office whose main purpose is to facilitate interactions with industry. The staff have extensive experience with negotiation of contracts and agreements that define IP issues and all other contractual matters. In general, the university seeks to protect the long term interests of the faculty and the university while arranging for reasonable protection of IP so that the company can derive benefit from the interaction.