The American building industry has undergone dramatic changes during the past decade. The U.S. building industry is fragmented which has been the barriers to advance the technology development in the building design. To increase the competitiveness of the building industry, an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center would provide a mechanism to accelerate the technology transfer to the commercial practice. Such an effort will provide a research base to develop the technologies needed for the innovations to occur in the building industry. Carnegie Mellon University's Industry/University Research Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics is addressing these needs. The Center program will address components of advanced communications and office technologies in relation to the building performance (acoustic, visual, thermal, spatial, and air quality) problem. The initial research agenda of the Center will address; 1) international building studies, 2) development of an innovative process for building delivery, and 3) development and implementation of a state-of-the-art Electronic Material Technology demonstration building. There are nine company sponsors for the Center committing approximately $450,000. The Principle Investigator/Center Director and his colleagues are internationally recognized experts and have the knowledge and facilities to run this center. This Industry/University Cooperative Research Center is being cost shared and coordinated with Dr. John Scalzi, Program Director, Structures & Building System Programs. The Program Director recommends Carnegie Mellon University be awarded $75,000 for the first year of a five-year continuing award. Near the end of the first year the Program Director will review the progress of the Center on a number of criteria, including the following: 1) the extent to which the university- industry interaction is developing; 2) the extent to which the support base is developing; 3) the extent to which a robust research program is developing. If the review is satisfactory, the Program Director will recommend support for the next period of this continuing award.
