9312547 Bekey This award provides funding for the first year of a three-year continuing award under the "Self-Sufficient Partnership for Research" Program at the University of Southern California's Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Manufacturing and Automation. The Center is composed of two core universities, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, and three affiliated universities, the University of California, Irvine, Arizona State University and California Institute of Technology. The Center was initially supported by a group of companies through a non-profit organization, Institute of Manufacturing and Automation Research. This Institute recently has merged with another, the Computer-Aided Manufacturing International. The name for newly joined organizations is "Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing-International." The Center will be the research component of the new organization. Funding for the first year of a three-year continuing award for an evaluator to study the industry/university interaction occurring in the Center is also provided. Additional funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Office to obtain a non-voting membership in the Center. The Program Manager recommends the University of Southern California be awarded $58,000 for the first year of a three-year continuing award (includes $8,000 for an evaluator). An additional $10,000 is recommended for one year with funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.