One year can be a very long time or the blink of an eye. For Professor Galip Ulsoy, it's a good time to look back on his first year as Division Director for the Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems (CMS), Directorate for Engineering, at the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The division is one of six in the Engineering Directorate, with 12 program directors-the doctoral level professional staff-plus six support staff. Ulsoy is in his second year of a two-year appointment with NSF.
The division's responsibility is to invest -- based on a merit review -- funds in basic research, education and innovation in the areas of mechanical systems and the constructed environment. The division's decisions are critical, since the fiscal year 2003 budget was about $65 million, and the current FY budget is about $75 million. It's expected to be about $85 million in FY05.
While his position is generally filled by a "rotator," - individuals who serve for two-year terms - there's no sense of impermanence for those in the job. Ulsoy's responsibilities are much like those of a department chair in academia, he noted.
"I manage the CMS division (strategy, budget, personnel) and am part of the management team for the NSF Engineering Directorate," said Ulsoy. "I also have had the opportunity to provide testimony to congressional staffers for the House Science Committee and to speak at professional society meetings, like those for ASME, ASCE, and ASEE.
"It was an opportune time for me professionally," said Ulsoy. "I had been at U-M for 23 years, and I like being there. This is a nice change of pace on a temporary basis and a chance to learn and grow professionally."
Among the things he's learned is that some people may underestimate the importance and value of the work his division does. NSF is the nation's advocate for investing in research and education in science and engineering. Everything at NSF is aimed at thinking about what is likely to be important for the nation and society in the coming decades, and what investments can be made today to benefit society.
"It's interesting to think strategically on these issues," said Ulsoy, "and to see what past investments have enabled. For example, I discovered this year that Paul Laterbaur, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2003 for contributions to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), was funded by my division in 1980 to develop the first laboratory prototype MRI device. Today MRI machines are not only helping patients all over the world, but are also a multi-billion dollar industry. Similarly, the PADL software developed in the 1970s with NSF funding was the basis for the entire CAD (Computer-Aided Design) industry, again a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide."
Even though Ulsoy is now living in Arlington, Virginia, in walking distance to his NSF office, he still maintains important ties to ME back in Ann Arbor. The NSF arrangement allows him one day per week to work with his four doctoral students. He's also able to travel to Ann Arbor to meet with his students on a periodic basis.
He'll be drawing on his NSF experiences when he returns to ME, planned for Winter Term 2005.
"I am thinking about starting a new course on technology and public policy," said Ulsoy. "I also have many new ideas about curricular reform."
As for a comparison between Ann Arbor and his new neighborhood, not surprisingly, Ulsoy has found benefits in both.
"I do miss Ann Arbor, but the Washington D.C. area is very vibrant and livable. Spring comes about five weeks earlier than it does in Michigan, and as we talk, the cherry blossoms are in bloom right now. And like Ann Arbor, there are a lot of word-class cultural activities, like concerts and theater."