University
Research Council
Meeting
Summary
Dr. Rush Miller, Director of
the University Library System, discussed the University’s electronic library
resources. The University possesses more
than 150,000 individual items in its electronic databases and online
resources. This number exceeds the
holdings of almost all of the University’s peer institutions. University investment in and use of
electronic resources also exceeds similar statistics at other
universities. Electronic purchases
account for approximately one quarter of all of the library’s material
purchases.
The library system has
developed programs through which articles and books are delivered directly to
the faculty, students can rent laptop computers (for use in Hillman Library),
and reserves are posted electronically.
The library also has developed real-time, digital reference services;
extensive access to electronic journals; an electronic thesis and dissertation
database; and several electronic archives.
Dr. Miller’s powerpoint
presentation describes the aforementioned programs in greater detail.
BRIDGING THE LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Dr. Jeremy Somers from the
Office of Research, Health Sciences, attended a joint NSF/NIH conference
entitled “Research at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences: Bridging
the Sciences.” In the first breakout
session, meeting participants discussed the need to 1) develop an understanding
of biology as a complex system, 2) use this understanding to develop predictive
methods, and 3) develop new physical approaches to compete the aforementioned
task. In the second breakout session,
meeting participants discussed ways to foster collaboration between the life
and physical sciences in order to address the challenges identified in the
first session.
MISCELLANEOUS
Several other issues were
discussed: