Gov. McGreevey, Dr. Raveche, officials in Northern Ireland join together.

Today (July 17, 2002), Dr. Harold J. Raveche, President of Stevens Institute of Technology; the Hon. James E. McGreevey, Governor of New Jersey; and officials from Northern Ireland's government and top universities announced a major collaborative agreement. The agreement, announced at noon today at the Stormont Parliament Building, Belfast, Northern Ireland, is designed to strengthen academic, business and cultural interactions between New Jersey and Northern Ireland.

On hand for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding were: Stevens' President Raveche; Gov. McGreevey; Mr. Michael McGimpsey, Northern Ireland's Minster of Culture, Art and Leisure; Dr. Trevor Newsom, Director of Research and Regional Sciences at Queens University; and Dr. Hilary Robinson, who was recently named Head of the School of Art and Design, The University of Ulster.

"This agreement encompasses three primary areas of mutual interest to New Jersey, Northern Ireland and the academic, business and cultural life we share," said Dr. Raveche. "These three areas include Frontier Technologies, our term for a variety of joint research and development commercialization initiatives; Business and Economic Development; and Faculty and Student Programs."

In the area of Frontier Technologies, Stevens Institute of Technology will collaborate and partner with Queens University and The University of Ulster in six major areas: nano technology (solid state devices and nano biology), environmental remediation (water management and purification), software engineering (information security, pattern recognition and surveillance), maritime systems (port security and preservation), micro chemical engineering (miniature power and chemical plants), and multimedia technology (performing arts and computer technologies). Stevens excels in these areas of expertise and will share its knowledge.

To enhance business and economic development, the partners will create a Center for Industrial and Creative Development. This center will link corporations and industries to technology-based opportunities in Northern Ireland and New Jersey. There will be locations in Belfast, N. Ireland, and Hoboken, N.J.

In addition, the collaborative partnership allows for doctoral research educational programs in multimedia technology, environmental engineering and wireless security. It also paves the way for collaborative master's degree programs using distance learning and the Internet. Faculty exchange programs in teaching and research will be established, and scholarships for undergraduate students will be identified.

Stevens also has collaborative agreements and educational partnerships in other parts of the world, including at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in Shanghai, People's Republic of China; and at the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management (IIITM), located in Gwalior, India, among others.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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