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HEADLINERS

MEASURING INNOVATION:

The innovative design of KU's Multidisciplinary Research Building was mentioned in a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about a company testing a long-standing architectural tenet. Canon Design, which designs state-of-the-art research workplaces, advises clients to build research spaces with abundances of flexible, open spaces. The idea is to foster collaboration among researchers by keeping spaces open. Canon is conducting a three-year study to measure the effectiveness of such buildings, including MRB. The study measures number of grants researchers win, how many studies they publish, their quantity of patented breakthroughs and how they compare to scientists in older, more traditional research buildings.

BEST OF THE BEST:

Arthur Hall, director of the Center for Applied Economics at KU's School of Business, had an opinion piece published in a recent Kansas City Star. Hall was executive director of the Budget Efficiency Savings Teams that studied ways to reduce wasteful government spending in 2003 and 2004. He wrote about Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' recent BEST II effort. "No one questions the economic importance of building and maintaining good roadways and safe bridges. However, it is a mistake to think that every road is a 'good' road from an investment perspective. Taxpayers can 'lose' money by building underused roads just like investors have lost money by building underused buildings or fiber-optic networks," he wrote.

RESEARCH MATTERS

KU architects and their students are designing relief for New Orleans neighborhoodrravaged by Hurricane. Nils Gore, associate professor, and Rob Corser, assistant professor of architecture and urban planning, are working with students to design structures for the city's Ninth Ward, one of the hardest hit areas. Structures have included a tool shed, a shade pavilion, a mobile stage and an outdoor classroom. For more, or to listen to the original broadcast, visit www.researchmatters.ku.edu.