URI_Research_Magazine_2011-2012_Melissa-McCarthy

mark higgins

viability of long-term structures, and is an increasing economic cost factor,” notes Brown who holds patents with Yang for the double-strand polymers. The potential uses by industry of this type of corrosion control include the coating of aluminum and steel used by the auto industry and aluminum alloys used to build planes and other aircraft. In addition, it can be used to coat the metal bars that reinforce concrete bridges and highways. The polymers have also been proven to prevent the buildup of electrostatic charges that can interrupt work in surgical wards and the so-called clean rooms where computer chips are made. Brown earned his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in England, where he is originally from. He came to URI in 1981, and recently, in addition to coatings to prevent corrosion, he is working with Arijit Bose, a professor of chemical engineering at URI, to investigate the potential corrosion resistant properties of self-healing concrete using nanotechnology to stop corrosion damage. He is engaged in fuel cell research as well. Currently, his fuel cell work involves using methanol instead of hydrogen, and reducing the amount of platinum, he said. Brown said he finds the subject of corrosion interesting because it involves both theoretical and fundamental research and can have numerous, practical applications. In July 2011, a joint URI/NUWC sympo- sium about the latest in corrosion research was organized by Brown and held at the URI Bay Campus. It was the third in the series. The event attracted experts from government agencies, academia and indus- try. His big ideas are making a big impact for those in the Ocean State who use the sea for business or recreation. “The interest in corrosion control is growing because it affects the viability of long-term structures, and is an increasing economic cost factor.”

The Business of The Port of Providence The Port of Providence, one of only two deepwater ports in New England, is one of Rhode Island’s most underdeveloped economic assets, says Mark Higgins, dean of the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) College of Business Administration. Frequently consulted by policymakers about how to improve Rhode Island’s economy, Higgins said that other coastal cities, such as Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, have created vibrant commercial ports without driving away tourists, and Providence can too. Careful, long-term planning is needed to balance the imperatives of business with the need to protect the sensitive ecology of upper Narragansett Bay. “We have a great port in Providence,” said Higgins. Located at the mouth of the Providence River, just south of the city’s downtown, the port covers more than 100 acres and is home to about a dozen businesses. City and state officials want to expand its operation and in 2010, won a $10.5 million federal grant to help do that. The grant will be used to purchase two large cranes, enabling the port to offload cargo ships. But issues such as how to protect the famed beauty of upper Narragansett Bay, while encouraging industrial waterfront development, continue to be debated. According to Higgins, it remains to be seen what the Port of Providence will look like in the future. URI’s College of Business Administration has assisted the state before in researching port issues. Notably, associate professor Douglas Hales recently led a research team that looked at the potential impacts, both environmental and economic, of developing wind energy businesses at the Davisville Port at Quonset Point. This research helped the state win a $22.3 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to upgrade the infrastructure at Quonset to support wind businesses. If, in fact, the state realizes the development of offshore wind farms in the years ahead, as it hopes, most of the remaining space at Quonset will be taken up by wind-related businesses, Higgins noted. This is, on its face, a good thing. But as a result, the potential for future development will necessarily shift to the Port of Providence, and policymakers need to be prepared. “The problem with Rhode Island is it’s very much ‘Not in my back yard,’” Higgins said. “We want the jobs but we don’t want what comes with them.” Beauty alone cannot sustain an economy, says Higgins, who in addition to serving as dean of the College of Business Administration holds the Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro, Inc., Leadership Chair in Business at URI. Rhode Island has to continue to work on other issues that are important to business, he said. To that end, Higgins recently served on an advisory body that solicited ideas about reforming the state’s pension system. He also helped craft significant changes to the state’s income tax structure, which the state’s General Assembly passed in 2010. As Rhode Island’s “flagship university,” URI stands ready to work on issues that affect all Rhode Islanders, Higgins said. The big ideas coming out of URI will change Rhode Islanders’ lives for the better.