Penn State Smeal Awarded Three Grants From NIST
Penn State Smeal Awarded Three Grants From NIST
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (September 7, 2005)—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded Penn State's Smeal College of Business three research grants totaling more than $400,000. Combined with similar grants the college received in 2003, Smeal will complete research for NIST worth $808,928.
Every research institution that has partnered with NIST was eligible to apply for the 2005 grants. Smeal learned last week that it had won three out of the five available grants.
Each grant comes from the Manufacturing Extension Partnership division of NIST and is earmarked for different projects related to the development of small and medium-sized businesses.
Gerald Susman, Smeal's associate dean for research, says that this second round of grants shows that NIST was very pleased with the quality results it received from the college in 2003.
"We received these grants because we have a quality research organization that is able to respond quickly," Susman says. "Our proven ability to provide quality, valuable research has allowed us to maintain our relationship with NIST."
The first grant sets aside $189,582 for the study of supply chains and OEMs (original equipment manufacturer). The goal of the project is to provide small businesses with the information they need to sustain growth by making their products indispensable to OEMs.
The second research outlay, worth $123,002, funds the study of product-service connections in marketing. Many small to medium-sized companies sustain their revenue by tying ongoing maintenance or other profitable services to their products. The research project will identify ways for other companies to leverage this marketing strategy.
The third grant provides Smeal with $104,912 to study change management. In today's economy, companies with the most success are those that weather change most efficiently. The project will analyze the internal structures, corporate philosophies, and cultures of small manufacturers that have been successful at managing change.
The grants Smeal received from NIST in 2003 were worth $391,432. They also focused on fostering small to medium-sized businesses, which is the mission of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
