In order to ensure that the U.S. Army continues to have world-class laboratories, in 1993 the Army Research Laboratory established the Technical Assessment Board.

Last month UI Vice President for Research and Economic Development Daniel Reed was named chair of the Panel on Computational Sciences at the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board.

Made up of independent experts in the field selected by the National Academics of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Technical Assessment Board provides unbiased feedback biennially on the scientific and technical quality of the Army Research Laboratory.

While industry and academia develop a portion of the research used by the U.S. Army, a good portion of research is performed at Department of Defense facilities. The panel on Computational Sciences will assess, among other things, how the scientific quality of the U.S. Army’s research compares to leading industry and academic labs, if the equipment is state-of-the-art, and if there are any new developments in the field that haven’t been incorporated into the Army’s research portfolio.

Since 1959, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has performed assessments of the scientific and technical research and development programs at federal laboratories. Assessments are performed in consultation and in cooperation with agency sponsors and are tailored to address the missions, goals, and needs of the given agency. The National Academies forms and supports the committees of pro bono experts who volunteer to perform the peer review assessments in a collegial spirit. The assessments are conducted under the auspices of the National Academies Laboratory Assessments Board, which operates within the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development provides resources and support to researchers and scholars at the University of Iowa and to businesses across Iowa with the goal of forging new frontiers of discovery and innovation and promoting a culture of creativity that benefits the campus, the state, and the world. More at http://research.uiowa.edu, and on Twitter: @DaretoDiscover.