SPOKANE–An Avista executive with a background in engineering and entrepreneurship will devote a year to leading business development for the Applied Sciences Laboratory (ASL), located at Washington State University Spokane. ASL is the applied research component of WSU’s internationally recognized Institute for Shock Physics (ISP).
David Holmes, distribution engineering manager for Avista, will serve as the manager for business development and operations. As a key member of the ASL-ISP management team responsible for development and implementation of strategic initiatives, he will lead business development, operations,and public outreach activities for ASL.
Holmes will work to identify opportunities for external support for significant projects from industry and federal agencies, and will develop relationships with regional business leaders, academic institutions, entrepreneurs, professional service providers, and technology leaders. He will also provide day-to-day management and leadership for ASL operations.
Scott Morris, Avista Corp. president and chief operating officer of Avista Utilities, and president and chief operating officer for Avista Corp., said, “Dave is an outstanding individual and will be a valuedcontributor to the ASL, which is expected to become the centerpiece of a scientific research and development community the likes of which has never beenseen in our part of the country. Once it’s up and running it will mean vitality, new jobs and business growth throughout the Spokane area.”
“Avista is contributing significant resources to this effort because the emergence of a vibrant scientific community in Spokane is essential to diversifying our economic base,” Morris said. “Although we already have a strong medical community and WSU’s health sciences researchers, the addition of applied scientific researchers in the physical sciences will help bring us to a critical mass.”
Yogendra M. Gupta, director of ISP, said, “ASL is the first organization of its kind, not only within WSU, but also in the region. As such, it functions like a start-up company. The manager for business development is a key position, and we are very appreciative of Avista’s strong support in providing us with an entrepreneurial executive who can help us in building strong ties to corporations within and outside theregion.”
Brian Pitcher, chancellor of WSU Spokane, added, “ASL allows WSU to diversify its research portfolio in the Spokane region. Our focus on interdisciplinary approaches, translational research, and support for the regional economy at the Spokane campus makes it the perfect home for ASL. Avista is an important partner for WSU in many of our endeavors, and we thank them for their investment in the success of ASL.”
Holmes received a degree in electrical engineering from Montana State University and a project management certification from WSU. He is a registered professional engineer in both Washingtonand Idaho. Holmes, an Avista employee for more than 21 years, participated in the start up of Avista Advantage and Avista Labs, now ReliOn, and is named on patents for products in both organizations.
“I am pleased to be part of the development of ASL in Spokane,” Holmes said. “Not only will ASL bring and develop scientific resources in the Spokane area, it will serve as a platform to apply technology that will improve our lives through the development of new materials and energy systems.”
During Holmes’ time as a loaned executive, ASL is conducting a search for someone to fill the position on a permanent basis.
Applied Sciences Laboratory
ASL, the applied research component of ISP, is a multidisciplinary, contract research organization that undertakes a broad range of applied research projects for government agencies and corporations, includingthe development of commercial applications. Started in 2004 with supportfrom the Office of Naval Research (ONR), ASL emphasizes multidisciplinary scientific and technical activities that are different from, but build
on, the ongoing scientific activities in ISP.
Based in Spokane, ASL has experimental facilities co-located at WSU campuses in Spokane and Pullman, Wash. It combines the creativity of academic research with the agility and customer focus of private industry.
Innovations and applications involving materials science, optical science, and related technologies will provide the foundation for applied research projects in the areas of national security and alternate energy.
Representative activities underway and envisioned for ASL include the dynamic response of materials, reactive materials, chemical dynamics and catalysis, nanocomposite materials, advanced materials and optical sensors for defense and commercial applications, and computational mechanics.
Further information about ASL may be found at www.asl.wsu.edu.
The Institute for Shock Physics
Nearly 50 years of research innovations and activities in understanding the dynamic response of materials at WSU provide the foundation for the research activities in ASL. A multidisciplinary research organization within the College of Sciences, ISP undertakes a broad range of fundamental scientific activities related to understanding condensed matter response under dynamic and static high pressures.
Atomic-to-continuum level understanding is the pervading theme of research activities that emphasize integration of innovative experiments with theoretical and computational advances.
Multidisciplinary efforts that combine expertise in physics, materials science, chemistry, and mechanical engineering are under way to address several exciting and challenging scientific problems.
In addition to the research faculty within the institute, students and faculty from several departments within the college of sciences and the college of engineering and architecture participate in the Institute’s research projects.
State-of-the-art experimental and computational facilities are available for studying physical and chemical phenomena over a large range of length and time scales. Excellent research interactions are in place with the DOE/NNSA National Laboratories.
Further information about the Institute is available at www.shock.wsu.edu.
