Today, Cleveland State University announced that Bill VerDuin has been named as the new Executive Director for the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering or WCSSE. The post was vacated earlier this year by the retirement of the first Executive Director of the center, Frank Nichols. Bill issued the following letter upon the announcement.
From Bill VerDuin:
To my many friends in industry, academia, and government agencies, it is great to be working with you as the new Executive Director of the Wright Center of Sensor Systems Engineering. For me, this is a wonderful opportunity to do what I love, bringing together people and organizations to identify technology‐based opportunities, build teams and initiatives, and make things happen.
WCSSE is at an interesting point in its evolution. A key component of the program, technology development through industry‐run programs, is on track to develop and then commercialize a broad range of sensor systems technologies. We have an impressive roster of participating companies, universities, and Federal agencies. We have the enthusiastic support of Cleveland State University, our parent organization, to take WCSSE to the next level and to do so as soon as possible.
And so we shall! As you might imagine, my immediate to‐do list includes a fair amount of detail regarding the nuts and bolts of managing and growing WCSSE. But my attention, and that of my boss, Rick Steiner, CSU Vice President for Research, and our project Principal Investigator Chuck Alexander, is focused on nailing down the specifics of the WCSSE clean room facility and offices, finalizing designs, permits, and contracts, and breaking ground. Our plan is to build our facility and have the chip packaging and clean room equipment installed and ready for shake down and certification within 6 to 8 months. There is no question that this is a stretch goal. But we are determined to make this happen as soon as humanly possible, with the help of a great team.
What else? Meet with current and prospective industry and agency partners and with faculty to find out how we can work together to grow WSSE. Get in front of audiences to tell the WCSSE story and identify new partnering opportunities. My goal: moving forward to the benefit of everyone involved, and to meet the Third Frontier objectives of growing high‐tech businesses and jobs. Looking forward to talking to you …
Bill VerDuin
216.687.3629
w.verduin@csuohio.edu
