Dorin Schumacher, president of The Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research Inc. (CPBR), views her organization as a unique model that fosters interaction among university, industry, and federal laboratories. Founded in Illinois in 1985, the consortium, which has members from across the United States, seeks to strengthen the nation's competitive position in the global biotechnology market by promoting cooperative research and development efforts among the three sectors.
Schumacher believes that academe stands to profit from working relationships with business by keeping abreast of "real world" situations, and gaining support for teaching and research. Concurrently, business benefits from academe in employee recruitment, education, and retraining, as well as research assistance leading to fundamental discoveries--and applying those discoveries to current problems. In using the expertise and facilities of federal laboratories, academe and busines can also take advantage of developing technologies.
Schumacher attributes the success of CPBR to its rigorous, highly competitive project selection ...
