Collegiate Times

With port safety and security only recently slipping from national news headlines, the Virginia Port Authority paid Virginia Tech a visit last month in order to assess the viability of various technologies in port safety and efficiency.

?Port security has certainly become more of an issue for (the VPA), there's been a lot of homeland security funding to look at some options. They really see a lot of pressure to increase their port security and see VT resources as a way to do some of that,? said Chad Miller, economic development specialist in Tech's office for economic development.

The Feb. 3 visit, coordinated through Tech's Office of Economic Development, brought three members of the VPA and Tony Simkus, director of engineering and equipment for Virginia International Terminals, to Virginia Tech.

Of specific interest to Simkus was a presentation by engineering science and mechanics professor Ali Nayfeh on a smart crane.

?Since we had been so intimate with the algorithms and physics behind it that intrigued me,? Simkus said. ?I lived that for several years of my life ? Their approach seemed to be very robust. Their result is better than many commercial solutions that I've seen out in the world.?

While Simkus repeatedly praised the creativity of each of the projects represented, the port representatives left without formally entering into any funding arrangements.

?They need to be convinced that you can do it with off-the-shelf equipment,? said Mike Buerher, professor of electrical engineering who presented his research in the area of ultra wideband radar and communications techniques for positioning cargo containers.

Overall, Simkus left impressed by the pure practicality of the professors' innovations.

?Unlike some university ventures that I've seen and been involved in, in (the Tech projects) the practical implications were obvious,? Simkus said, noting that visits between the VPA and universities are rare.

Typically, port authorities visit other terminals in order to find innovations, Simkus said.

Whether the VPA decides to use the current technologies proffered by Tech academics or not, Miller hopes that future partnerships will be beneficial to both sides. There's more on the horizon for Tech researchers as well.

?We probably didn't touch on all the research going on at Tech that's going on at the port ? There's lots of research going on here, and they're doing some neat stuff that can be applied down at the port ? As they buy technology and resource we'd like them to think about VT,? Miller said.