Interdisciplinary Group Teams In Marine Manpower Project
University Park, Pa.–Researchers from Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory, College of Engineering, School of Information Sciences and Technology, and Smeal College of Business Administration have teamed to help the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) meet its future manpower and human resource development needs.

The Studies and Analysis Division of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command awarded a $548,000 to the Marine Corps Research University at Penn State for research support. A multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts is being led by Dr. James Wise of the Applied Research Laboratory and Dr. Soundar Kumara of the College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

Working with them are Dr. Chao-Hsien Chu of the School of Information Sciences and Technology, Dr. Jack C. Hayya of the Smeal College’s Department of Management Science and Information Systems, Drs. Vittal Prabhu and Natarjan Gautam of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Management and Dr. Christopher Byrne of the Applied Research Laboratory. Lt. Col. Ron Madrid, USMC (Ret.), associate director and program manager of the MCRU, is coordinating the effort with the Marine Corps.

The Penn State team will produce a systems architecture that defines the information systems and models that will support the USMC’s total force structure and human resource development processes well into the twenty-first century.

Based on an analysis of current Marine Corps systems and mission requirements, the team will then recommend specific computational methods, computer hardware and software, and information requirements to support new manpower and human resource systems.

The work involves interviews with USMC officers and personnel to review information needs, in-depth analyses of the currently used information architecture, and a broad-based search for systems to meet the Marine Corps’ projected needs.

In 1999, Penn State was designated the Marine Corps Research University and, as such, provides education and research support to the Corps. To date, the MCRU has been awarded 28 tasks valued in excess of $12.6 million.

For further information:
Marine Corps Research University:
Lt. Col Ron Madrid, USMC (Ret.), 814.865.3911 or
Penn State School of Information Sciences and Technology:
Charles C. DuBois, (814) 865-4458 or
the IST Web site at www.ist.psu.edu