Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority, Mississippi Development Authority and Mississippi State University Announce Second of Two Vehicular Research Facilities Opens Today

CANTON, Miss., Dec. 15, 2003 -- It was announced today the opening of the second Center's for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) in Canton, Mississippi. The first CAVS opened December 4 on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville (MSU).

"The opening of these facilities is a welcome addition to our growing automotive industry. The research conducted will be an investment in our future," said Governor Ronnie Musgrove.

"The intent of the facilities is to provide Research and Development activity as well as engineering continuing education activity not just for Nissan, but for suppliers and other interested parties," said Dr. Buzz Canup, project director for Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority (MMEIA).

"Our role has been to provide overall coordination to meet the commitment made to Nissan by the state during the recruitment process and to provide the funding authorized through the bond issuance for facilities, equipment, faculty and seed money for research and development. We also performed the engineering and design in the construction of the facilities."

The CAVS centers are both designed to university specifications, as part of the agreement package between Nissan and the state of Mississippi. In addition to the research conducted, the facility will offer workshops, seminars and meetings in its labs and classrooms. Its high-tech computer based systems provides the means to administer analysis and evaluation, as well as 3-D modeling. Researchers will receive a grant to perform crash-worthiness testing for Nissan and other auto manufacturers.

"CAVS has a goal of enhancing the state's potential to attract other automotive and related industries," said J. Donald Trotter, director of the center and MSU associate vice president for strategic initiatives.

"In addition to engineering expertise, CAVS has a strong commitment to apply advanced technologies to workforce development, in partnership with community colleges and other Mississippi institutions of higher learning. Both in applied research and in workforce education, we feel that higher education can offer many benefits to the state."

MSU interfaced directly with Nissan and Nissan Research and Development to identify research projects that can support Nissan. MSU has significantly expanded Research and Development activities in support of the automotive industry.

The center will carry out research in the assembly process. The ability to perform 3-D simulation allows researchers to study the motions that an employee might go through in performing tasks, and to make modifications and improvements to improve performance and achieve a better result.

"CAVS gives the state significant leverage in recruiting other automotive manufacture's considering locating in Mississippi," said J. Stephen Hale, executive director, Mississippi Development Authority.

"This has become a major strategy for the state of Mississippi in recruiting high technology and highly automated factories. We are reaching out to utilize the state's upper level universities graduate level programs in Research and Development activities to support economic development in the state and also specifically private industry in the state," added Dr. Canup.

Under the agreement made between Nissan North America and the state of Mississippi, three endowed chairs have been funded in the amount of $1.5 million each as part of the research department at MSU. The funds will enable the university to recruit and employ people with national and international automotive experience to the CAVS center to apply their expertise in furthering automotive research in Mississippi.

The first named chair holder is Mark F. Horstemeyer with the CAVS Chair in Computational Solid Mechanics. Horstemeyer is world-renowned for his research in the transportation industry.