His responsibilities encompassed over site and allocation of nearly $3.5B (US) used to support 1,000+ projects to build/rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure to include electrical generation; oil production and distribution; rail, roadway and air systems; hospitals and health clinics; water and waste water treatment plants; and fire, police & postal stations.

He also supervised nearly 100 civilian experts in the areas of oil, electricity, water resources, communications, health and transportation. MG Abt routinely worked with Iraqi national ministers and senior leaders, the senior leadership of the US Embassy and MNF-I, and visited over 140 project sites throughout the country.

Dr. Abt has served for 30+ years as a professor and administrator in the College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CSU.

He and his wife, Phyllis, have two adult daughters, Laura and Karen. Laura is an Air Force Captain currently serving in Iraq.

"I've crossed the globe a time or two, away in which I'm blessed
Napal, Penin and China; North, South, East and West.
From each excursion a lesson was learned that somehow changed my life,
I learned to see the impact of one even amidst poverty, war and strife.
A simple question stuck in my head when all is said and done,
What do I do within my life to make the difference of one?
After thinking, worrying, pondering and praying,
I felt a call and understood what God was saying.
Now I know how I will make my difference as one,
An idea to fly by my journey has just begun.
I desire to inspire the world around me in many ways,
I want to change the world through creating brighter days.
Laughter is contagious and I intend to be quite sick,
And see my epidemic spread the grins they start so quick.
So kids and parents hold on I'm coming in,
To find the joy and laughter that's hidden deep within.
To make one day better in the eyes of a child,
And to know that today their family has also smiled.
I hope to make someone laugh and smile when they are down,
My greatest dream and ambition is be become a hospital clown."
Laura Wilson

The Colorado State University Supercluser is a multidisciplinary alliance that integrates experts from many fields with the goal of improving quality of life - by taking research innovations to the global marketplace more efficiently and at an accelerated pace. Superclusters focus on overlap areas between Colorado State University's internationally competitive research and the great global challenges, such as infectious disease, agriculture, energy and the environment.

Universities traditionally patent discoveries and seek companies willing to license such early stage innovations. Universities have pushed to bring these innovations to industry for consideration. The old model relied on scientists to gauge the marketability of research - a step that often occurred at the end of the discovery process. Conversely, the Superclusters allow business experts to gauge marketability, and create a pathway for the full life cycle of new products and services for the marketplace - from the research stage to use in society. Superclusters are good for researchers, for business and for global challenges.

CSU Super Clusters

Researchers can focus on their area of expertise, while leaving the issues of transfer, patenting and licensing to experts with a specific focus on their research area. The academic structure of the Supercluster will encourage researchers to collaborate to address the broad challenges of a research problem and increase the likelihood of external funding for the research. In addition, researchers eager to have information in the global marketplace can see the technology adopted more quickly to better solve global problems.

Businesses that thrive on commercializing cutting-edge technology can more easily work with Colorado State University through its ally - CSU Ventures - for licensing, collaborative research and partnership opportunities. The not-for-profit structure at the edge of the University will facilitate and encourage the involvement of industry expertise and the design will ease the challenges traditionally experienced when moving research from academia into the marketplace.

Each Supercluster will be organized around areas where the University has preeminent expertise and where a "great global challenge" exists. The University's goal is to use its growing international connections to link strategically its Supercluster expertise to similarly interested governmental, academic, research, and corporate partners outside the United States - to play the central role in creating solutions to global health, environment and energy solutions.

Emulating solid business practices, each Supercluster, organized to address a specific global need, will appoint a chief scientific officer who oversees University research and academic activities for that area. Together the chief scientific officer and a chief operating officer will jointly focus on forging business alliances and developing new applications and opportunities for the results of that research via the non-for-profit vehicle called CSU Ventures.

A technology transfer specialist working for a division of CSU Ventures seeks opportunities for patents, licenses and startups, as well as equity investors. Two additional support staff will facilitate and encourage increased funding respectively from foundations and the federal government.

He ended this section by saying his definition of a victory for IDSC would be having a new company sitting out on I-25 providing high paying jobs for the community.

Club members can find more about this subject by going to the IDSC web site at: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/mip/idsc/index.htm.

Dr. Beaty also talked about the new Gates Initiative on Dengue Fever. Dengue is a real world wide problem and it is one of his jobs to prevent the interface between blood feeding arthropods and humans. He told us about a new advance in control of the mosquito in homes by using curtains impregnated with insecticide that would last for up to seven years. The Innovative Vector Control Consortium that is made up of CSU and Universities in London and Liverpool will be studying the effectiveness of these curtains and if they can be manufactured and sold as a way of developing businesses in third world countries. Dr. Beaty's studies are carried out in Mexico where he has been working for 17 years.
He ended each session by answering audience questions.

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