Portland State Magazine Winter 2019

12 New research centers search for urban solutions. IN FUTURE THE CITY FOCUS WR I T T EN B Y JOHN K I R K L AND I L L U S T RAT I ONS B Y J U S T I N WOOD PORTLAND State’s motto is Let Knowledge Serve the City, and in October, President Rah- mat Shoureshi launched two centers of excellence—the first in the University’s history—to do just that in multifaceted ways. “Creating these two university research centers was a high priority for me to fulfill our mis- sion,” he said at the announcement. “Both centers will expand upon the existing research and scholarship our renowned faculty have produced in these areas to find innovative and effective solutions for the future.” The PSU Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative will harness the power of faculty expertise to understand the root causes of the homelessness epidemic and find solutions to reduce it. The work by PSU faculty and students across multiple disciplines will help empower commu- nity leaders, elected officials, service providers and advocates to make informed choices. Meanwhile, the Digital City Testbed Center will explore how “smart city” technology can make cities more safe, accessible, economically viable, healthy and climate-friendly. Mark McLellan, PSU’s vice president of research, summed up their importance: “Both of these centers have the potential for literally changing the world, and I don’t say that casually.” Creating smarter cities IMAGINE installing sensors along busy Portland streets to track near misses between pedestrians and cars. That kind of data could go a long way to reducing fatalities. Or imagine sensors set up throughout the city to come up with better and cheaper ways to monitor air pollution. Those are just two projects in which researchers at Portland State are already working with government officials to make the city safer, cleaner and more efficient. Smart city technology is the use of computerized sensors to measure, track and observe myriad aspects of busy city life in order to improve efficiencies and help the people who live there. It’s no wonder this was chosen as a focus for one of PSU’s centers for excellence. In 2016, Port- land—in part because of PSU—was one of seven national finalists in a $50 million federal grant competition called the Smart Cities Challenge. Columbus, Ohio, was named the winner. And then what happened? “After they won, they flew out to Portland to see what we do,” says Jonathan Fink, professor of geology and PSU’s first vice president of research and strategic partnerships.