RTI believes in reaching beyond its own boundaries to provide all-encompassing R&D. RTI's history of collaboration began with its founding in 1958 by three universities: Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. Today, RTI continues its relationship with these universities and other institutions, organizations, and companies worldwide.

Collaboration with Industry
Environmental Benchmarking. RTI's Environmental Benchmarking Program enables electric utility companies to compare their environmental performance to a peer group of other utilities. In 1999, more than 20 of the nation's major electric utilities participated in the program, which helps them identify their strengths and weaknesses and allocate their environmental expenditures more effectively.
Remedial Technologies Network, LLC Scientists at RTI and Remedial Technologies Network developed and maintain the Remediation Information Management System (RIMS2000™), an Internet-based library of environmental remediation technologies. Currently, more than 880 of these technologies are featured on RIMS2000 in a searchable, online database that is updated monthly. For each entry, the user can review an abstract and obtain a description, case histories, cost data, journal articles, and other information on the technology and its vendor.

Collaboration with Government
Mapping the Nation's Waters. In research funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTI is merging hydrographic databases from EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey. The resulting National Hydrography Database will have information about the location, shape, and type of all surface water features in the United States. It will be used by federal, state, and local government agencies and will support emergency management analyses and a variety of other water quality applications.

Food Safety. For the past 14 years, RTI economists have evaluated policies and regulations affecting food products. In 1999, their work for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded to include evaluations of the dietary supplement industry. They provided a profile to describe the nature, size, and scope of the industry. RTI economists and statisticians gathered data about the recommended dosages and health claims of dietary supplements available at stores, in catalogs, and on the Internet. In another survey for FDA, RTI economists are conducting a telephone survey of dietary supplement manufacturing facilities to see if they follow Good Manufacturing Processes. RTI economists also are estimating consumer welfare losses resulting from potential fraud in the dietary supplement industry.

Aerospace Safety. RTI aerospace engineers in Hampton, Virginia, and Cocoa Beach, Florida, will work with government and industry clients in 2000 to help improve the safety of air travel and rocket launches. In Hampton, RTI researchers will complete their highly successful, NASA-sponsored development of wake vortex detection systems and turn to the study of a similar aviation hazard, turbulence. RTI staff will again work with their NASA counterparts on ways to predict an aircraft encounter with turbulence, a very familiar phenomenon but one that has resisted detection and characterization. Also in the Hampton office, RTI engineers will exploit the results of NASA general aviation technology programs to promote a new transportation concept: the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). An alternative to automobile or scheduled air carrier for trips in the 150- to 900-mile range, the modern, small, general aviation aircraft could revolutionize the nation's travel habits. The coming year will see RTI staff evaluating the potential of SATS through market analyses they will perform for various state governments in the southeastern United States. At RTI's office in Cocoa Beach, Florida, aerospace engineers work with several government agencies and commercial organizations worldwide to ensure the safe launch and reentry of space vehicles. Besides helping the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) complete safety regulations for the booming commercial launch business, they will continue to support the FAA in reviewing and evaluating license applications. Other staff in Florida will turn their attention to safety issues posed by two new classes of launch vehicles: evolved expendable launch vehicles and their potential successors, reusable launch vehicles.

Particulate Matter. RTI's aerosol researchers are providing data about the composition of and personal exposure to particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (PM_2.5). These particles, which come from vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, and combustion sources, are a concern because they can penetrate deeply into the human lung. In addition to performing laboratory studies, RTI filed a patent for a wearable system to monitor personal exposure to PM_2.5 particles.

Collaboration with Academia
Evidence-Based Practice Center. RTI and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill are jointly producing evidence reports on various health care topics. These comprehensive reviews and rigorous analyses of scientific data help public agencies and private organizations, as well as patients and consumers, make more informed health care decisions. Currently, the RTI-UNC Evidence-Based Practice Center is conducting reviews for the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Dental and Craniofacial Research and is supporting the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Topics include management of preterm labor, screening for lipid disorders, screening for prostate cancer, and chemoprophylaxis for breast cancer.

Center for Excellence in Health Statistics. In 2000 researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and RTI will create a Center for Excellence in Health Statistics. Funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the center will bring together top-level researchers in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina to address important statistical design and analysis issues. The focus will be on research issues relevant to minority populations, especially those providing insight on health promotion and disease prevention. RTI will use its expertise in small area estimation to identify the high-risk areas and populations that are the targets of prevention and other health intervention programs in North Carolina.