Duke U. researcher to direct MU information technology

Starmerâs appointment will become effective in early 1998.

Starmer will serve as advisor to vice president for academic affairs and provost Dr. Ray Greenberg and will direct the development of university-wide information systems in education, research and patient care.

ãDr. Starmerâs long record of achievement and creative thinking shows throughout his career,ä said director of libraries and learning resource centers Tom Basler, Ph.D., chairman of the search committee that recommended Starmerâs selection. He cited impressive curriculum vitae entries that include research support from the National Institutes of Health, leadership in developing the nationally recognized Duke Cardiac Databank, extensive publication of theoretical and applied research, and numerous international consultations.

ãHe expressed an interest in MUSC because it is a stand-alone medical center that can make independent decisions and implement them (apart from the more global considerations of a full university),ä Basler said. ãI think he also noticed the number of computer-based projects on campus and saw MUSC as an opportunity to help create a vision for the collection and distribution of health information.ä

Commenting on this appointment, Greenberg said, ãThis is an important step forward for the Medical University. Dr. Starmer will bring to us a vision for the future of information technology on this campus. As a highly productive faculty member himself, Dr. Starmer understands the information management needs of researchers, educators and clinicians.

Starmer holds undergraduate and masters degrees in electrical engineering from Duke University and a Ph.D. in biomathematics and bioengineering from the University of North Carolina.

In addition to his more than 30-year association with Duke University, Starmer has held visiting professorships at Freiburg University Physiology Institute; Institute of Experimental and Theoretical Biophysics, Pushchino, Moscow region, Russia; Department Fisica-Materia Condensada, Universidad Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; the Department of Medical Physics, University of Patras, Greece; and Biomedical Engineering Division, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India.

Starmer said he views his international collaborations as an experiment with a new type of classroom/laboratory. ãA laboratory/classroom without walls,ä he calls it. ãThe idea is to utilize contemporary communication and computing technology in a manner that permits students and faculty at different geographic locations to interact as if there were no geographic boundaries.ä

Using the Internet as a communication tool as well as personal visits, Starmer has demonstrated with his ãlaboratoryä the feasibility of supervising students and maintaining a research program in geographically dispersed locations. At MUSC, he sees these experiences as a prelude for looking at the challenges presented by out-reach programs and distance education.

ãMUSC provides a unique opportunity to explore new avenues for integrating teaching, research and patient care. I am impressed by the commitment of Dr. Greenberg and his colleagues to excellence in education, research and patient care. MUSC has a number of talented people in critical positions in the library, clinical and basic science departments and in CCIT.

ãThe challenge for me is to help focus these resources on the educational, patient care and research issues of tomorrow in a manner that ensures the appropriate infrastructure is in place for MUSC students, staff and faculty to work at their potential.ä