Harvard Scientists Compete For Funding of Software Lab

Harvard scientists have teamed up with four New England research institutions in an attempt to win government support for a proposed $105 million state-of-the-art software development center.

Pending a Defense Department decision later this month, students and faculty could gain access to the center--the first of its kind in the world--to experiment with and test new ideas in software development.

The center would be expected to establish a "software factory" capable of translating the latest software technology into tools and parts for both industry and Defense Department computer systems.

The Harvard group, headed by Northeastern University, is one of at least seven university consortiums competing for the Defense Department contract.

In addition to Harvard, the Northeastern team includes MIT, Brown, and the Wang Institute for Advanced Graduate Study.

The winning proposal will receive a five-year contract to operate the Software Engineering Institute on a non-profit basis. Although the center will be federally funded, users would be allowed to conduct their own independent work.

For example, if a scientist develops an idea for a software program, the facility would be available for testing and further development of the product. Currently, while many hardware development centers exist, researchers say they have trouble finding an outlet to test novel software plans.

"When we develop a program, often there is nobody willing to try it," said McKay Professor of Computer Sciences Thomas E. Cheatham. "It's been very frustrating for faculty and students."

In addition, winning the Software Institute sweepstakes could help lure faculty members to the host schools, which would be propelled to the forefront of the newly emerging field.

The idea for such a center has emerged from growing concern within the military that the latest software ideas are not being satisfactorily incorportated into the systems being developed for the Defense Department.

Although the Defense Department describes the project as geared to "accelerate the transition or emergence of advanced software into . . . weapons systems," university officials contend that the center is not expected to do direct applications in defense-related areas.

The Pentagon has refused to identify the bidders, which include a Texas A&M consortium, a University of Maryland-led group, a Big Ten team headed by the University of Michigas, and solo proposals from Carnegie-Mellon and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

In the past, similar bidding arrangements have been affected by congressional politicking, and there is nobody among some of the applicants that political muscle rather than merit may prevail.

"If our proposal is judged on merit, we have a very good chance to get it," said Karl Weiss, vice-president for research at Northeastern University.