RI Public-Private Group to Tackle Societal Issues

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A group of organizations led by Brown University and IBM is forming a new public-private partnership to address economic and societal issues in Rhode Island.

The group will be called the Ocean State Consortium for Advanced Resources, or OSCAR, and will focus on health care, education, the environment and economic development.

The group is scheduled to be launched Monday at Brown.

Among the tools available to the group is an IBM supercomputer installed at Brown last year. Tim Willeford, a spokesman for IBM, says the supercomputer will help power research developed by the group.

The first initiative OSCAR will tackle is developing a plan to make Providence's so-called Knowledge District more energy efficient.

The neighborhood, also known as the Jewelry District, is home to biotechnology companies and Brown's medical school.

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