In the next few weeks, we'll find out what all the fuss is about.

That's the word from University of Hawai'i officials, who are about to launch the first Applied Research Laboratory in partnership with the Navy, a contractual relationship originally known as a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC).

Those four letters spelled a lot of controversy on the Manoa campus, which has been sharply divided over whether UH should become one of the Navy's five research-for-hire institutions in the country. Some believed it would be too secretive; some didn't like the idea of military research at all.

Others rightly pointed out that the university already does classified research. UH spokesman Jim Gaines said that at any given time, four or five projects are in the works.

And the reason the Navy wanted UH researchers was because of the university's expertise in a wide range of research topics unrelated to weapons, including ocean and astronomical science.

It's hopeful that a way forward has been found preserving the rights of those who want to conduct such research with those who find it inappropriate for this state's university.

The contract was approved by the Board of Regents in September and is expected to be inked by both sides in the next few weeks. Once the Navy signs off, the first work order will come in, he said.

UH has set up sensible protocols: