February 12, 1984

T HE Kean administration's program to develop an economy based on high technology moved out of the talking stages last week, when monetary awards were announced for expanding the industrial uses of ceramics and finding new ways to dispose of hazardous and toxic wastes. Two of five proposed centers for collaborative research between academia and industry - all would expand existing programs in the state's higher-education network - were named to receive funds from an initial $4 million allocation in the current state budget. The Piscataway-based Rutgers University Center for Ceramics Research, begun two years ago with a National Science Foundation grant, was awarded $1 million in state money, and the proposed Center for Hazardous and Toxic Waste Management at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark was named to receive $558,000. David M. Goodman, planning assistant for the Governor's Commission on Science and Technology, said that future grants would be for food technology, $585,200; biotechnology, $717,800, and telematics, $1,170,000.

With the help of a little mixing, a little psychology and perhaps one of his familiar long, cold stares, Al Arbour recorded his 500th regular-season coaching victory tonight as his Islanders beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-4. Was it because Arbour teamed Brent Sutter on a line for the first time this season with Bobby Nystrom and John Tonelli, even though Sutter was returning after an 11-game absence with a hand injury? The line produced four goals, including a pair by Sutter. Or was it because Arbour lifted his long-time goalie, Billy Smith, in the second period after the Canucks had come back from a 4-1 deficit to tie at 4-4?

Ihate to say it, but a lot of people love fakes. Given the choice, they prefer them to the real thing. Fakes are funny, they think, and unlike the genuine article they are the easiest thing in the world to talk about. Those same people often love fakers, too, and they see them as the lone riders of the art world. Fakers, they think, are sexy, mischievous, insubordinate outlaws, who like nothing better than to puncture the stuffed shirt and watch the sawdust run out.

Pat Ahern of Breckenridge, Colo., lost an opportunity to win an Olympic medal in Nordic combined skiing today when controversial rulings by the jury canceled two rounds of jumping and wiped out his jumps, two of the longest of the competition. Officials canceled the rounds in the 70-meter jump, the second time with only four skiers left, because the competitors were jumping so far that the jury considered it dangerous. Both cancellations nullified strong jumps by Ahern. When the competition was completed, he could manage only a tie for 16th with his subsequent jumps.

T HE player was lethargic in practice and erratic in games. He seemed to be in financial trouble, borrowing money from teammates and fending off creditors. The symptoms were classic and the team president suspected drug abuse. He contacted a private investigator. Carl Scheer, the president of the Denver Nuggets, tells the story in measured but firm tones and does not identify the player, currently on the Nugget roster. The investigator, Scheer said, interviewed friends and associates and uncovered no more than ''sketchy'' evidence of drug abuse. Scheer had a ''semi-confrontation'' with the player and alerted the National Basketball Association security office of his suspicions. A league security representative, Scheer said, is ''closely monitoring'' the situation.