(Continued from front page)
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| Sen. Kennedy and UMass President Wilson |
“We are thrilled that the National Science Foundation has recognized the scientific excellence at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,” said Jack Wilson, president, University of Massachusetts. “This is the second major award of federal research dollars for nanotechnology that the University of Massachusetts system has received during the last two years. Of critical importance to the success of the proposal was $2 million in state matching funds provided by the John Adams Innovation Institute.”
The Innovation Institute provided critical support for the new center by pledging a matching investment of $2 million, with the goal of placing emphasis on the adoption and deployment of innovations in nano-electronics and bio-nanotechnology by Massachusetts companies.
“This generous grant will help the University of Massachusetts to advance its deserved reputation as a nanotech leader and center of excellence,” said Gov. Romney. “Nanotechnology is an important part of our state’s economic future, and this center will show graduates and businesses that we are committed to this promising new field.”
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Speaker DiMasi |
The Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst joins NSECs at Harvard and Northeastern, as well as MIT’s Institute for Soldier Nanotechnology, as major federally sponsored nanotechnology centers located in Massachusetts. Coupled with the creation of the Innovation Institute-supported Center of Excellence in Nanomanufacturing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, this award positions Massachusetts to be the leading U.S. center on design and manufacturing of nanoscale materials, devices and systems. The goal is to spur commercialization of nanoscale technologies, encouraging companies to locate their R&D and nanomanufacturing facilities in Massachusetts.
The new Center will have three major technical thrusts in developing products and markets:
- Materials and processes. Creation of the basic foundational technology for nanomaterials fabrication
- Bio-nanotechnology. Through the creation of intermediate products, such as protein assembly and separation and polymer-based drug delivery systems, the development of therapeutics, medical instruments, and dental equipment.
- Nano-electronics. Through the creation of intermediate products, such as nanoscale optical devices, hierarchical memory cells, and nano-patterned magnetic storage media, the development of memory chips, logic chips, and hard drives.
The new center includes two key industry partners — Lucent Technologies and TIAX LLC. Lucent will provide access to state-of-the-art facilities for nano-electronics, while TIAX will provide technology and market assessment and commercialization assistance related to technology transfer.
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| Senate President Robert E. Travaglini |
“Our partnership with industry is an important part of the equation,” explained Paul T. Kostecki, Vice Provost for Research University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “It will enable the new Center to provide levels of support beyond the efforts in traditional technology transfer settings, enhancing both the research agenda and commercialization efforts.”
In winning the award, the University of Massachusetts Amherst becomes the sole NSF-funded Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing in the nation under the NSEC program.
“Through this award, there is now growing national recognition of the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a prestigious academic research institution,” said State Senator Stanley Rosenberg.IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, according to a January 2005 study by Lux Research, more than 10 percent of products in three key sectors — manufacturing and materials, healthcare and life sciences, and IT and electronics — will utilize nanoscale processes in manufacturing. These products include everything from aircraft and sporting goods to medical instruments and orthopedic materials, from computer hard drives and logic chips to solar cells and embedded displays. Massachusetts is now positioned to capture a significant share of the new facilities and jobs that will be created.
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| Mitchell Adams and Gov. Romney |
“To grow the Massachusetts Innovation economy, we must invest in success,” said Mitch Adams, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. “As Thomas Friedman so eloquently describes in his recent book, The World Is Flat, we face increasing competition from the global economy as technological and political forces converge, producing a level playing field without regard to geography or distance. This award is proof positive of the value of making state investments in university matching grants to leverage federal research dollars – and enhancing the competitiveness of the Commonwealth’s economy.”
Link to State House press release of the event on April 24
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The Innovation Institute’s Research Center Matching Fund has made awards and commitments totaling more than $11 million to date. These investments are expected to leverage more than $45 million in federal and industrial research dollars over the next five years, creating 500 new, high-paying jobs, and seeding commercialization efforts in emerging technologies. All investments support technology-based economic development activities through partnerships involving Massachusetts academic institutions, affiliated teaching hospitals, and industry.
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Establishment of the Center of Excellence in Nanomanufacturing at UMass Lowell (and through it, the Center for High Rate Nanomanufacturing, a $12.4 million partnership with Northeastern University and the University of New Hampshire, funded by NSF).
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Start-up funding for a Center of Excellence in Apoptosis Research at the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute in Springfield (a joint venture of UMass Amherst and Bay State Medical Center).
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Matching grant for the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, a NASA-supported partnership between industry and 19 leading academic institutions throughout Massachusetts, led by MIT.
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Framework for initiatives to enhance the mission of the Soldier Systems Center in Natick, one of two major Department of Defense research installations in Massachusetts.
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Development grant to support the establishment of the Center for Biomedical Innovation at MIT, in partnership with the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and the Harvard affiliated teaching hospitals.
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Development grant to support expansion of Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging Systems at Northeastern University, an NSF-supported Engineering Research Center. This grant has already lead to a major $3.5 million contract selection by the Department of Homeland Security.
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Development grant to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Boston, to create a framework for a Center of Excellence in Applied Ocean Observation Systems.
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Development grant to the University of Massachusetts Lowell, in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Tufts University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, to support a pilot program at the Massachusetts Bio-Manufacturing Center.
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Development grant to the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in partnership with Harvard Medical School, to explore the feasibility of establishing a Collaboration Imaging Biomarker Center to support the Massachusetts bio-pharmaceutical and medical imaging clusters.
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