Press Release
Murray: Marine Research Centers to Spur Job Growth on Cape Cod
April 17, 2007
FALMOUTH – Senate President Therese Murray today announced funding that will help marine sciences research and development take the next step in creating economic opportunities and jobs on Cape Cod. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative has awarded the Regional Technology Development Center of Cape Cod a $150,000 grant from the John Adams Innovation Institute, the MTC’s economic development arm.
The award will allow the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Marine Biological Laboratory to develop an “innovation accelerator” to promote marketplace opportunities in the marine sciences and technology sectors.
The potential of the market opportunity is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as a new infrastructure of ocean observation systems is constructed in the coming decade, supported by an infusion of federal research awards.
“This partnership will help commercialize new technologies and other advances that spring from our vibrant research centers in a way that helps local companies on Cape Cod thrive and create new jobs,” said Senate President Murray.
Under the new partnership, a nationally recognized group of advisory board members will oversee the identification of market needs and the selection of technologies. In addition to the marine centers, Brown University, which manages the intellectual property for the Marine Biological Laboratory, has strongly endorsed the “innovation accelerator” model.
“Leadership from Senate President Murray was critical to our work in creating the collaborative framework to leverage new opportunities from world-leading, marine science research centers in the region,” said Patrick Larkin, director of MTC’s John Adams Innovation Institute.
Robert A. Curtis, CEO of RTDC, “I am delighted that the RTDC was successful in the peer- reviewed application process to obtain this grant which supports our mission to identify and develop emerging technologies from Cape Cod research institutions and to form new start up companies to commercialize them.”
The Regional Technology Development Center of Cape Cod was created in 2006 as a not-for-profit economic development organization with $200,000 in seed funding from economic stimulus legislation, along with guidance and support from the Falmouth Economic Development Corporation and Senate President Murray.