Hartford Business Journal

24 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2014 SPONSORED REPORT research, spur more than half a billion dollars in new business activity, and support more than 4,000 permanent jobs, plus 30,000 construction jobs. Next Generation also will establish 50 STEM doctoral fellowships and create the nation's first STEM honors program for undergraduate students. Next Generation Connecticut includes construction of new laboratories for materials science, engineering and the physical and biological sciences on the university's main campus in Storrs. Over the next decade, the number of STEM graduates is expected to increase by nearly 47 percent, creating a pipeline of highly skilled workers. "This will create and support the very jobs we need to be an economically vibrant and successful state in the future," Herbst said. "In this era — more than ever — states must rely on their public research universities to be the backbone and driver of economic success." UConn Technology Park: A laboratory for innovation Set to open in 2017, UConn's Technology Park will serve as the physical space where collaborations between world-class academic researchers and industry take root, sparking the commercialization of innovative new ideas for manufacturing and advanced product development. Located on 300 acres on the north end of UConn's main campus, the park is expected to have three clusters of buildings encompassing 900,000 square feet of building space. The inaugural 115,000-square-foot Innovation Partnership Building will house $40 million in state-of-the-art equipment not readily available to businesses and industry. However, beyond the cutting-edge equipment, the facility will also house several research centers, including the recently launched Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center, Fraunhofer Center for Energy Innovation and the UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering. "We are excited to work with UConn to develop the next generation of engineers who understand how to approach complex systems," said Dr. J. Michael McQuade, the UTC Institute's senior vice president of science and technology. McQuade and other corporate leaders understand the power in leveraging UConn's research strength to expand industry innovation. "The Institute will train the innovators and engineers of today and tomorrow, ensuring that we have the people and skills necessary to keep UTC at the forefront of technology," he said. Building business By harnessing UConn's deep academic and scientific resources, the state is creating a sustainable innovation ecosystem that is expected to energize Connecticut's economy for decades to come. The university has a proven track record of success. According to the latest data by U.S. News & World Report, UConn jumped from No. 38 to 19 on a list of the nation's best public universities. Today, UConn attracts $250 million annually in funding for basic and applied research. It is estimated that about $218 million in Connecticut business activity is attributable to UConn research each year. That figure is expected to reach $527 million annually within the next decade. Successful research translates into lucrative business opportunities. UConn scientists have secured more than 366 patents in the past 20 years and brought in more than $4 million in revenue from licenses in the past four years. UConn also provides a broad array of support services and resources to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. Companies enrolled in the university's Technology Incubation Program, which provides lab space and business support services, vastly exceed the national success rate for new businesses. The program, spread between the Avery Point, Storrs and Farmington campuses, is so successful that university leaders plan to build additional incubator space at the Farmington campus and expand this capacity. These critical state investments, coupled with the university's vast research strength, business incubation and technology transfer programs, in addition to impressive intellectual capital, have positioned UConn as a central element of Connecticut's innovation pipeline. Industry impact The university's ambitious development programs are attracting international attention and have spawned several important new industry collaborations. Over the past two years, UConn has opened: • The Fraunhofer Center for Energy Innovation with Fraunhofer USA, a subsidiary of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe's largest applied R&D organization. The center focuses on the development of advanced technologies for energy storage, fuel cells, power management and distribution. • The Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center at UConn. The center is the first additive manufacturing facility in the Northeast to work with metals rather than plastics. • The UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering. The institute, launched in partnership with Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp., is training the next generation of innovators and engineers in the latest technology dealing with complex systems. • The GE Advanced Technology Initiative. This $7.5-million collaboration with GE's Industrial Solutions business has top-flight academic and private-industry researchers working together on breakthrough innovations in electrical distribution products. • UConn supports a wide range of new business opportunities and The state's early funding for UConn's Stem Cell Core laboratory led to the development of two new lines of embryonic stem cells. PHOTO/Lanny Nagler. > Continued from previous page

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