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Doing Business in Connecticut 2018

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31 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2018 2018 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 31 SPONSOR REPORT a state-of-the-art R&D facility. The 114,000-square-foot building enables academic, student and industry researchers to work side-by-side and find solutions to emerging business needs in manufacturing, materials engineering, energy, cybersecurity and other specialties. "Universities and private companies have very different strengths. By innovating together, we can achieve much more," said Pamir Alpay, executive director of the IPB. "Through the IPB, UConn has created an innovation hub. This allows UConn's internationally recognized researchers to help companies reach their strategic objectives, be innovative and excel in the development of new technologies and products." Couple these industry-academic "dream teams" with specialized instrumentation valued at over $40 million, and you have a recipe for scientific breakthroughs that fuel Connecticut's economy, job creation, and new company formation. The IPB has three core research spaces: an advanced characterization lab with 13 electron microscopes, an advanced additive manufacturing center, and expanding flexible space for tenant wet/dry labs that currently houses a cutting-edge cybersecurity research center, a proof of concept center and a manufacturing simulation center. The facility is unparalleled in the region, and boasts some of the most unique research capabilities in the country all housed under one roof. To date, eight research centers funded by industry leaders like United Technologies Corp., Eversource and Comcast have already opened at the IPB, with more on the horizon. Companies on the hunt for Intellectual Property to bolster their portfolios can connect with entrepreneurial faculty inventors through UConn's Technology Commercialization Services group at the Office of the Vice President for Research. The staff of technology transfer experts facilitates the transformation of UConn technologies into products and services that benefit patients, industry, and society through patent protection, licensing, mentoring and contact with investors. Startups have a home at UConn too. UConn's Technology Incubation Program (TIP) provides aspiring entrepreneurs from inside and outside the University with a place to call home and to transform virtual companies into high-potential ventures. In 2017, TIP was home to 35 companies that raised over $60 million in funding – the most in the program's history – thanks in part to Connecticut's $20 million investment in an expanded incubator facility at UConn Health, a renewed commitment from the University to support venture development and UConn's ability to attract innovative companies. With two major locations in Storrs and Farmington on the UConn Health campus, TIP gives member companies access to lab space, instrumentation, scientific experts and clinicians, customized business planning, connections with investors, and more. Jessica Rouge, assistant professor of chemistry, is commercializing a new nanocapsule drug delivery system for targeted treatment of a variety of serious diseases at the genetic level. | SEAN FLYNN / UCONN PHOTO |

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