The Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) grant has given 48 schools in the country $18.6 million. Lawrence Technological University is partnering with three other universities as part of the grant and has received $400,000.
Lawrence Technological University has received $400,000 from the National Science Foundation to establish research infrastructure at the school as part of the NSF’s Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity grant. Lawrence Technological University has partnered with three other schools to create the Building Institutional Capacity for External Partnerships (BICEP) program. The other schools are Grand Valley State University in Michigan, Minnesota State University-Mankato, and Santa Clara University in California, and their collaboration on the BICEP program will involve sharing best practices and ideas for research increases.
According to an article on Lawrence Technological University’s website, Mark Brucki is the principal investigator of the grant, and he is also the associate vice president for economic development. He is quoted as saying, “The intent is to make us more active participants in the region's innovation ecosystem, increase industry and innovation partnerships, and to make our efforts more sustainable. The NSF EPIIC grant will allow us to get all the policies, procedures, infrastructure and back-office capabilities in place to support more industry-sponsored research. We’ll also be training more faculty to be able to engage with more industry sponsored research projects, and most importantly, establish sustained and growing industry partnerships that add value to the regional innovation ecosystem.”
Brucki, along with his co-principal investigators Liping Liu, who is the associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Engineering, and Matthew D. Johnson, who is an associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, will be working toward three main objectives through the grant. First, Operational Maturity, meaning streamlining internal processes within the university to facilitate partnerships; second, Professional Development, meaning giving faculty and staff opportunities to participate in professional development activities to better position them for partnerships; and third, Partner Engagement, meaning developing a process and strategies for managing existing partnerships and helping them evolve over time.
Additionally, the grant funding will allow for the establishment of a University-Industry Advisory Board that will give Lawrence Technological University the means to engage with local industry. Members of the advisory board will include Maureen Krauss, who is the CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership, and Cynthia Hutchinson, the CEO of the U.S. Center for Advanced Manufacturing.
Hutchinson said, "LTU is poised to make a sustainable significant impact by advancing its research partnerships with industry and providing more STEM talent to the workforce with this grant. The U.S. Center for Advanced Manufacturing commends LTU's efforts to expand its partnerships regionally, nationally and globally. I look forward to helping LTU and advanced manufacturing leaders connect and grow."
For more information about Lawrence Technological University, visit the school’s website.