#AURPinAction
Upcoming AURP Events
CEO Roundtable - Sept. 7 and 29
Innovation Elevated
October 18-21
Salt Lake City, UT
All New Rollout!
Monday, Oct. 18, 1:30pm-4:00pm
APLU Honors UC Davis & Univ. of Illinois for Pandemic-Era Community-Focused Research Efforts
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) has named the University of California, Davis and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the inaugural winners of its "Research Response to a Community in Crisis Award" in recognition of these schools' "extraordinary efforts to address COVID-19-related challenges in their communities through research."

The APLU's Council on Research created the new award to recognize universities that have "demonstrated flexibility and responsiveness by rapidly and effectively applying the university’s research expertise to meet community needs in a time of crisis." Read more.
Welcome to Our
New #AURP Member!

Thank You to Our
#AURP Annual Sponsor!
Elevate innovation and prepare for high collaboration and engagement at the #AURP 2021 International Conference, hosted by the University of Utah Research Park,
October 18-21 in Salt Lake City, UT!
Jonathan Gruber to Speak at IC2021

Jonathan Gruber, MIT economist and co-author of Jump-Starting America: How Breakthrough Science Can Revive Economic Growth and the American Dream, will be our #AURP IC2021 keynote speaker! Jonathan will share the story of how the U.S.’s first growth engine, beginning in 1940 with massive public investment, generated breakthroughs in science and technology that first helped win WWII — and more importantly presents a blueprint for a second rebirth. Register today!
Book Your Hotel Room Now

#AURPIC2021 takes place at the fabulous Hilton Salt Lake City Center!

Make your reservation at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center. Be sure to identify yourself with AURP to receive the group rate ($189 plus tax). The AURP room block is on a space-available basis and expires September 24, 2021.

#AURPinAction #AURPIC2021 #CreatingCommunitiesOfInnovation
Converging state, regional and national leaders will gather to unearth the policy and tactics at #AURP Space Day to cultivate innovation clusters on the ground as they observe and investigate the skies above.

This inaugural #AURP program will be held Thursday, October 21, 9:30am - 4:30pm immediately following the AURP International Conference

Register for the day or plan to attend the full conference.
We want YOU at AURP SPACE DAY in Salt Lake City, Utah.
#AURP Member & Industry News
Laurie E. Locascio, PhD, Vice President for Research at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, has been nominated by the Biden Administration for Under Secretary for Standards and Technology with the US Department of Commerce. At these two MD campuses, Dr. Locascio oversees research and innovation programs, which total $1.1 billion in annual external research funding. Previously, she held a number of positions at the National Institute of Standards and Technology including Acting Principal Deputy Director and Associate Director for Laboratory Programs. Read more. 
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has just opened Moonshot Labs, the NGA’s first unclassified innovation workspace, at the T-REX innovation and entrepreneur center in downtown St. Louis. The labs encompass about 12,000 square feet of shared workspace at T-REX and aim to foster collaboration among the government, industry and academic geospatial community members in the St. Louis region. In addition, NGA’s new western HQ campus in St. Louis will open in 2025 with an innovation center offering unclassified, collaborative workspace. Read more. 
The US Department of Energy is seeking ideas through a Request for Information (RFI) to remove barriers to DOE funding and support for underrepresented groups and underserved communities. No funding is provided, but this is a forum to provide ideas to DOE, including support for "an Innovation Ecosystem and Place-Based Innovation."

Note: we encourage you to submit your own ideas to DOE by August 6. AURP plans to submit information to DOE on the AURP national network of communities of innovation that include many energy innovation resources. If you would like AURP to include any of your park's inclusive energy resources, please submit them to Brian Darmody (briandarmody@aurp.net) by August 1, 2021. Read more.
Alloy Therapeutics and Echo Investment Capital have formed Wheeler Bio, a new biomanufacturing company that plans to build a major manufacturing complex in the Oklahoma City Innovation District. Wheeler will open its 35,000 sq. ft. cGMP Oklahoma City facility in Q4 2022. Through its partnership with Echo Investment Capital, Wheeler also will have preferred access to further expand its production in the recently announced 400,000 sq. ft. manufacturing complex project in the Oklahoma City Innovation District. “Our close affiliation with the OKC Innovation District and the greater healthcare ecosystem allows us to connect Wheeler’s customers with exceptional development and clinical resources," said Christian Kanady with Echo Investment Capital. Read more.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is launching a series of programs, collectively called "Investing in America’s Communities," to invest $3 billion to help communities across the country rebuild. The EDA investment is the largest economic development initiative in decades. The EDA's plan aims to provide larger investments across the U.S., including grants to state and local governmental entities, institutions of higher education, not-for-profit entities, unions and Tribes. Read more.
HR&A Advisors has announced the opening of its Atlanta office in Tech Square in Midtown Atlanta. Led by Partner (and former AURP President) Mason Ailstock, HR&A's expansion will anchor the firm’s ongoing work throughout the southeast, focusing on transformative and equitable regional development and includes multi-faceted projects in higher education, real estate, transportation, housing, innovation, infrastructure and open space. Read more.
Site Selection magazine features the UA Center for Innovation's Global Advantage soft landings program with a focus on Mexico-based company, proAutomation. Founded in Hermosillo in 2008 with expansion into the US in 2016, proAutomation's president and CEO, Daniel Beltrán, located the company's US operations at the UA Tech Park and the UACI. UA Tech Parks Global Advantage program provides a soft landing for international companies, such as proAutomation, and for US companies interested in relocation or expansion. Read more.
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, in collaboration with the SmartHealth Activator, a Midwest healthcare ventures accelerator, held its inaugural Chicagoland Biotech Startup Business Plan Competition on July 21. This virtual startup training and competition featured 15 Chicago teams/ventures in categories that included therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostics, digital healthcare and healthcare services. The first-place winner (with a $10,000 prize) was Prenatal Hope, which provides innovative prenatal monitoring devices. Read more.
#AURP CEO Corner
#AURP CEO Brian Darmody and Bill Bates, Executive Vice President with the Council on Competitiveness, have authored a new report on "Reforming Federal Rules on Corporate-Sponsored Research at Tax-Exempt University Facilities" with the The Day One Project. Read more.

Brian also has posted a new AURP CEO Blog piece on the "Endless Frontier Act Update: The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and President Biden’s Proposed Budget Adds Unprecedented Opportunities for Research Parks, Innovation Districts, Universities and States." Read more.
AURP RFP & RFQs
Learn about the latest RFPs and RFQs from AURP's Member Community:
Request for Proposal - Killeen Innovation District:
The Fort Hood Regional Economic Development Corporation (FHRED) is seeking a professional consultant to develop and facilitate the Master Planning process that will guide FHRED and partner entities in the development of an innovation ecosystem in Killeen, TX. Learn more.
AURP Career Center
Check out the AURP Career Center to discover your next career opportunity:

  • Real Estate Executive Director, Colorado State University Research Foundation (CSURF)
  • Business Development Manager, Innovation Partnership Building, UConn Tech Park
  • Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Colorado Denver
  • Executive Director, Illinois Medical District Commission
  • President and Chief Executive Officer, Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Inc. (NIIC)
  • Partnership Developer, North Carolina State University
  • Executive Director, PIC MC Foundation, Montgomery College
  • Associate Vice President of Research, San Jose State University
  • Assoc. Vice President Corporate Commercialization, University of Cincinnati - Office of Innovation
  • Executive Director, Jacobson Institute, Grand View University
SUBMIT YOUR STORY FOR A FUTURE PARK POST!

Would you like to showcase your Community of Innovation, tenant or university activities in an upcoming AURP Park Post? We want to hear your stories so we can share them with the greater AURP community. Email us today!
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