AURP Resources: Response to NIH F&A Reimbursements

Visit AURP's special Resource Guide on NIH Facilities & Administrative Costs of Research – "What It Means For Bio Communities of Innovation and How to Get Involved."

AURP also is working with its partners in industry, the research community, academia and others to overturn this sudden change in the federal government’s investment in a critical technology for national competitiveness.

Visit our Resource Guide and recommended action plan.

How Much Revenue Does Each State Stand to Lose? (interactive map)

Credit: Jeff Murphy

AURP COMMUNITY PULSE

Montana State's Mark Sharpe

Thursday, April 17, 2:30-3:00pm ET

Our Members-only Community Pulse events are a big HIT!

Next month's member-sharing discussion features Mark Sharpe, Executive Director of Montana State University-Bozeman's Innovation Campus (and home of its Big Sky Science Center).

Don't miss this the opportunity to learn and interact with your AURP colleagues!

Suggested topic areas include:

• ADMINISTRATION: Governance Models; Government Relations (internal and external); University and Industry Partnerships; Corporate Engagement 
• SPACE AND PLACE: Operations and Infrastructure of Facilities; Master Planning; Placemaking; Building Value; Re-imagined Sites 
• PROGRAMMING: Marketing, Communications and Metrics; Innovative Programs for Workforce Development and Student Entrepreneurship; Life sciences and Biotechnology; Artificial Intelligence (Quantum, Wireless); Logistics and Supply Chain; Autonomous Innovation; Cybersecurity 
• GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND FUNDING: Innovative Funding and Partnership Strategies; Research Development Resources; P3 case studies 

Erin Koshut is Executive Director of Cummings Research Park (CRP) with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce in Huntsville, Alabama.

With 300 technology companies situated over more than 3,800 acres and employing 26,000 employees, CRP is the second largest research park in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world. Erin is responsible for managing and marketing CRP, and for providing a business environment that is conducive to recruiting new and growing existing industry into the Park and supporting Park companies in their retention and recruitment of talent.

In her role as CRP Director, Erin continues to lead the implementation of the 2016 comprehensive master plan that ensures another 50 successful years for CRP. Additionally, Erin serves as the local lead for all of Huntsville’s paracycling efforts including the recent Para-cycling World Cup, the upcoming U.S. Paralympic Cycling Time Trial and the 2026 Para-Cycling World Championship – all of which take place inside CRP.

Erin has been a member of AURP since joining the Chamber in 2015 and currently serves as the Past President of AURP. Additionally, Erin serves on the board of the Tennessee Valley Corridor, the HudsonAlpha Economic Development Advisory Council and the Advancement Committee for Saint John Paul II Catholic High School’s board of trustees. Erin earned a BA in Public Relations from Lipscomb University (Go Bisons in their first ever NCAA D1 tourney berth!). She is also a certified InBIA incubation manager.

When not traveling, being a foodie, finding great white wines or laughing with family and friends, Erin is the family photog for her hockey family and is hoping to take up a new hobby this year – Pickeball? Crochet? Rocket Science? (just kidding, but who knows?). Erin calls Huntsville home now with her husband, Tom, and her teens, Mary and Sam.

Resources & Announcements

Over the past decade, the U.S. economy has seen notable shifts in its sectoral composition, according to a new data report from our partner organization, SSTI. From 2014 to 2023, the share of private industry GDP from manufacturing declined by 1.57 percentage points, while the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector decreased by 1.05 percentage points. Conversely, professional and business services experienced an increase of 0.85 percentage points, and the construction sector grew by 0.72 percentage points. These changes highlight a transition towards service-oriented industries and a relative decline in traditional manufacturing and extraction sectors. Read more.

AURP RAIN Joins AUVSI – the World’s Largest Autonomous Innovation Network

AURP, through its SBA-supported Rural Autonomous Innovation Network (RAIN), has joined AUVSI (Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International), the world’s oldest and largest membership organization dedicated to making autonomous innovation possible.

This partnership enhances AURP’s RAIN project focusing on AURP members and tenants in member research parks and innovation districts that are developing autonomous technology, robotic research and related advancements (especially in rural communities).

AURP members can gain access to the world-wide AUVSI member directory, sign up for AUVSI webinar series, stay up to date with AUVSI publications tracking latest trends in the uncrewed systems industry, and learn about AUVSI chapters in their state or region.

Earlier this year, AURP RAIN produced a webinar with BBC Training to educate our members on SBIR/STTR funding opportunities from the federal government, participated in the autonomy forum at the CES in Las Vegas, and held a session on the role of states in building autonomy networks, featuring Kansas and Maryland at the February AURP Spring Training. Real world examples of the autonomous future were present as many Spring Training attendees availed themselves at Waymo autonomous vehicles to travel around Tempe.

AURP RAIN will have a booth at the UAS Summit & Expo in Grand Forks, ND (Oct 14-15). The UAS Summit is looking for speakers on UAS advancements and partnerships. Abstracts are due: June 6, 2025. Learn more.

AURP Presents at GMU Innovation District's

Visionary Voices Series 

The George Mason University Innovation District hosted AURP and Cullum Clark, Director of the Bush Institute-SMU Economic Growth Initiative, to kick off its first Visionary Voices series event at GMU's Science and Technology Campus. The Science and Technology Campus, often referred to as the SciTech Campus, is located at Innovation Park in Manassas, VA.

Business, government and academic leaders in the City of Manassas and Prince William County (VA), GO Virginia and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership gathered to learn about the powerful impact of building a quality, authentic and attractive place centered on innovation and a highly skilled workforce to drive global competitiveness. 

The event was organized by Amy Adams, AURP Board Member and Executive Director of the GMU Institute for BioHealth Innovation.

AURP Members at AUTM 50th Anniversary

AUTM's 50th anniversary gathered a record breaking attendance of over 2,000 participants including many AURP sponsors, members and friends.

AURP members play an critical role in technology commercialization by providing the places where university spinouts and university corporate research partnerships grow and scale. AUTM Board Chair Andy Maas, University of Texas, presided over the conference.

Spotted at the 4-day conference were Astra Zeneca, University of Maryland, University of Delaware, VentureWell, SSTI, SBA Office of Innovation, Indiana University, UIDP, JLabs, First Ignite, The University Financing Foundation and UIIN. (Photo: Arundeep Pradhan, Deputy VP for Research and Innovation at the University of Wyoming, and AURP's Brian Darmody.)

AURP, a member of the Bayh-Dole Coalition, discussed ways to keep the current Bayh-Dole law in place to encourage development of new startups delivering life-changing technologies globally.

Sessions covered issues from industry-university relations, international partnerships in an era of uncertainty, patent enforceability, small tech financing and the impact of AI on start-ups. UIDP CEO Tony Boccanfuso presented on how to effectively grow external relationships. (AURP will attend the UIDP HBCU Engage in Charleston, SC, March 25-26.)

AURP also will discuss the role of technology commercialization in building life science communities of innovation at the AURP BIO Health Caucus, June 15-16, in Boston, held in conjunction with BIO 2025.

VentureWell, a nonprofit that cultivates an emerging generation of science and tech inventors and related innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, is looking to identify student entrepreneurs for its E-Team Program. This program provides up to $25,000 in non-dilutive funding, entrepreneurship training and access to entrepreneur mentors across the country. If you or others in your network are working with student entrepreneurship groups in any technology area, especially autonomous tech and robotics (an area of significant focus with AURP RAIN), learn how VentureWell can help take your student entrepreneurs to the next level. Read more.

Wichita State University has received a $1 million gift kicking off fundraising for the Shocker Fly Lab, an enclosed flight space to research, design and test unmanned aerial vehicles. The new lab will be on the WSU Innovation Campus near the Hub for Advanced Materials Research and the John Bardo Center. The Shocker Fly Lab will support industry-sponsored student competitions and faculty research in drone technology. In addition to providing applied learning experiences for College of Engineering students and others, the Shocker Fly Lab will support industry-sponsored student competitions and faculty research in drone technology, including aerodynamics, control systems and sensor integration. Read more.

Kevin Howell has been appointed the 15th chancellor of North Carolina State University (home of its Centennial Campus), becoming the institution's first Black chancellor. An NC State alumnus, Howell previously served as the university's first Black student body president in 1987. His extensive career includes roles in higher education and state politics, notably as the chief external affairs officer for UNC Health and the UNC School of Medicine. Howell succeeds Chancellor Randy Woodson (recipient of AURP's 2023 Leadership Award), who is retiring after a 15-year tenure marked by significant achievements such as increased enrollment, enhanced graduation and retention rates and a quadrupled endowment surpassing $2 billion. Read more.

Indianapolis is experiencing robust growth across its technology, health care and sports sectors, leading to a projected 17% increase in regional construction spending for 2025, according to ENRMidwest. Notable developments include the 16 Tech Innovation District and the Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis, both fostering technological innovation. In health care, Indiana University Health is constructing a $2.3-billion hospital to consolidate existing facilities, while Community Health Network and Lifepoint Behavioral Health plan two new 120-bed hospitals. Eli Lilly also is investing $4.5 billion in the Lilly Medicine Foundry, an advanced manufacturing and drug development center in Lebanon, IN. Read more.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) achieved record-breaking research performance in 2024, spending $71.6 million on R&D activities (up 8% from the previous year) and securing $60 million in new research awards. The university launched 234 multiyear projects and was recently designated as an R1 institution. Successful research also led to commercial activities. WPI inventors were awarded 21 patents during 2024, the university closed six technology licensing deals and one new startup company focused on WPI technology was formed, WoundSys LLC (founded by computer science Professor Emmanuel Agu). Read more. 

The University of Delaware has received a historic $71.5 million donation from alumni Robert L. Siegfried, Jr. and Kathleen Marie (Horgan) Siegfried, along with The Siegfried Group, LLP, marking the largest philanthropic contribution in the university's 282-year history. This gift will go to the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, funding the construction of a new facility named Siegfried Hall. The building is designed to be a student-centric learning space featuring modern classrooms, research and teaching labs, a student-run café, and an auditorium, thereby enhancing the college's mission to prepare future business leaders. Read more.

Robert A. Brown, president emeritus and professor in the faculty of computing and data sciences at Boston University, critiques traditional university ranking systems for their arbitrary methodologies and calls for a more nuanced framework to assess research institutions, in a new column ("Don’t Rank Research Universities—Compare Them"). Brown, writing in Issues In Science and Technology, emphasizes that the diverse missions and financial models of public and private universities necessitate tailored evaluation criteria. With challenges such as a projected decline in high school graduates, the rise of artificial intelligence and escalating research costs, Brown advocates for a national dialogue to ensure research universities continue to drive innovation, workforce development and economic competitiveness. Read more.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Boise State University have signed a five-year Strategic Understanding for Premier Education and Research (SUPER) agreement to enhance collaborative research efforts. This partnership aims to advance innovations in advanced materials and manufacturing for extreme environments, as well as secure and resilient energy systems, addressing critical national energy and security challenges. The collaboration will involve joint projects among students, faculty, and INL researchers, leveraging the strengths of both institutions to bolster energy infrastructure and protect vital assets. Read more.

#AURPinAction

Economic Impact Reports

Research parks, innovation districts and tech hubs are strong economic, job-creating engines and contribute to economic development in local communities, regions, states and nations.

Our AURP website features current impact studies that illustrate the dynamic impact of university research parks, innovation districts and tech hubs.

Check out the University of Pennsylvania's 2025 Update: Economic Impact in Philadelphia!

Share your impact report on our website! Learn more.

AURP CAREER CENTER

Check out the AURP Career Center to discover your

next career opportunity, including:



• President – University of Louisiana Monroe
• Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs – University of Toledo
• Wadhwani Endowed Chair in Clinical and Translational Research – The University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and Sanford Health-Fargo
• Vice President for Research, Creativity, and Economic Development – New Mexico State University
• Chief Executive Officer – McMaster Innovation Park (Hamilton, ON)
• Dean, School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences – University of California San Diego