Transcript Battelle Pancake Breakfast

Accelerating Talent Development and R&D
Partnerships at Aberdeen Proving Ground:
Establishing the Business Case
Phase One: Identification of Technology Opportunities
Battelle Technology Partnership Practice
September 13, 2012
BUSINESS SENSITIVE
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Today’s Discussion
• Recap Project Purpose, Objectives and Approach
• Present & Discuss Results of Phase One
Identification of Opportunities for University-Related
Collaborations with APG:
- What is the value of having closer proximity between
APG organizations and their university collaborators
- Specific areas of opportunity in emerging technology
focus areas for more intensive talent development and
R&D collaborations in proximity to APG
• Focus of Next Steps
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Quick Word on Battelle’s Technology
Partnership Practice
Technology-based economic development consulting arm of Battelle
Demonstrated track record in translating technology strengths into
development strategies and designing and evaluating key initiatives
from research parks to incubators to research centers
Talent &
Workforce
Experience

Connecticut Career
Choices and Talent
Based Strategy

Maricopa
Community
Colleges – Arizona
Bioscience
Workforce Strategy
& High Tech
Manufacturing’s
Future in Greater
Phoenix

Oregon Future
Workforce Needs
Assessment
Technology
Assessment and
R&D Partnerships

Ohio Third Frontier

Pennsylvania Ben
Franklin
Partnership

Massachusetts
Technology
Roadmap &
Strategic Alliances

Connecticut SBIR
 NAVSEA & HBCU
Engineering
Schools
Research Park
Experience

Rutgers University
 West Virginia
Education,
Research & Tech
Park

University of
Colorado HSC/Bio
Park

DuPage County
Research Park, IL

AURP
Benchmarking of
North American
Research Parks
Maryland Experience
 Maryland Bio2020

East Baltimore Life
Science & Technology
Park

UMAB Research Park

Prince George’s
County

Allegheny
Ventures/Friendship
Technology Park

TEDCO Policy
Development

Former Technology
Advisor for Maryland
Economic
Development
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Project Purpose
• Fully maximize the opportunity for Aberdeen
Proving Grounds to thrive and be a world class
technology hub for Maryland and the nation.
“Aberdeen Proving Ground has
been, but will be to a greater
extent, one of the Army’s major
hubs of research and development
of new technologies, and the
testing and evaluation of those
new technologies that lead to
fielding new systems to support
the warfighter.”
Comments from Army Col. Andrew Nelson,
deputy garrison commander for transformation,
“BRAC Transforms Aberdeen Proving Ground
Mission,” American Forces Press Service,
March 7, 2011
• For APG to thrive and be a worldclass technology hub also
requires the broader community in
Harford County and surrounding
areas to offer a location rich in
science & technology resources.
– Already a substantial increasing in
leading technology companies now
located in the county.
– What is missing is the presence of
research university resources for
access to top scientific and
engineering talent development as
well as research collaborations
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The Project Objectives & Focus
• Fact based assessment for aligning APG talent
and R&D partnership opportunities with Maryland
universities and colleges, as well as other leading
universities.
Project Objectives
• Identify specific technology focus areas at APG
requiring university and college collaborations
• Assess the capabilities and alignment of Maryland
universities and colleges, as well as other leading
universities in the broader region
• Set out the business case with identified strategic
opportunities for collaboration
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Project Methodology
Benchmarking
Communities and
Universities Aligned with
Opportunities
Assessment of
APG Talent and
R&D
Requirements
for University
Partnerships
Map
Opportunities
for APGUniversity
Collaboration
Business
Case
Statement
Assess Capabilities of
Maryland Universities &
Colleges
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Assessment of APG Talent and R&D
Requirements for University Partnerships
• Relied on review of web sites, grant awards and
solicitations, published studies
– Limitation for study -- No comprehensive database exists of
education & training activities, skill sets or university research
activities with APG organizations.
• Plus conducted interviews with senior leadership at APG
and contractor communities to learn about capabilities.
• Developed a Technology Framework to translate the 11
major commands and 80+ tenants at APG into universityrelated talent and research focus areas.
• 4-5 Opportunity Areas to advance university-related talent
and research collaborations
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What’s the Value Proposition for APG in
Advancing Locally-based University-Related
Talent and Research Collaborations? (1 of 2)
• Talent: Importance of close proximity for more master’s
level education resources and greater ability to advance
interactions with doctoral level students and post-docs
– Key issue on master’s education is to go beyond book learning
and promote hands-on learning via application labs near APG 
Need cutting edge applied master’s level programs that couples
teaching basic methods with research projects involving topics
relevant to organizations at APG
– Key issue for PhD students/post-docs is that talent recruitment
needs to go beyond arm’s length relationship via research
projects at distant university campuses  Make use of co-located
university sites to APG for PhD students and Post-Docs to gain greater
exposure to high quality of APG labs and scientific working
relationships.
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What’s the Value Proposition for APG in
Advancing Locally-based University-Related
Talent and Research Collaborations? (2 of 2)
• University Research Collaborations: Importance of close
proximity is not for improving quality of university
research projects, but raising the broader level of
science and creativity found at APG.
– Increasingly multi-disciplinary nature and integrated
systems approaches for APG scientific challenges demand
a more interactive environment with university researchers
– Would also promote efficient and faster pace for
generating advances  more through-put in incubating
new ideas and then can move quickly pilot development
projects
– Plus many unique university facilities supported by APG
organizations would be more valuable as shared-use
facilities used in collaboration with APG researchers
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Possible Opportunity Area:
System of Systems Network Development
Applied Education and Collaboration Center
What is it?
Possible activities:
• Emergent class of systems which
are built from independent
components that are often large
scale on their own. Spans
physical, information, cognitive
and social domains – highly
interactive, focus on real time
decision-making, mutually
interdependent
• Broader applied education
and training of engineers
with tailored courses,
instructional labs, and
master’s research projects
• Create a dedicated
collaboration space in which
best practices with academia
and industry on system of
systems networks can be
Why?
shared and new innovation
• Integral to network centric warfare
explored
– military’s equivalent of “Big Data”
• Significant cross-cutting needs in
talent and applications
development
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Possible Opportunity Area:
Systems Biology Collaboration Center
What is it?
Possible activities:
• Considers the complex interactions within • Focus on creating
biological systems on how cells function
collaboration space for
within particular networks such as in cell
wide range of university
signalling or metabolic processes that
researchers and doctoral
determine the physiological and
students/post-docs to
biochemical properties of cells.
work in proximity with
APG researchers,
Why?
including possibly joint
• Enhance next generation of detection and projects.
countermeasures for chem/bio warfare
• Augment existing lab
facilities with enhanced
• Expose APG researchers to cutting edge
modeling and
approaches
informatics
• Multi-disciplinary nature of systems
biology requires a more collaborative
approach
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Possible Opportunity Area:
User/Applications Center in High
Performance Computing
Possible activities:
What is it?
• High performance computing has
• Create a dedicated
become the critical third leg to scientific
collaboration and user
research along with theory and
support center for
experimentation. Focus on computercomputational sciences
based models and numerical analysis
analysis, visualization
techniques to simulate, evaluate and
and modeling – example
solve research problems.
of Pittsburgh
Supercomputing Center,
Why?
but for multi-university
• Strong demand for broader uses of HPC presence
including network centric
• Tap in a more efficient
warfare/cybersecurity, chem/bio
and timely way the broad
pathogen research, and testing and
expertise found at
evaluation, among others.
• Lack of capacity today at APG to support universities on project
efforts involved with
broader applications development and
applications development
user engagement
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Possible Opportunity Area:
Incubating Material Sciences Solutions
What is it?
Possible activities:
• Increased focus on engineering of
•
materials is becoming a more complex
effort with rise of multi-functional and
advanced composite materials involving a
convergence of technologies and more
sophisticated trade-offs across key
requirements.
•
Why?
• Quicken the pace of “lab to solution”
cycle from proof of principle to
commercializable product
• Value to have a range of collaborators
from university, SBIR and other industry
players
Create a Materials
Applications Center with
flexible lab space and
access to existing
material sciences
facilities at APG
Consider ways to invite
collaborators to Materials
Applications Center
through open solicitation
of best ideas to conduct
proof of concept and
other development
activities
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How Do We Make This Happen?
• No mechanism found across the organizations at APG to
advance these collaborative approaches with
universities on talent development and R&D
• Suggest need for an Intermediary Entity to facilitate
cross-organizational need identification for universityrelated talent development and research collaborations
– Have an APG Science & Technology Council govern efforts of
Intermediate Entity – drawn from senior research leadership at APG
organizations.
- Have powers to set business models and policies for advancing new
activities
– Form a university advisory council to work alongside APG S&T
Council
– Have a full-time staff director – possibly a loaned executive from APG
– Would need administrative support – possibly accessed through
CSSC
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Contact Information
Mitch Horowitz
Vice-President & Managing Director
Battelle Technology Partnership
Practice
Voice: (240) 462-5456
E-mail: [email protected]
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