Press Event

University of Massachusetts Lowell
Center of Excellence in Nanomanufacturing
December 20, 2004

Talking points for Mitch Adams

Good morning. I am pleased to be here this morning, with Chancellor Hogan and Senator Pangiotakos, to announce an award in the amount of $5 million by the John Adams Innovation Institute to establish a Center of Excellence in Nanomanufacturing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. This Center represents the first major investment made from the University Matching Fund that was created as part of the Economic Stimulus Legislation enacted last January, an investment that has already produced substantial returns for the Commonwealth. It also represents a major milestone in the path that state government, academia, and industry started down together two years ago as we began to discuss how we should make the critical investments we knew were necessary to maintain and revitalize the Commonwealth’s Innovation Economy. We recognized that those investments needed to be made strategically, needed to leverage other funding sources, and needed to be made in a way that built strong alliances between the academic research community and industry. In announcing today’s award, I am pleased to say that this first Center of Excellence focuses on a strategic market opportunity that has the potential to impact a broad spectrum of industry in Massachusetts, is supported by strong collaborations both with other academic research institutions and with industry, and is well on its way to build a sustainable world class research operation that moves the Lowell campus into a premier position on the national stage.

Talking points for Pat Larkin

I am extremely excited to be able to announce our first Center of Excellence, which I hope will become the prototype for many such centers that will become the cornerstone of technology-based economic development in Massachusetts. Centers of Excellence represent an opportunity for the Commonwealth to take a pro-active, strategic approach to building the foundations for future economic growth, by marrying the development of innovative technologies with the growth of new and existing businesses – and the workforce to drive them - throughout the state.

I would like to briefly outline some of the attributes that we have identified in this first Center of Excellence that we believe form the basis for its success – and a model by which we hope to assess other potential Centers.

• Vision – we believe strongly that a Center of Excellence must be driven by a shared vision of where technology and market opportunities will be five to ten years in the future. That vision has to challenge and appeal to both the academic research community and to industry. That vision has to build on the strengths of the research institution and address an important, achievable market opportunity. The U Mass Lowell Center of Excellence in Nanomanufacturing addresses a major element of the pathway to developing what many believe to be a trillion dollar market opportunity – how to mass produce products and components with nano-scale features. The vision for this center, as described by Dr. Julie Chen, its director, is to be one of the top one or two centers in the country for nanomanufacturing. That’s a vision we can subscribe to, that will pay important dividends for Massachusetts, and that we are pleased to be able to invest in.
  
• Commitment – to be able to achieve true excellence, a Center – and its people – need to be truly committed to its success. From our first discussions, it has been obvious that this Center enjoys the commitment not only of its research staff, but also the University – Chancellor Hogan, his academic and administrative organizations on the Lowell campus, as well as President Wilson and the U Mass system. The University is committed to making this Center a success, and is making the investments necessary to accomplish this. It has also been obvious that the Legislature, the Governor, and public leaders from this region have all been on the same page in trying to bring together the resources that will be required to launch, sustain, and build this Center into a world class operation.
  
• Collaboration – we believe that successful Centers of Excellence need to be able to collaborate effectively with other academic research institutions and with industry. As Mitchell suggested, U Mass Lowell has already demonstrated success in this area. In September, a partnership including U Mass Lowell, Northeastern University, and the University of New Hampshire was granted a $12.4 million NSEC award by the National Science Foundation to establish the Center for High Rate Nanomanufacturing. Today’s announcement delivers on a promise that we made to the National Science Foundation to support the partnership through the establishment of this Center of Excellence. The National Science Foundation support will provide some of the core funding that the Center of Excellence can leverage to develop other research opportunities sponsored by government and industry to achieve Dr. Chen’s vision for this center.

Today’s announcement represents the culmination of many months of discussions between the UMass Leadership team and the John Adams Innovation Institute. It also represents the beginning of what we hope will prove to be a long and successful partnership to build a true Center of Excellence in Nanomanufacturing, a center that will deliver economic opportunity throughout Massachusetts.