Sandia, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs to collaborate on MEMS, nano, and software projects
Sandia and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) as a basis for future technical collaborations at the Colorado Springs campus.
The MOU encourages cooperative efforts between Sandia and CU-Colorado Springs in a broad range of technology areas including microelectronics, MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), nanotechnology, and software for numerous space and security applications. The agreement also emphasizes advanced manufacturing technology, recognizing the need for US industry to remain competitive in the global economy.
CU-Colorado Springs recently established the Rocky Mountain Technology Alliance (RMTA), an organization of industry, government, and university leaders seeking to establish a technology-rich business development environment in Colorado Springs and the surrounding region. The agreement stems from a relationship between RMTA and Sandia’s Regional Alliance for Manufacturing Program (RAMP).
RAMP is a strategic Sandia manufacturing initiative led by Sandia’s Manufacturing Systems Science and Technology Division. One of RAMP’s objectives is to establish regional partnerships with universities, industry, and government to engage in manufacturing R&D, exercise Sandia’s capabilities through technical assistance projects, and help to develop and improve the high-tech manufacturing capabilities of current and potential partners.
Leaders at CU-Colorado Springs and Sandia believe they have mutual interests and capabilities in areas that can be combined to meet the high-tech manufacturing objectives at Sandia, RMTA, and CU-Colorado Springs. Areas of interest include microsystems and nanotechnologies, space systems and engineering, cybersecurity, computer and communication networks, power and energy systems, and advanced manufacturing.
Lenny Martinez, VP for Manufacturing Systems, Science & Technology (14000), says there are a number of potential areas for collaboration between the two organizations.
"One that we are particularly interested in at Sandia is providing technical assistance to commercial high-tech manufacturing firms in Colorado Springs and other communities throughout the state of Colorado in support of our regional manufacturing strategies as identified by RAMP," Lenny says. "These types of assistance projects are of growing importance to Sandia in terms of our needs for partnerships and manufacturing supply chain development."
Jeremy Haefner, Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Director of the Colorado Institute of Technology Transfer and Implementation at CU-Colorado Springs, says the future of the University and the economic future of the Colorado Springs region are mutually dependent on technology — specifically technology that can be developed and commercialized here in the region as opposed to in other US cities or abroad.
"We are citizens of the Rocky Mountain Technology Corridor — the region stretching from northern Colorado to southern New Mexico — from which much of modern technology flows," Haefner says. "We will expand our applied research in the region through CU-Colorado Springs and in cooperation with our partners, which will lead to substantially increased technology commercialization and production."
CU-Colorado Springs is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s, 17 master’s, and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls more than 7,600 students annually.