Some of Connecticut\u2019s \u2013 and the world\u2019s \u2013 leading corporations and industries are serving as anchor partners for the IPB, including United Technologies Corp., General Electric, Comcast, Pratt & Whitney, and Eversource.<\/p>\n
The IPB is home to one of the most advanced microscopy centers in the country thanks to a partnership with one of the world\u2019s leading scientific instrument makers, Thermo Fisher Scientific. Industry partners also have access to more than $40 million in high-end research equipment operated and maintained by faculty experts within the IPB\u2019s eight research centers. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for June 2018.<\/p>\n
The Congressman also toured UConn R&D labs focused on developing technologies and workforce training in areas that are critical to U.S. defense capabilities, such as naval engineering.<\/p>\n
Courtney, whose district includes the General Dynamics Electric Boat<\/a> shipyard in southeastern Connecticut, has been a strong proponent for defense related research and training programs at UConn. Along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Courtney was instrumental in helping UConn win a $1.3 million grant from the Office of Naval Research for an undersea engineering program.<\/p>\n Courtney also helped provide additional funding this year for the Navy to fund stronger partnerships between the Navy and universities with an interest in undersea vehicle research and naval engineering.\u00a0 UConn, General Dynamics Electric Boat, and the University of Rhode Island recently established the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technologies<\/a> (NIUVT), a collaboration that aims to enhance performance and reduce the cost of building the U.S. Navy\u2019s fleet of highly specialized submarines and autonomous underwater vehicles. NIUVT will compete for this new Navy funding opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a great brief at UConn updating us on the growing research and development taking place to further our national security priorities,\u201d said Courtney. \u201cI was very pleased last year that my office was able to assist UConn with obtaining a $1.3 million grant through the Office of Naval Research to conduct research on undersea engineering. During our visit, Richard Christenson, the co-director of NIUVT, showed us some of the research projects underway to increase submarine efficiencies and further quiet undersea operations by our Navy. Last week, as a further boost, the House Armed Services Committee, which I serve on as ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, authorized $20 million to support Navy partnerships with academic institutions. This funding will be used by institutions conducting research on undersea unmanned warfare and energy technology, such as NIUVT that is a collaborative program between the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island. I am grateful for the impressive work that the researchers and engineers are carrying out at UConn in support of our undersea fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n Headquartered at the UConn Avery Point campus, NIUVT leverages several sites in the region that are important to the naval industry.\u00a0 These sites include the naval submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, General Dynamic Electric Boat\u2019s facilities in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the main campuses of both UConn and URI, the Naval War College, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center.\u00a0NIUVT and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Middletown, Rhode Island, have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement that further reinforces the institute\u2019s regional significance.<\/p>\n Courtney\u2019s visit to the IPB wrapped up with a presentation from the director of the Quiet Corner Innovation Center<\/a> (QCIC), a UConn School of Engineering program that was established in 2016 through grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and additional investments from Connecticut Innovations<\/a> and UConn. The program provides crucial research and development services, state-of-the-art equipment, and leverages UConn expertise to accelerate growth at small- and medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing sector located in Connecticut\u2019s \u201cquiet corner\u201d comprised of Tolland, Windham, and New London counties.<\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/JCourtney-UConn-Visit-21-300x269.jpg\")