![\"Emmanouil](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/IMG_5318_2-300x200.jpeg\")
\u201cUConn has become synonymous with our research collaborations with many of Connecticut\u2019s top companies and industries,\u201d says Alpay. \u00a0\u201cThe IPB is critical to our research and innovation success, and Dr. Anagnostou has expertly expanded our partnerships to the benefit of our faculty and state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean of the College of Engineering JC Zhao likewise praised the appointment. Several engineering faculty members conduct research in the IPB\u2019s centers and institutes and Anagnostou served as an associate dean of the COE until his recent promotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis position is a testament to his expertise and commitment to building strategic industry partnerships and addressing our UConn\u2019s mission to support our state\u2019s economic development in critical areas including manufacturing, defense, sustainability, and clean energy,\u201d says Zhao.<\/p>\n
Advancing the IPB<\/strong><\/p>\n For Anagnostou, his interim achievements are a prelude to loftier goals.<\/p>\n \u201cThe IPB is an amazing facility, and as director, I want to maximize our capacity for our strategic initiatives.\u00a0 We\u2019re hitting the nail on the head with research expenditures, but we\u2019re still a fraction of the University\u2019s strategic goal of $500 million per year,\u201d Anagnostou says. \u201cWe need more ideas, and we are working to identify areas that IPB can support, such as chemistry, health care, and AI, where we can make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Security partnerships, such as with the National Institute for Undersea Technology and the Air Force Research Labs, account for much of the IPB\u2019s funding. Additionally, partnerships with state industrial and scientific leaders like Pratt & Whitney and Eversource financially support advanced centers and institutes within the Tech Park.<\/p>\n The executive director values those partnerships and sees their influence in establishing similar opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses. He seeks to provide resources to manufacturers and help start-ups pursue their own technology and ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe IPB has been very well known for our support from defense projects. That is our signature, but I feel that the IPB can be more than that,\u201d Anagnostou says.<\/p>\n To do so, he hopes to establish a clean energy test bed facility in the building, allowing partners to integrate sustainable technology and simulate scenarios that challenge grid resiliency. The test bed would complement another major clean energy and sustainability endeavor that has already begun at the IPB, with Anagnostou leading the effort.<\/p>\n