Dozens of invited guests from state government and industry joined UConn administrators and faculty on Friday at the inaugural UConn Tech Park Symposium. The event served to celebrate the completion of the first phase of construction at the Innovation Partnership Building (IPB) and highlight the facility\u2019s high-tech equipment and unique capabilities.<\/p>\n
Construction began on the $132 million, 113,700 square foot building in October 2015. As the anchor building of the future UConn Tech Park, the IPB will provide industry and academic scientists with state-of-the-art research space and access to $40 million worth of specialized equipment. To date, 10 major industry partners have committed over $80 million in funding to support on-going and future research collaborations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been privileged to receive this investment from the state and our industry partners. We have been privileged to form strong relationships with our stakeholders,\u201d said Radenka Maric, UConn vice president for research and former executive director of the UConn Tech Park. \u201cThe progress and partnerships we see today are because people at the university and in industry took action. Now it\u2019s time to envision all the possibilities still ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maric was joined in welcoming guests by others from UConn\u2019s senior leadership, including Provost Jeremy Teitelbaum, dean of the School of Engineering, Kazem Kazerounian, and current IPB executive director, S. Pamir Alpay. All reiterated Maric\u2019s message of gratitude to state officials and contributing partners and enthusiasm about leveraging the IPB to continue to position UConn as an innovation cluster.<\/p>\n