Higher Learning
Where Big Ideas Come to Life BY BETH BRAND
A UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE (UD) student created the touchscreen technology you may be using to read this. And, at this very moment, a UD student is probably working on something else—a gadget, app, pharmaceutical product—that will make your life better, easier, or healthier. The University of Delaware is a place where big ideas come to life, where our students work alongside, investigate, learn, and are mentored by industry experts. On UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus, students learn in-demand skills through internships, research projects, and co-ops with resident companies. The soon-to-be-opened FinTech Innovation Hub is just one spot where our students will grow right along with an industry. Discover Bank plans 58
to incubate community-minded fintech startups inside. There, they will be joined by the Delaware Small Business Development Center and spaces belonging to UD’s business and engineering colleges. Just across the lawn, in the Ammon Pinizzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center, students and faculty examine analytical solutions to the challenges inherent in manufacturing biopharmaceuticals. These complex medicines produced from living cells—from insulin to COVID19 vaccines—are highly effective, but extremely challenging to make. A new research partnership between UD and Waters Corporation, a pioneer in scientific measurement, has scientists from the Massachusettsbased company collaborating with some of UD’s best and brightest to find solutions. July / Aug us t 2 0 2 2
| DELAWARE BUSINESS
