Industry Partnerships

Unique industry partnerships this year included Virginia Tech’s expanding partnership with the McLean, Virginia- based MITRE Corp. At the request of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the center helped to shape its University Innovation Exchange (UIX), with members that include Virginia public university experts. Associate Director of Strategic Alliances Afroze Mohammed developed a proposal for the MITRE UIX for Space, bringing Virginia Tech, GMU, ODU, and UVA together to focus on solving Virginia challenges in areas such as river health and transportation through space-based research and data. Our work with MITRE enabled five faculty members to secure substantial research funding during this challenging fiscal year. Other partnership opportunities in Greater Washington include Aerospace Corp, Excella, Grant Thornton, General Dynamics, and REHAU. These partnerships delivered close to $400,000 in funding for faculty research and student capstone projects, further setting the stage for future opportunities. The center also assisted the College of Science in securing support from companies and regional organizations for their proposal to SCHEV for an undergraduate degree in Behavioral Decisions Sciences. In the Blacksburg-Roanoke region we continue work with a corporate partner of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership on the economics of unmanned systems.