The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Economic Development Administration (EDA) on Monday recognized two University of Notre Dame programs with a growth grant and Tech Hub designation. The announcements are the first phase of a national economic development initiative designed to drive regional innovation and job creation.
The University was awarded a Strategy Development Grant (SDG) to lead the Midwest Wireless Innovation Strategy Development Consortium, part of the new Tech Hub programs announced by the EDA.
Notre Dame is also a partner in Heartland BioWorks, a consortium of Indiana biomanufacturing participants that the EDA designated as a 2023 Regional Technology and Innovation Hub, a move that will allow it to compete for funding.
The inaugural Tech Hub nominees and SDG recipients were announced by President Joe Biden and authorized by the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.
“These announcements are another positive indication that research at the University of Notre Dame is having a lasting impact on our community and nation,” he said. Jeffrey F. Rhoads, vice president for research and professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at Notre Dame. “These initiatives will stimulate local economic growth through new innovations developed by our faculty, staff and students in our physical and virtual labs and further accelerate the great things happening in our region.”
U.S. Sen. Todd Young championed the idea of regional technology hubs — a key aspect of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.
“When I wrote the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program, my goal was to foster more innovation in the technologies of the future in places like Indiana, rather than just Silicon Valley and some coastal cities,” Young said. “I am pleased to see Notre Dame receiving a strategy development grant to further plans for a Midwest Wireless Innovation Hub.”
Leading wireless innovation in the Midwest
Notre Dame will lead it Midwest Wireless Strategic Innovation Development Consortium, which will develop a strategy to connect, strengthen and grow a network of 21 physical centers specializing in advanced technology innovation, commercialization and workforce training. The consortium is one of 29 SDGs awarded out of 400 applicants.
Serving Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, the wireless design team includes multiple partnerships in the local South Bend-Elkhart area. The consortium will focus on accelerating the translation and commercialization of university research, provide infrastructure and support for advanced RF testing and certification, pilot new products and applications in city-scale test networks, and incubate startup and enterprise innovations to fuel the economic development throughout the region.
The aim is to leverage significant investment in both semiconductors and broadband to fuel regional economic growth and global competitiveness.
“As advanced wireless technologies and applications continue to transform modern society, they have become critical to economic growth, national security and global competitiveness,” he said. Nick Leinmanprofessor of electrical engineering and its co-director Wireless Institute at Notre Dame, who will lead the consortium. “In addition to improving people's daily lives, there are tremendous opportunities for professional development in this high-tech field of national need.
“This grant gives us a unique opportunity to leverage a national network of academic, industry and government research partnerships with regional economic and workforce development initiatives to help wireless talent and businesses thrive in the Midwest,” added Laneman.
Strengthening Indiana's leadership in biotechnology
Notre Dame will also collaborate Heartland BioWorksa collaboration of Indiana stakeholders that ensures bioproducts invented in America are produced domestically.
As one of 31 planned Tech Hubs, Heartland BioWorks will support accelerating workforce development while removing barriers to success for entrepreneurs and small business owners trying to develop new biotechnologies.
“The designation of Heartland BioWorks as a Technology Hub is recognition of Indiana's leadership in biotechnology and synthetic biology research and manufacturing, and Notre Dame is a critical partner in this effort,” Young said. “There are many exciting opportunities on the horizon for Notre Dame students and faculty.”
Heartland BioWorks will include three networks: BioTrain, BioLaunch and BioMake. Notre Dame's greatest impact will be through Heartland BioWorks' BioMake or BioWorks Innovation in the Advanced Manufacturing Network. BioMake will be dedicated to testing and demonstrating next-generation biomanufacturing technologies that improve the efficiency, capacity and cost of operations.
Notre Dame is home to many centers, institutes, and facilities that make the University well-equipped to support Heartland BioWorks and BioMake, including the National Science Foundation's Center for Computational Aided Synthesis, the Warren Drug Discovery Center, the Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health, and the Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society, to name a few.
“We are excited to join the BioWorks effort, which has significant potential to transform the national biotech sector and regional economy,” he said. Nitesh Chawla, Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Director of the Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society, and the Notre Dame BioWorks Hub lead. “Notre Dame houses multiple assets that support next-generation biotechnology and data science, and integrating these capabilities into the BioWorks ecosystem will help accelerate manufacturing capabilities across the state and provide significant economic boost and workforce development.” .
Heartland BioWorks will now compete with other designated hubs to receive between $40 million and $70 million each in implementation funding.
Contact: Brandi Wampler, Associate Director of Media Relations, 574-631-2632, brandiwampler@nd.edu
Contact: Jessica Sieff, Associate Director, Media Relations, 574-631-3933, jsieff@nd.edu
