Photo: Jeff Zehnder
When a distinguished group of Naval personnel casually dropped into this week’s AeroSpace Ventures (ASV) Research Blitz, it gave an unexpected boost to an event already packed with aerospace trailblazers from government, industry and academia.
The event, hosted by AeroSpace Ventures and held in the LASP Aerospace Sciences building, was already a Who’s Who of industry and academic leaders in aerospace from the Front Range, even before Rear Admiral John Mustin, Deputy Commander, US Second Fleet and his colleagues joined just in time for the Cybersecurity presentations.
The 16 CU Boulder researchers who presented their cutting-edge discoveries were the stars of the show for the campus leaders, select federal and local government officials and industry executives from companies as diverse as Lockheed Martin, JP Morgan and Red Canyon Software. The Blitz was designed to connect cutting edge-research with people and organizations who can benefit by helping move that work forward through funding, collaborations, commercialization and public policy.
“We are always delighted to connect interested industry partners with impactful research that can benefit from new collaborations and investments,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Abby Benson. “It was a terrific day and just one of many opportunities we make available to open doors for industry to work with our campus and researchers.”
Innovative research topics presented during the day were clustered into five areas: Hypersonics, Quantum, Robotics & Autonomy, Space Weather and Cybersecurity. Key efforts that were especially well represented through presentations included College of Engineering and Applied Science Interdisciplinary Research Themes (IRTs); the newly launched CUbit Quantum Initiative; Computer Science; the Grand Challenge’s Space Weather Technology, Research and Education Center (SWx-TREC); and the Technology, Cybersecurity and Policy Program.
According to Jay Lindell, aerospace and defense industry champion for the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT), the event format was ideal for encouraging industry and academic participants to connect, brainstorm and consider mutually beneficial opportunities. While the research presentations were undoubtedly the highlight of the day, the networking breaks scattered throughout the day were a close second as the enthusiasm to collaborate was palpable.
About AeroSpace Ventures
CU Boulder AeroSpace Ventures (ASV) is housed within the Research & Innovation Office (RIO) and brings together researchers, students, industry leaders, government partners and entrepreneurs to envision and create the future for space and Earth systems. In addition to contributing to a variety of other events and activities around Colorado, ASV hosts two major on-campus events each year: the ASV Research Blitz, which brings together CU Boulder researchers and industry; and ASV Connect, which serves as an aerospace-focused career fair and networking event for CU Boulder students and industry partners.