TAP Lab aerospace award spotlights university collaboration
A collaborative effort including the University of Colorado Boulder and longtime partner Lockheed Martin received the Collaboration in Industry Award in Aerospace at last week’s Colorado Business Roundtable industry collaboration awards luncheon.
The presentation, which included remarks from Gov. John Hickenlooper, was the first of its kind hosted by the Colorado Business Roundtable (COBRT). The COBRT works with industry leaders, chambers of commerce, educational institutions and governmental bodies to improve the business environment, increase effectiveness and advocate for proactive, pro-business legislation to strengthen the economy and allow businesses to thrive in Colorado and the region.
The award-winning collaboration, called the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center Tools, Applications, and Processing (TAP) Lab, enables collaboration between academia, industry, intelligence, defense and civil partners to advance the capability and utility of remote sensing data through access and innovation. In addition to CU Boulder and Lockheed Martin, organizations including Atmospheric & Environmental Research, Ball Aerospace, Net-Centric Design Professionals, Raytheon and Toyon Research Corporation are addressing government, civil and commercial applications through additional TAP Lab-facilitated collaborations.
“TAP Lab’s infrastructure improves Colorado’s ability to access, interpret and leverage large satellite-based, remote sensing data sets to address issues around weather, natural resource management, disaster response and agriculture,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Abby Benson. “This effort brings together large and small businesses, federal and state resources and academia to create a world-class capability in Colorado. CU Boulder is proud to be a partner.”
The Office of Industry Collaboration facilitates the university’s engagement with industry partners through the TAP Lab and a range of other relationships in areas including sponsored research, student projects, joint proposals and a variety of workforce recruitment activities.