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National Grid invests in UB biomedical engineering
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“This grant to support the work of UB biomedical engineering will be a powerful catalyst for the economic growth of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and Western New York life sciences companies.”
National Grid is investing $250,000 to develop a cutting-edge facility to support virtual partnerships that would promote applied research collaborations and technology transfer opportunities between biomedical engineers in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and those in local industry. The goal is to help New York businesses gain competitive technological advantages.
The Access Grid facility will help stimulate collaborative research and conferencing between faculty in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the biomedical industrial community, including Western New York’s growing life sciences sector. Biomedical engineering is a relatively new area of research that applies engineering techniques to the medical field.
Access Grid is an international video teleconferencing system that allows real-time interaction between users at two or more sites. Originally developed at the Argonne National Laboratory, Access Grid supports large-format, multimedia displays, presentation and interactive environments, and interfaces with computing middleware and visualization environments.
“The effort to promote partnerships between the university and area industry is an appropriate investment that will provide long-term benefits for the community, our customers, UB and our company,” said Tom King, president of National Grid in the U.S. “At the same time, this grant builds on National Grid’s commitment to support science and engineering education in Western New York and all across the areas we serve.”
The grant is being provided through National Grid’s Strategic Economic Development Outreach program, one of many economic development programs available in the company’s upstate New York service area. Click here for information on these programs.
The UB Access Grid facility will provide videoconferencing for research collaborations between sites on all three UB campuses and industrial partners within the eight counties of Western New York. National Grid’s grant also will support UB’s bachelor’s degree program in biomedical engineering, which will enroll its first students for the fall 2010 semester.
“National Grid has been a longstanding and generous supporter of UB,” said Harvey G. Stenger Jr., dean of UB Engineering. “This grant to support the work of UB biomedical engineering will be a powerful catalyst for the economic growth of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and Western New York life sciences companies.”
The UB Department of Biomedical Engineering, established in 2008 as a joint venture between UB Engineering and the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is an outcome of long-standing and productive collaborations between researchers in both schools. The department focuses on the development of groundbreaking biomedical devices and therapies that address society’s most pressing health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.
The department provides access to a skilled workforce, biomedical expertise, advanced facilities and the translation of new biomedical technologies to the marketplace. It also supports Western New York's strong medical device industry by spinning off new technologies and businesses.
“National Grid’s support will advance several UB research strengths identified by the UB 2020 plan, including those in Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan, and Information and Computing Technology,” said President John B. Simpson. “The benefits of this support will extend far beyond our campus and will help to boost UB's efforts to increase the already substantial economic impact of its research activities.”
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