Univ. of Maryland, Lockheed Announce New Partnership

OLLEGE PARK – Today the University of Maryland and Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin announced plans for a strategic partnership that will help launch more research and collaborative programs. The three-year, three-million-dollar commitment will mean more opportunities for both institutions.

The university and Lockheed have a long history of collaboration, and on Friday they announced their business relationship will continue to expand. For at least the next three years, academia and industry will come together to provide innovative solutions for global and national security challenges.

“We’ve been working historically together for more than seven decades, but we’ve never really had a strategic partnership that we think we can have in the research area–fundamental research that helps the more applied work that Lockheed does and also helps their products division,” said Darryll Pines, Dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

“We have a number of research areas that we’ll be working initially in the logistics and sustainment area, nanotechnology, and some work in energy and climate change,” said Ray Johnson, Lockheed’s Chief Technology Officer.

Pines said this will translate into added benefits for students.

“They’ll see enhanced internships; they’ll see opportunities for future job prospects; they’ll see future opportunities in various divisions at Lockheed Martin,” Pines said.

University President Dr. C. D. Mote says it’s a win-win situation, and that similar partnerships have always been successful. Every year, hundreds of students at the school of engineering find jobs with Lockheed, he said, making the company the school’s top employer.

“The activities together increase. We’ve seen this demonstrated with the Smithsonian Institution; we’ve seen this demonstrated with the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, and we’ve seen this all over the place actually,” Mote said.

Lockheed and university officials said they expect the initial commitment of $1 million per year to grow well beyond that.

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