Newswise — Sponsored by Microsoft Bizspark, the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) today presents their Annual Awards of Excellence. The 2008 Outstanding Research Park award goes to Sandia Science and Tech Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The awards will be presented at the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) 2008 Awards of Excellence breakfast on Friday, Dec. 12 at the AURP Annual Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The 13th annual AURP awards recognize the achievements of outstanding research parks and industry veterans and encourage the development of best practices among research and science parks. Research/science parks are where the economy of the future is invented.
The 2008 Outstanding Research/Science Park Award, presented to Sandia Science and Tech Park, recognizes well -established research parks that excel in bringing technology from the laboratory to economically viable business activities, promoting the growth of businesses, jobs and public revenue.
The Sandia park was established in 1998 as a public/private partnership to create high-paying technology-based jobs that would diversity the New Mexico economy and provide a location for companies commercializing technology developed at the adjacent Sandia National Laboratories. Today, the award-winning park spans more than 200 acres and has grown to 28 organizations employing 2,284 people earning salaries nearly double the average wage in Albuquerque. The successful park has been a role model for four other parks in New Mexico and other national laboratory parks.
The 2008 Emerging Research/Science Park Award goes to the University of South Florida Research Park of Tampa Bay. This award honors a park in operation for fewer than five years. Innovative minds, entrepreneurial attitudes and state-of-the-art facilities combine to form the foundation of the Tampa Bay park, with access to first-class research at the University of South Florida. The park has been successful in recruiting top-class talent and has grown to more than 20 early-stage companies working in life sciences, engineering and software industries. It is home to the Tampa Bay Technology Incubator, where experienced researchers and students work side by side on cutting edge technologies in high-tech startups. These incubator companies have total annual revenues of more than $4.3 million and have received more than $7.7 million in funding.
A special AURP Appreciation Award will be presented to Vernon George, who has played a crucial role in the creation of many university parks around the nation, and who helped AURP grow into a well-established and widely recognized national association. Most of George's work was undertaken over the past 20 years as a principal of Hammer, Siler, George Associates of Washington D.C. and George, Henry, George Partners of Virginia. Mr. George also has been active in real estate, academic and economic development groups.
The Career Achievement Award will be presented to Norma Grace, the recently retired Director of the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park. Ms. Grace led the development of this park from its inception in 1992, when the University of New Orleans acquired 30 acres to establish the park, until 2008, when the park had grown to 600,000 square feet of built-out space. During that time Hurricane Katrina flooded the park and it took four months to move the first tenants back into their offices. In 2008 UNO received a $50 million five-year research grant from the largest tenant in the park, SPAWAR Systems Command. Ms. Grace now is working part time to develop a second research park in Slidell, Louisiana. She also has been active in regional and state economic development.
The Innovation Award will be presented to Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, located in the Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This institute is an international leader in applying the principles of regenerative medicine to develop new clinical therapies to treat human diseases and disabilities. This includes successfully transplanting bladders grown from the patient's own cells"¦researching regenerative therapies to repair battlefield injuries with patient-grown tissues"¦ and using a new source of stem cells to create muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel, nerve and liver cells in the lab. WFIRM is led by Anthony Atala, M.D., recognized by Fast Company magazine as one of 50 people worldwide who "will change how we work and live over the next 10 years."
The Community Leadership Award will be presented to Sherman McCorkle, CEO of the Science & Technology Park Development Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Congresswoman Heather Wilson, R-NM, said, "This park is an excellent example of the great things that can be accomplished when the public and private sectors work together on a common goal. Sherman McCorkle's early vision and initiative brought this community together to create a vibrant and thriving research park. His strong leadership has and continues to provide the foundation upon which this park has become such a success."
Three outgoing board members will receive Appreciation Awards: Austin Beggs of Innovation Place in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Michael Donovan of Boston University and Scott Levitan of Forest City New East Baltimore Partnership.
"Science parks are sources of entrepreneurship, talent, and economic competitiveness for our nation, and are key elements of the infrastructure supporting the growth of today's global knowledge economy," said Gregory Deason, president of AURP. "This year's award recipients demonstrate how innovation and knowledge partnerships can create economic development that provides not only jobs, but solutions to real problems," he added. "Research parks are where the economy of the future is invented."
The awards breakfast is part of the 2008 AURP Annual Conference being held at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club in St. Petersburg. The University of South Florida Research Park is hosting the event.
The mission of AURP is to promote the development and operations of research parks that foster innovation, commercialization and economic competitiveness in a global economy through collaboration among universities, industries and government. For more information, visit www.aurp.org or call 520-529-2521.
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