Page 6 - University of Delaware Messenger Alumni Magazine

OUR UD
New initiatives leverage University strength, advance U.S. manufacturing leadership
Biden, UD partner to launch Biden Domestic Policy Institute
A new partnership between the University of Delaware and Joseph R. Biden Jr., AS65, the 47th vice president of the United States, will pair his long-time work in domestic policy issues with the University’s strengths in public policy education and research.
Biden will serve as the founding chair of UD’s Biden Institute, a new research and policy center focused on developing public policy solutions for issues ranging from economic reform and environmental sustainability to civil rights, criminal justice, women’s rights and more. The institute will also convene thought leaders on the most important issues of the day.
“Every day of my career in public service has been motivated by the desire to ensure that every American is treated with dignity and gets a fair shot,” said Biden. “I am happy to continue that work at my alma mater, a place that is stamped on my heart. I look forward to working with a top-notch policy staff at the Biden Institute to continue the hard work of developing public policy to benefit American families.”
The Biden Institute, which will be part of the University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, will initially be located at 44 Kent Way on the University campus in Newark, Delaware.
“We’re very excited about this new relationship with Joe Biden, one of our most distinguished and loyal alumni,” said University President Dennis Assanis. “His vast experience as a public servant for more than 40 years will bring an important focus to many domestic policy matters that
Through the new National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals, UD will work with 150 partners nationwide to develop ways to make the next generation of medicines and patient therapies. Additionally, the Rapid Advancement in Process Identification Deployment will focus on less expensive, more energy-efficient ways to manufacture chemicals.
When it comes to innovation, UD is both nimble and rapid in its two new initiatives that ensure the United States remains a world leader in advanced manufacturing.
The first is the new National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL). Led by Professor Kelvin Lee, a collaborative team at UD secured the largest federal grant in institutional history—$70 million from the U.S. Commerce Department—to create NIIMBL. Working with 150 partners nationwide, UD will help develop ways to make the next generation of medicines and patient therapies.
The Newark-based NIIMBL will be the 11th Manufacturing USA Institute, a network of research institutes across the country focused on developing
and commercializing advanced manufacturing technologies. Delaware’s institute leverages UD strengths in chemical engineering and materials sciences, most prominently exemplified by the late Richard Heck’s Nobel Prize-winning work that revolutionized pharmaceutical manufacturing.
“The awarding of NIIMBL signals affirmation on the national scale of the excellence in research and innovation at the University of Delaware,” said Charlie Riordan, UD’s vice president for research, scholarship and innovation.
In addition, a team led by Professor Dion Vlachos is playing a key role in another newly founded manufacturing institute dedicated to the Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (RAPID), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy.
“Our goal is to work in partnership with industry to make better, smaller, more energy-efficient, lower cost chemical manufacturing processes and technologies,” Vlachos said. “Our work will have application in such areas as clean water, the paper industry, and the conversion of wood waste and other biomass into fuels and other useful chemicals.”
Through the collaboration, University expertise in catalysis and reactors will help researchers discover less expensive, more energy-efficient ways to manufacture chemicals. z
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EVAN KRAPE