OUR MISSON: A PUBLIC-PRIVATE-COMMUNITY JOINT VENTURE AT U-M

 

The priority to establish US-based manufacturing startups and businesses for sustainable construction is of national interest, essential for maintaining competitiveness in the global market and delivering the new buildings and retrofits the country needs. Equally vital is the investment in the workforce – to attract and retain talent, and to upskill the existing labor force to integrate digital technologies.

Historically, the AEC industry in the US has seen limited R+D investment. Additionally, regulatory hurdles, industry fragmentation, and risk aversion render new technologies expensive and time-consuming to commercialize, slowing the industry’s rate of innovation adoption. 

 

The living lab ecosystem at the university bridges many of these fragmented links and addresses stop-gaps to accelerate decarbonization efforts in our built environment. Key benefits envisioned for industry partners include:

  1. Access to world-renowned interdisciplinary teams and the next generation of student talent with diverse backgrounds
  2. Access to a robust research infrastructure at the university setting to co-develop solutions with targeted priorities, directed for maximum impact in real-world situations
  3. Enhanced public-private-community collaboration to share market risks and jointly tackle unique challenges along the value chain, especially in developing new technical tools and processes for manufacturing, analysis, delivery, and monitoring
  4. Develop plug-and-play testing or stand alone demonstrations for experiential proof-of-concept and reliable performance data capture to accelerate technology adoption

LCB R+D Initiative aligns with U-M’s near future and long term trajectory outlined in Vision 2034 and Campus Plan 2050 which includes the development of an Innovation District at the Ann Arbor North Campus. Our work engages with The Office of Vice President for Research, the inaugural Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action, and the Associate Vice President for Campus Sustainability. Core to these alignments is to work closely with the Office of Campus Sustainability and Campus Planning, as well as Innovation Partnerships, Government Relations, Student Life Sustainability, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and UM’s Center for Innovation in Detroit. A number of place-based demonstration projects are already underway in partnership with U-M’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum as well as broader multi-university research collaborations with Purdue and Tulane University. Broadly, U-M has maintained strong relationships with national labs such as OakRidge National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), including the recent $15 M, five-year collaboration with LANL to amplify research in computing technologies for Artificial Intelligence.