By
signing a Memorandum of Understanding, NIST Acting
Director Hratch Semerjian and CU President Elizabeth
Hoffman agreed to foster and expand cooperative research
and education efforts between NIST and CU. Zelda Chapman
Bailey, NIST Boulder Laboratories Director, NIST Boulder
Division Chiefs, and CU representatives attended the
signing ceremony in Hoffman’s office.
“Through this agreement, we will open new doors
of research and move into the future together. Our goal
is to strengthen both organizations so we can better
promote innovation and address national needs,” said
Semerjian.
NIST and CU have an extensive history of collaboration
in research consortia and programs extending over several
decades. The existence of CU in the community was one
of the critical factors in the decision to locate the
Commerce labs in Boulder over 50 years ago. The formal
partnerships reach back more than 40 years with the
formation of JILA, the CU-NIST research institute.
JILA faculty includes two Nobel laureates and two John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellows. Creative collaborations
among JILA Fellows and their groups play a key role
in generating the pioneering research JILA is known
for around the world.
Today’s agreement covers the faculty, staff and
facilities at NIST’s Boulder and Gaithersburg,
Md. sites and the entire CU system: CU-Boulder, CU-Denver
and Health Sciences Center, and CU-Colorado Springs. “I
am extremely proud of the history of collaboration between
CU and NIST. This MOU will provide more opportunities
for research partnerships for the CU system that will
help further discoveries to address society’s most
pressing challenges,” said Hoffman.
Future collaborations will include focus on expanding
collaborative research in science and engineering and
on training of future generations of scientists and engineers.
The MOU will provide greater opportunities for sharing
staff, facilities and equipment. Opportunities and protocols
will be developed for joint appointments to NIST and
CU, designed to attract distinguished national and international
scientists and engineers to visiting positions at both
institutions, further enhancing their research.
The University of Colorado is a three-campus system
with more than 52,000 students. It has campuses in Boulder
and Colorado Springs, in addition to the recently consolidated
Denver and Health Sciences Center campus located in downtown
Denver and at Fitzsimmons in Aurora.
As a non-regulatory agency of the U.S.
Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration,
NIST develops and promotes measurement, standards and
technology
to enhance productivity, facilitate trade and improve
the
quality of life.