Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology - September 22, 2006
by Catherine Williams

Massachusetts defense technology leaders say they hope a new partnership between a U.S. Army base and an industry organization will prod innovation and economic development in the Bay State.

The Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative (MassDTI) reports it has won a $207,708 technology transfer grant to partner with the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick. The goal of the partnership is to establish a center to transfer defense technology out from and into the center.

The Waltham-based nonprofit organization won the state-funded grant from the John Adams Innovation Institute, which is the grant-making arm of the quasi-state agency the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The grant is known as a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), which is defined as a contract between a private organization and a government agency.

The agreement grew out of a response to the U.S. Department of Defense 2005 Base Realignment and Closure project, which threatened to close the center and Hanscom Air Force base in Bedford, according to Alan J. Macdonald, the executive director of MassDTI.

"I see it as a first step toward a collaborative partnership with the base," said Macdonald.

The agreement will expand on current collaborative efforts with institutions such as MIT and the University of Massachusetts and businesses including Waltham-based Foster-Miller Inc., according to Phil Brandler, the center's director.

"It represents the start of an expanding collaboration with regard to technology exchange. In addition, it will offer us the opportunity to establish centers of excellence," said Brandler.

The center, a research and development laboratory responsible for technologies to shelter, clothe and feed soldiers, employs 1,000 civilian and military personnel. Center researchers specialize in uniform design, portable shelters and food science.

Within a year center officials say they hope to see tangible results in the form of commercialization. Brandler said he plans to advance efforts to establish two centers of excellence, one focused on fiber technology and the other in soldier performance.

To keep the center viable it needs to expand its technology transfer efforts, said Abigail A. Barrow, director of the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center. The Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center at the University of Massachusetts is also a partner in the project.

"Everybody is changing the way they do research, it is more collaborative. Natick is realizing it wants to collaborate more with research institutes and companies that are here," said Barrow.