News Archive

OU Representatives Attend Southwest Regional Meeting of American Chemical Society

OU faculty and staff attended the Bio Symposium at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society’s annual conference on Nov. 17, 2023. The panel discussion included core participants of the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The discussion featured Oklahoma’s life sciences sector.

November 29, 2023

Blog: OU Engineering’s Role in Shaping Future Bioprocessing Experts

Cytovance Biologics, Wheeler Bio and the Gallogly College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma recently joined forces in a collaborative panel discussion focused on the field of bioprocessing.

October 27, 2023

OU Celebrates Air Force Partner Achievement

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships, the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute and the Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships celebrate the Air Force Sustainment Command’s official launch its new Software Directorate. Headquartered at Tinker Air Force Base, the Software Directorate will take the Software Engineering Groups from Tinker AFB, Hill AFB, and Robins AFB, and join the three under one umbrella for a single source of organic software engineering capability.

October 3, 2023

OU Bioprocessing Core Facility Welcomes Inaugural Director

Farid Talebnia Rowshan, Ph.D., has joined the University of Oklahoma as an assistant professor in the School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and as the inaugural director of the OU Bioprocessing Core Facility. 

October 2, 2023

Members of the Oklahoma Defense Industry Association recently visited the Pentagon for briefings with military leaders.  The group met the next day with the Oklahoma Congressional delegation to discuss Oklahoma defense industry interests.

May 25, 2023

OU Recognizes The Boeing Company for a 2023 Regents Business Partnership Excellence Award

May 1, 2023

OADII Joins FISTA Innovation Park

The Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator Innovation Park has hosted a formal opening in Lawton, OK April 6, 2023. FISTA will provide an acceleration hub for top defense contractors, innovators and academic institutions, including the Oklahoma Aerospace Defense Innovation Initiative at the University of Oklahoma, to collaborate for the advancement and support of American warfighters in a high-security facility

April 12, 2023

The Office of Corporate Partnerships team, along with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, recently hosted a delegation from Mexico, which included the State and Chihuahua City government, local entrepreneurs, associations and others allies in the areas of interest. The group toured the Radar Innovations Lab, observed the Mesonet tower on campus, and toured the Tom Love Innovation Hub.  

March 28, 2023

OU Representatives Attend Biannual OC-ALC Educational Partnership Executive Session

Representatives of the University of Oklahoma's Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation #OADII and the Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships visited the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex after completing the biannual Educational Partnership Executive Session on Feb 16. In the background is OC-ALC’s new DED printer used for additive manufacturing repairs.

February 24, 2023

OU and State of Oklahoma Represented at the annual Select Oklahoma event

Joyce Burch represented OU and Oklahoma to site selectors in the DFW area. The annual Select Oklahoma event featured several Oklahoma dignitaries including Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Workforce Development Chad Mariska, Executive Director of Commerce Brent Kisling. Attendees networked with the Oklahoma delegation and learned about collaborations in Oklahoma.

January 17, 2023

OU Visits Cytovance Biologics

Cytovance Biologics is a biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing company specializing in the production of therapeutic proteins and antibodies from both mammalian cell culture and microbial fermentation. In addition to its cGMP manufacturing services, the company offers process development, cGMP cell banking and support services from its state-of-the-art Oklahoma City facilities. Cytovance is providing feedback on the specialized equipment that will be installed in the biotech core facility funded by the EDA Build Back Better Regional Challenge.  

October 28, 2022

U.S. Economic Development Administration DAS Visits Oklahoma City to Discuss $35 Million Award to Bolster Biotech Innovation

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Alvord met with coalition members, including industry and education leaders and community-based organizations, in Oklahoma City on Sept. 21 to celebrate the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster initiative.

Sept 22, 2022

Bob Palmer Named Education Innovator of the Year

Executive Director of OU’s Advanced Radar Research Center Robert Palmer, pictured with OU Director of Corporate Partnerships Joyce Burch, accepted the first-ever Education Innovator of the Year from 405 Business Magazine.

Sept 20, 2022

Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster awarded $35 million in Build Back Better Regional Challenge

The Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster Initiative, a coalition spearheaded by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber alongside primary coalition partners including OU and OU Health, and with industry leadership and vision from Echo Investment Capital, has been awarded $35 million through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge of the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Four of the six components of the initiative, totaling $24.9 million, will fund several important projects at OU. Read more about the projects selected here.

Sept 2, 2022

OU Representatives Attend Farnborough International Air Show in London

This week, OU representatives connected with global leaders at the Farnborough International Air Show in London. As reported by the Journal Record, Oklahoma representatives attended to recruit aerospace and defense companies to the state. “Sooner State officials and business leaders attending the Farnborough International Airshow in England are touting Oklahoma as a well-established platform for aerospace manufacturers and supply chain providers, among other things, officials said. The five-day show at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, adjacent to Farnborough Airport southwest of London, is billed as the largest civil and military aerospace trade show in the world.” Read more via the Journal Record: https://journalrecord.com/2022/07/20/oklahoma-pitches-aerospace-industry-to-global-leaders/

July 21, 2022

OU Representatives Attend Baker Hughes Energy Frontiers Day

OU Vice President for Research and Partnerships Tomás Díaz de la Rubia (left) spoke on the panel, “State of the State - Energy Transition Space,” during the Baker Hughes Energy Frontiers Day on June 28, 2022. The panel was moderated by Brook Simmons, President of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma. Other panelists were Taimur A. Shaikh, Energy Policy Advisor at US Environmental Protection Agency, and Ken Wagner, the Executive Director of the OSU Hamm Institute for American Energy. In addition to Díaz de la Rubia, OU attendees included (left to right) Joyce Burch, Tim Filley, and Steven Crossley.

June 28, 2022

Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster is Finalist for EDA Build Back Better Regional Challenge

The University of Oklahoma is partnering with state industry, academic and government leaders to develop an Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster competing for funding by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster was chosen as one of 60 finalists from 529 applicants nationally for the EDA’s $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

Dennis Alvord, the deputy assistant secretary for economic development and chief operating officer with the U.S. EDA, met with members of the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster in Oklahoma City on May 2, 2022. Read more about his visit via the Journal Record.

May 10, 2022

OU Faculty Visit OKC Baker Hughes Facility

A team of OU faculty visited the Baker Hughes facility in the Oklahoma City Innovation District to discuss potential research collaborations.

May 9, 2022

Presenters Gather for OU's Inaugural Industry and Government Day

The Gallogly College of Engineering and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy hosted the inaugural Industry and Government Day on April 29, 2022. Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization Andrew Pollock, Director of Corporate Partnerships and Regional Economic Development Joyce Burch and Tom Love Innovation Hub Executive Director Tom Wavering presented “Partnering with OU.” Ron Bolen, the executive director of Sooner Launch Pad, and Don Wetekan, chief strategist for the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute (OADII), presented “Entrepreneurship and Leadership.”

Pictured left to right: Andrew Pollock, Ron Bolen, Joyce Burch, Tom Wavering, Don Wetekam

April 29, 2022

Ontario’s Agent General Visits Norman

Jag Badwal, Ontario’s Agent General, met with Norman representatives April 14, 2022, to discuss potential collaborations between Ontario and Oklahoma.

Pictured (left to right) are Lawrence McKinney, President and CEO of the Norman Economic Development Coalition, Joyce Burch, OU Director of Corporate Partnerships and Regional Economic Development, Jag Badwal, Ontario’s Agent General, Sarah Short, Oklahoma Department of Commerce International Relations and Foreign Direct Investment Coordinator and the Mayor of Norman Breea Clark. 

April 14, 2022

OU Researchers Share Expertise During OKCID’s Innovations in Radar Technology Symposium

Advanced Radar Research Center personnel Jay McDaniel (left), an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Mark Yeary (center), Presidential Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Bob Palmer, ARRC executive director, presented at the symposium.

March 29, 2022

University of Oklahoma Representatives Attend State of the Aerospace Industry Event

Team members with the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute and the Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships at the University of Oklahoma, along with Geoff Camp and Leshia Pearson from Oklahoma ACES (Aerospace Commerce Economic Services), attended the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s State of the Aerospace Industry event on Feb. 25, 2022.

February 25, 2022

Driving Economic Vitality in Oklahoma

Joyce Burch moderates a panel discussion on Business Attraction and Lead Development at the February Select Oklahoma meeting. Select Oklahoma is composed of Oklahoma economic developers, with a common goal of driving economic vitality in the state.

February 11, 2022

Boeing Executives Meet with OADII Team and OU Representatives

Executives from Boeing visited the University of Oklahoma to meet with members of the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute (OADII), the Office of Corporate Partnerships, the Gallogly College of Engineering, and the Office of Advancement on January 31. 

January 31, 2022

Discussing Drone Technology Trends in Meteorology at the Innovation District’s Tech Talk

Greg McFarquhar, Ph.D., the director of the Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research (CIWRO) at the University of Oklahoma, joined Chris Fiebrich, Ph.D., the associate director of the Oklahoma Climatological Survey as panel participants discussing drone technology trends in meteorology at the Innovation District’s Tech Talk discussion on Jan. 27, 2022.

January 27, 2022

Cesar M. Salazar Aquino Awarded 2021 Weathernews Scholarship

Cesar M. Salazar Aquino, a doctoral student in Gallogly College of Engineering and graduate research assistant at the Advanced Radar Research Center, was selected for the 2021 Weathernews Scholarship. The $5,000 award is funded through an endowment established by the international company, Weathernews Inc., to support doctoral students studying weather radar and technology in the Advanced Radar Research Center, the largest academic radar research program in the United States.

December 9, 2021

OU Representatives at Oklahoma City Innovation District's Annual Breakfast

Representatives from the University of Oklahoma joined attendees at the Oklahoma City Innovation District’s Annual Breakfast on Dec. 1, 2021. Speakers included global experts in venture capital, entrepreneurship, and social impact. Pictured left to right: Brian Hackler, Cornerstone Government Affairs; John Antonio, OU Vice President for Research and Partnerships; Gene Kirkland, Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute at OU; Dan Ruder, Boeing; John Hanak, OU Office of Innovation and Corporate Partnerships; Cliff Wojtalewicz, Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute at OU.

December 1, 2021

OU Representatives Brief Gov. Stitt on OU/FISTA Partnership

Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute’s operations manager Cliff Wojtalewicz (left) with Mark Yeary (right), a Presidential Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and member of OU’s Advanced Radar Research Center, brief Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (center) on OU’s partnership with FISTA, the Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator, at Lawton/Ft. Sill. The OU/FISTA partnership will support continued collaboration with the Army Futures Command as well as with industry partners.

October 27, 2021

Retaining Top Talent Through Regional Collaboration

Joyce Burch, Director of Corporate Partnerships and Regional Economic Development at the University of Oklahoma, participated in a panel discussion on “Retaining Top Talent Through Regional Collaboration” at the International Economic Development Council Conference. Other speakers included Courtney Hendricson, AdvanceCT; Kristin Garcia, Francis Tuttle Technology Center; Von H. Washington, Jr., Kalamazoo Promise; Lori Margolin, HCCC; and was moderated by Cody Mosley, Francis Tuttle Technology Center.

October 13, 2021

Bedrock Gas Solutions

Joyce Burch, Director of Corporate Partnerships and Regional Economic Development at the University of Oklahoma, supports industry partner, Bedrock Gas Solutions. Bedrock’s President, Ron Mercer (right), and CFO Daniel Broadfoot (left) represented the Bedrock Team at the recent Southern States Energy Board Conference.

September 29, 2021

Boeing Visits Campus

Dan Ruder, Sanford Coats and Ray Mesa with Boeing, visited campus on August 25, 2021 to discuss the challenges facing the aerospace and defense industry and how collaborative research can meet those challenges. Senior Associate Vice President for Research and Partnerships John Antonio and Director of Corporate Partnerships and Regional Economic Development Joyce Burch connected the Boeing team with students and researchers in aerospace, defense and engineering, and other related fields.

August 31, 2021