USF Engineering Institute Awarded Contract with US SOCOM
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The University of South Florida (USF) Institute of Applied Engineering and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) have agreed to a new, multi-year contract that paves the way for researchers and students to collaborate with SOCOM to help solve significant challenges facing the nation.
The five-year contract is worth a maximum value of $85 million and calls for the USF Institute of Applied Engineering’s expertise in applied research and advanced technology development to be utilized to support SOCOM’s needs in a range of scientific and engineering disciplines.
“I firmly believe it’s the role of a public researchuniversity to catalyze regional economic development, and that can only beachieved through high-impact partnerships with government and privateindustry,” said USF President Steven C. Currall. “By forming this type of partnership, USF ishelping to elevate the Tampa Bay region as we seek to shape a moreknowledge-based economy.”
Over the course of the contract, the USF institute willcomplete individual task orders for projects within its core competency areas. SOCOMmay look to the institute to address issues in fields such as autonomoussystems, human performance, transportation, cybersecurity, data analytics andsensor technologies. Students and faculty may also have opportunities to gainreal-world experience through internships at MacDill Air Force Base.
The USF Institute of Applied Engineering is a direct supportorganization of USF that was formed in 2018. Professor Robert H. Bishop, founder, president and CEO of the institute,and professor and dean of the USF College of Engineering, says competing forcontracts from the U.S. Department of Defense is one of the primary reasons forcreating the institute.
“Our goal is to leverage the intellectual and creativefirepower of the USF Institute of Applied Engineering and academia to addressthe many significant challenges facing our country. This contract supportsgroundbreaking research, hardware and software development, test andevaluation, demonstrations and prototyping, while providing SOCOM access toworld-class education and training resources in support of their globalmission,” said Bishop.
Later this spring, the USF Institute of Applied Engineeringwill move into a renovated 4,000 square foot space inside University Mall aspart of the Uptown District transformation. In June 2019, Hillsborough CountyCommissioners awarded a $5.2 million grant to support the institute as itincreases capacity in the new location and aims to attract additional industryand government partners.
“The institute is expected to engage USF scientists,scholars and students across the university in creating interdisciplinary teamscapable of delivering rapid, novel solutions to complex problems,” said RalphWilcox, USF provost and executive vice president. “Many of these discoveriesand technologies will have important applications that reach beyond the defensesector.”
The contract with SOCOM takes effect immediately.
