Auburn University opens doors to research and innovation campus in Huntsville

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Auburn University expanded its footprint and opened the doors to a new facility in Huntsville Tuesday with a grand opening celebration for its Research and Innovation Campus.

Located at 345 Voyager Way NW in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, the nine-acre site is close to numerous defense and aerospace partners, as well as the Bridge Street commercial development and the Gate 9 entrance to Redstone Arsenal.

The grand opening follows the university’s September announcement of plans to build a Gulf Coast engineering research station in Orange Beach.

“Like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969, today is a monumental day for Auburn when we plant our flag in Huntsville,” said Steve Taylor, interim dean of Auburn’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. “We can even say that another eagle has landed.”

Formerly home to LogiCore, the property is well-equipped to support applied research and development for Huntsville/Redstone customers, as well as hosting alumni and development events. Auburn University’s Research and Innovation Campus serves as a state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar collaboration engine, conference center, designed to foster a new era of interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration needed to power the nation for the next century. and a research space that extends Auburn’s expertise and next-generation resources to defense, space and law enforcement.

Auburn University President Christopher B. “Auburn University’s Research and Innovation Campus will be a gathering place today,” Roberts said. “Huntsville has been and continues to be one of the centers where our alumni work, our faculty partner, and our students study. This facility will fast-track world-changing career connections not only through next-generation, cross-domain collaboration capabilities between agencies, but also by giving our partners access to Auburn’s most promising young minds.”

Experimentation with collaborative laboratories enables Auburn researchers and students to conduct cutting-edge research and development at technological readiness levels to help customers meet national security, aerospace and biotechnology challenges. These labs will contribute to the expansion of high-profile Auburn research programs in Huntsville, including advanced manufacturing, additive manufacturing, biotechnology, quantum metrology, cyber and critical infrastructure security, and reliable positioning, navigation, and timing. To enhance Auburn’s space exploration capabilities, the facilities can be used as an operations center for NASA, Department of Defense and private sector missions.

“As the largest city in the state, Huntsville strives to be a leader in jobs and economic development,” said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. “In defense, aerospace, law enforcement, biotechnology and more, Huntsville will quickly become a global leader in innovation, research and development as we combine our rich intellectual capital with new opportunities, such as our partnership with Auburn University Research and Innovation.” Campus.

Rose Allen, a 1985 Auburn industrial engineering graduate who serves as president of deciBel Research and previously served as chairman of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, also welcomed Auburn University’s Research and Innovation Campus to the Rocket City.

“As president of DeciBel Research and someone who has spent his entire career in space and defense, I have seen firsthand the impact Auburn and its alumni have had on this community,” Allen said. “This is a special place, filled with some of the nation’s brightest minds committed to making our world a better and safer place to live. Huntsville is better because Auburn is here.

Mike DeMajoribus, who retired from Dynetics in 2016 as executive vice president of business operations and currently serves as District 8 representative on the Auburn University Board of Trustees, said Auburn is excited to expand its partnership with the community it calls home. 60 years.

“Our hope is that this building will quickly become a key connection to Auburn University for the Huntsville community and a destination for area government and industry entities looking to meet in a neutral, trusted location for technical exchange meetings and other meetings.” events,” said DeMajoribus.

In addition to research and technical aspects, the Auburn Research and Innovation Campus features rotating exhibits from the university’s Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts and original works by renowned artist Gamaliel Rodriguez.

“In this building, we find endless inspiration from humanity’s greatest achievements through art,” said Roberts. “This facility is for everyone … We hope you too will call Auburn University’s research and innovation campus in Huntsville home.”

Bringing the Arts to Auburn’s Huntsville Campus

The Research and Innovation Campus was highlighted by more than 35 art objects from the collection of the Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts, including a new work by acclaimed artist Gamaliel Rodriguez.

This exhibit coverage initiative is the first in a growing series to share the art collection at other campus locations. Through this campus partnership, administrators strive to encourage the exchange of ideas and enrich workplace culture by showcasing the intersection of art, science, and technology.

“These parallel disciplines have led to some of the greatest and most astonishing achievements in history,” said Aaron Levy Garvey, Janet L. Nolan is director of curatorial affairs at the Auburn Museum of Art. “From Earth to Air, this multi-phase exhibition tells a story that begins with humanity’s first discoveries and yet-to-be-discovered achievements on Earth.”

The first phase includes works by Roger Brown, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Beverley Pepper, Maltby Sykes and Mildred Thompson. The museum selected US Army veteran Gamaliel Rodriguez as its first artist, who uses felt and ballpoint pens to create photorealistic aerial views of industrial, military and civilian structures.

Highlights of the exhibition, one painting depicts the familiar but reimagined landscape of the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. The other offers a new facility with architectural modifications, including a rooftop greenhouse.

“I start working from a real image, and then I create my ideas, thinking about it from a fictional point of view,” Rodriguez said. “Nanotechnology is going to be the future, so how can I make a building look futuristic?” Technology and agriculture co-exist — a fact that is deeply rooted in the university’s history. The building evolves depending on the environment.”

Rodríguez said his work explores the plant world to cross-pollinate hybrid species that exist only in leafy plants.

“Auburn’s masterfully pen-and-ink third pushes the boundaries of the medium,” said Levi Garvey. “With these simple materials, he explores memory, sense of place, and human achievement in engineering and science.”

Rodriguez will be featured in a group exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in November. His work is also collected by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the SCAD Museum of Art, and the Arte Rico Museum in Puerto Rico.

“As we look forward to the museum’s 20th anniversary in 2023, we welcome partnerships to share the university’s art collection with other campus sites,” said museum executive director Cindy Malinyk. “Whether through museum tours on the move or extended loans like Huntsville, The Jule positions the collection as a campus resource for research, interpretation and teaching.”

Located on the Auburn campus, the Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts is the cultural heart of the Alabama State Research Institution, serving students, faculty and constituents of the Southeast. The University’s art collection includes works from the 17th to 21st centuries and consists of photographs, works on paper depicting the South, ceramics, and Southern visual art.

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