Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced in a press release Tuesday that the University, along with other Virginia colleges and industries, will be part of a new collaborative logistics program aimed to improve business and industry through joint research projects and resource sharing.
The program, titled the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Logistics Systems, will bring together the University, Longwood University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia State University. It will also work closely with officials from the private and public sector to develop new research and facilitate large-scale flows of human, technological and financial capital.
“Virginia is home to some of the nation’s top institutions of higher education,” Virgina Deputy Press Secretary Paul Shanks said in an email. “Gov. McDonnell believes that this strategic collaboration will produce significant positive economic results across the Commonwealth.”
CCALS is modeled after the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which was founded in 2010 to similarly facilitate research collaboration between universities and companies through resource pooling. Its research currently centers on developing advanced surface engineering systems and improving manufacturing processes.
The new center has plans to build a state-of-the-art facility in central Virginia that will include computation and data management laboratories, as well as a simulation laboratory and production warehouse for experimentation, according to the Center’s website.
Industry members will include Virginia logistics companies Logistics Management Resources, based out of Prince George Country, and McLean-based government consulting firm LMI.
Barry Johnson, the senior associate dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will spearhead the University’s involvement in the center as sitting as Chairman of the Board for CCLAS. Johnson also helped to pioneered the CCAM model.
—compiled by Alia Sharif