The University of Maryland and Lockheed Martin Corporation opened a major new chapter in their more than 60-year history on June 4 when Dr. C. D. Mote Jr., president of the university, and Dr. Ray O Johnson, senior vice president and chief technology officer of Lockheed Martin, agreed to create a unique, strategic relationship between the two institutions.
The new agreement provides a strategic framework for current and future cooperation that leverages the resources, talent, and ideas of both institutions to produce innovative solutions for global and national security challenges. The agreement provides for work in three key areas: Centers of Collaboration, Joint Pursuit of Business Opportunities, and Enhanced Research and Development. The initial Lockheed Martin commitment is a minimum of $1 million per year for three years. However, officials from both organizations agree that the relationship is expected to grow in terms of both collaboration and investment.
"The University of Maryland is thrilled to be formalizing our long-term partnership with Lockheed Martin Corporation. Our combined strength will provide capacity for innovation needed to respond to complex global issues and national security challenges," said President Mote, who is the Glenn L. Martin Institute Professor of Engineering. "Our partnership will allow us to undertake major projects benefiting our national prosperity and security."
"Lockheed Martin's strategic relationship with the University of Maryland leverages the best talent and ideas from both institutions to produce innovative solutions for our future," said Dr. Johnson. "This partnership represents Lockheed Martin's commitment to its community and future workforce, and it represents a strategic business partnership that demonstrates the power of collaboration between industry, academia, and the government."
Centers of Collaboration - Officials say a key part of the new strategic relationship is the creation of Centers of Collaboration, which will support sustained cooperative work in mutually agreed-upon areas - initially logistics and sustainment, climate change, and cyber-security. The first of these, the Center for Logistics and Sustainment, has already been launched under the direction of Maryland's Jacques Gansler, who is the first holder of the university's Roger C. Lipitz Chair in Public Policy and Private Enterprise and a former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics in the Clinton Administration.
Joint Pursuit of Business Opportunities - Another focus of the new strategic relationship is to capitalize on their combined ability to optimize resource use and complementary strengths and capabilities to respond successfully to federal agency and other third-party needs for products and services.
Enhanced Research and Development - Lockheed Martin already supports research at the University of Maryland in a number of areas, such as in work on laser plasma filaments that can enhance multiple applications of high-power laser beams and research in cultural modeling that can help troops perform better in unfamiliar environments. Through their new strategic relationship, the two organizations plan to enhance and expand their existing robust R&D relationship with more efficient use of facilities, processes, and people and to explore an overarching agreement governing all research projects.
A Long History Together
Aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin, founder of the Martin Aircraft Company, was pivotal in the development of the University of Maryland aerospace engineering program, which now consistently ranks in the top 10 among aerospace engineering departments in the country.
"This powerful relationship between Glenn L. Martin, now Lockheed Martin, and the university has been in place for over 60 years, and it represents one of the most historically significant relationships between a university and a corporation in the United States," said Darryll Pines, dean of the university's A. James Clark School of Engineering.
Numerous Lockheed Martin senior executives have contributed significantly to the vision and prestige of the university by serving as members on various university boards, including: Robert J. Stevens, chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin; Norman Augustine, former Lockheed Martin CEO and president; Chris Kubasik, president and chief operating officer of Lockheed Martin; Linda Gooden, executive VP of information systems and global solutions; and Dr. Ray O Johnson, senior VP and chief technology officer.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.
About the University of Maryland
The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. The university has produced six Nobel laureates, seven Pulitzer Prize winners, more than 40 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The university is recognized for its diversity, with underrepresented students comprising one-third of the student population.
