Exec. Director, Innovation, External Engagement & Industry Relations

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Aindow will serve as Executive Director for Innovation, External Engagement, and Industry Relations beginning this coming fall. In addition to introducing Dr. Aindow, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the search committee and the other members of the university community who assisted during the search process.

In this role, Dr. Aindow will serve as a catalyst for new interactions between faculty, potential commercial partners, and other research organizations to support and articulate UConn’s technology innovation and research capacity. He is tasked with identifying and promoting initiatives that provide growth opportunities for applied research through technology transfer and industry partnerships. We will also look to Dr. Aindow to develop large-scale interdisciplinary, center-level initiatives, and proposals involving multiple researchers, and to coordinate with the OVPR and Government Relations to keep state agencies and congressional offices informed as appropriate, as we seek to gain support for new federal initiatives that align with UConn’s strategic priorities.

Dr. Aindow brings with him 27 years of experience in collaborative, interdisciplinary research with industry, academic, and other partners. He understands that in order for UConn to expand our research funding portfolio, it is essential that we look beyond the boundaries of traditional opportunities and that we increase outreach in emerging areas of strength for the University.

Dr. Aindow’s research, which is often interdisciplinary and invariably includes an industrial partner or sponsor, involves the study of microstructural development in engineering materials using, primarily, electron microscopy techniques. These projects include work with companies like GE Energy, Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly FEI), and UTC Aerospace Systems, and all are associated with broader industry partnerships with UConn including: the GE/UConn partnership, the UConn/FEI Center for Advanced Microscopy and Materials Analysis (CAMMA), and the UConn/UTAS Center for Advanced Materials.

Dr. Aindow received a BEng in Metallurgy and Materials Science in 1985 and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 1988 from the University of Liverpool. He joined the faculty at the University of Connecticut in 1999 and is currently a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). While at UConn, Dr. Aindow served as Director of the MSE Program from 2006-2009 and as Associate Director for the Institute of Materials Science from 2013-2017. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed papers in journals and conference proceedings, and has graduated 29 PhDs.

We are thrilled to have someone with Dr. Aindow’s extensive experience as both an internationally recognized scientist and collaborator to lead these efforts. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Aindow on his new role!

 

Sincerely,

Dr. Radenka Maric
Vice President for Research
UConn/UConn Health