Carnegie Mellon University
June 19, 2013

Press Release: Carnegie Mellon, Other Leading US Universities Sign Groundbreaking R&D Agreement with Motorola Mobility

CMU Part of Collaborative Effort To Accelerate Innovation of New Technologies

Contacts: Ken Walters / Carnegie Mellon University / 412-268-1151 / walters1@andrew.cmu.edu
Gabe Madway / Motorola Mobility / 415-860-4521 / gmadway@motorola.com

SUNNYVALE, Calif., and PITTSBURGH—Motorola Mobility's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group is entering into a groundbreaking collaboration agreement with Carnegie Mellon University and seven other top U.S. research universities. The Multi-University Research Agreement (MURA) will dramatically streamline the generation of new joint research projects and pave the way for closer cooperation on the development of fundamental new technologies.

In addition to Motorola and Carnegie Mellon, the signatories include California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Texas A&M University and Virginia Tech.

By reducing the time and complexity needed to establish new research projects through the use of common strategies and terms, the MURA forges a faster and more seamless way of working with leading research universities, one that matches the speed and agility needed for ATAP projects.

The use of a single, universal agreement with all eight universities will enable Motorola's ATAP group and researchers at these universities to engage in research projects across a wide spectrum, from a single university researcher on a short-term research project to a larger, cross-disciplinary and multi-university research effort. And to do so in less than 30 days, rather than the several months that traditional sponsored research agreements can often take to establish.

"The multi-university agreement is really the first of its kind," said Kaigham J. Gabriel, vice president and deputy director of ATAP. "Such an agreement has the potential to be a national model for how companies and universities work together to speed innovation and U.S. competitiveness, while staying true to their individual missions and cultures."

"When we started six months ago, people told us we were crazy... that this couldn't be done. But we found power in the similarity of our goal — to do great work, faster, and with fewer barriers — and a group of committed individuals made it so," said Regina E. Dugan, senior vice president and director of ATAP.

"Carnegie Mellon conducts research in numerous areas of interest to Motorola Mobility, from battery technology to graphics to cybersecurity. This pathbreaking agreement for university-industry collaboration promises to accelerate innovation and to yield new technologies that benefit mobile device users worldwide," said David Dzombak, interim vice provost of Sponsored Programs at CMU.
     
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