Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program Approve Funding for Technology Development

The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program, a high-impact economic development initiative fostering innovation and new jobs in the state of Maryland, recently approved 16 new technology product development projects worth $4.1 million. Bringing together companies and faculty throughout Maryland, the projects include floating islands to clean the Chesapeake Bay and a synthetic filtration system for storm water runoff, among others.

An initiative of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) at the University of Maryland, MIPS provides grants for projects that team Maryland companies with researchers in public universities. Projects are co-funded by MIPS and participating companies. All funding supports the work of faculty and graduate students for each project.

For this round of projects, companies contributed $2.9 million and MIPS $1.2 million. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided additional funding.

Project teams include Beacon Resarch Inc. and Allen Davis, professor at University of Maryland, who will develop a geosynthetic filtration system to mitigate urban storm water runoff. Bluewing Environmental Solutions & Technologies LLC and Joshua McGrath, assistant professor at University of Maryland, will work to develop floating treatment wetlands to remove harmful nutrients and improve water quality in areas such as the Chesapeake Bay.

Source: University of Maryland