California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) STRATEGIC PLAN OVERVIEW The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) was established in 2001 as an engine for innovation based on the belief that the defining technologies of the 21 st Century will arise from understanding and constructing functional NanoSystems through controlled integration of nanoscale components. CNSI has leveraged the combined strengths of the University of California s Los Angeles and Santa Barbara campuses to create a world- leading nexus of research, education, and translational activities by: Engaging in scientific discovery that fuels innovation and impacts society. Promoting interdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Providing transformative research capabilities through core technology centers. Seeding multi- campus research initiatives. Integrating new education and workforce development programs for California. Catalyzing collaboration between university and industrial researchers. Fostering entrepreneurship. Facilitating transition of ideas into the marketplace. CNSI is an established world leader in basic and applied research into nanoscale phenomena, producing important discoveries in health, information technology, energy, and the environment. It is a test- bed for small business incubation and technology transfer, which promises to enhance an already burgeoning culture of entrepreneurship within the UC community and deliver impactful technological solutions to major societal challenges for California. To increase system- wide engagement and collaboration, the CNSI leadership has developed a strategic plan focused on identification, development, and implementation of scalable engagement opportunities that extends across the Cal ISI and UC systems. An in- depth assessment of past successes and potential growth opportunities enabled identification of strategic initiatives in (1) Research, (2) Shared Resources and Facilities, (3) Entrepreneurship, and (4) Education, Outreach, and Workforce Development. Built on a solid foundation of interdisciplinary research, innovative operations approaches, and willing membership engagement, CNSI s ambitions strive for meaningful impact for the University of California, the State, and the Nation. STRATEGIC INITITIAVES Identification of engagement areas maximizing intra- campus efficiencies with system- wide impact is key to the CNSI strategic plan. In each noted area, specific actions are described that 1
expand current programs or address gaps in the key nanoscience and nanotechnology arena throughout the UC system portfolio. Universal themes and foci for future impact are: Facilitating collaborations and resource exchange: Catalyzing joint grants aimed at collaboration on common scientific interests that leverage unique CNSI strengths and multidisciplinary teams. Joint incubator memberships with reciprocal rates to make entrepreneurship facilities accessible to nanoscience- based ventures from all UC campuses. Streamlined processes for inter- campus utilization of the extensive collection of CNSI shared resources. Joint workshops and symposia on research, education, and technologies: Leveraging pooled resources to create economies- of- scale. Increased visibility and impact though wider distribution. Shared metrics, analytics, and operational documentation: Common metric definitions. Uniform programmatic evaluation and assessment. Enhanced external impact: Formation of joint External Advisory Board. Identify needs and opportunities for basic research in nanoscience and nanotechnology from an external perspective including translation outside academia and beyond technology incubation. Help identify industrial partnerships. Help define institutional performance expectations and metrics. 1. RESEARCH Much of today s research funding focuses on Team Science requiring cross- institutional and multidisciplinary teams of investigators, often with strong industrial ties. The CNSI research enterprise comprises two major categories: (1) multidisciplinary, program- directed research that addresses specific themes and grand challenges, launched from CNSI or collaboratively through affiliated research centers and other UC campuses, and (2) campus- wide research in which faculty and affiliate members from academia and industry utilize Institutional Shared Resources to accomplish research goals. Expanding broader system- wide engagement in research necessitates increased focus on the latter category to establish multidisciplinary teams that integrate chemistry, materials science, physics, mathematics, and engineering with biology, medicine, and biotechnology. CNSI s major research areas are: Healthcare, Medicine, and Biotechnology. Energy and the Environment. Information Technologies. Nanomaterial Environmental Health and Safety (nano EHS), including safe design and implementation of engineered nanomaterials. Coupling biomedicine with nanoscience and technology is a unique strength of CNSI. In 2008, a collaboration of UCLA, UCSB, and 11 other research institutions was awarded $24 million by the 2
National Science Foundation to establish the UC Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN), with a further $24 million awarded in 2013. The mission of UC CEIN is to ensure safe implementation of nanotechnology in the environment, enabling the US and the International community to leverage transformative technology that benefits society, our economy, and the environment. The selection of UCLA for UC CEIN headquarters with a significant node at UCSB signifies the national leadership role of CNSI in nanoscience environmental health and safety (nanoehs), enabled by the combined CNSI research infrastructure. The UC CEIN is headquartered at UCLA with its administration, programmatic, and financial management housed within the CNSI under the direction of Center Director Andre Nel and CAO David Avery. UC CEIN s mission bridges 7 thematic research areas, education and mentoring, and stakeholder engagement, involving over 30 funded faculty investigators at 4 UC campuses (UCLA, UCSB, UC Davis, UC Riverside) and 4 additional funded research institutions across the US (Northwestern, UTEP and UNM) and Germany (Bremen). The UC CEIN has leveraged the support of the National Science Foundation and its infrastructure within the CNSI to secure an additional $10+ million in research support over the past 8 years from the National Institutes of Health to expand our work to explore human implications of nanotechnology, further explore safe design strategies, and the application of these principals to nanotherapeutic approaches. The UC CEIN has been prominent in efforts to develop safety assessment and policy formulation through active engagement with key stakeholders including government agencies, industry, and the public to disseminate knowledge and help shape regulatory decision- making. UC CEIN has convened a series of multi- stakeholder workshops that have generated national and international attention to the role of alternative testing strategies and categorization of engineered nanomaterials for risk assessment and regulatory decision making, and UC CEIN researchers have been invited to provide input to legislative decision makers on the scientific basis for incorporation of CEIN research methodologies into legislation at the State and Federal level. To catalyze Team Science research enterprises like CEIN, the Challenge Grant (CG) pilot program at CNSI aims to incubate large- scale, multiple- PI research centers within the Institute. Unlike traditional seed- research funds, the CG programs focus on creating a multi- institution research network around high- impact science such that by the end of the grant period, faculty teams are well positioned to apply for federal funding such as NSF Science and Technology Centers, NIH U01s, or DOE Energy Frontier Research Centers, or establish industrial sponsorships. Roughly four projects per year are currently awarded two- year grants that encourage faculty collaborations across the UC system. Newly funded programs include UCSB and UCI faculty collaborations on next- generation antibiotics and efforts to coalesce battery research in Southern California, an alliance that includes UCSB, UCLA, and UCSD investigators. To further promote intercampus research collaboration we plan to: Expand the Challenge Grant program: o Facilitate joint grants between the two campuses and increase collaborations between CNSI investigators and nanoscience colleagues on other UC campuses. 3
o Identify challenges and opportunities from national reports such as those from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST National Nanotechnology Initiative 2014) typically indicative of proposal requests that will be issued within 12-18 months. Enable and assist faculty with multi- institutional program project proposals: o Sponsor multi- campus workshops to further enable scientific networking. o Further leverage existing grant facilitation teams to help organize, edit, submit, and administer complex multi- PI grants, alleviating the administrative burden on investigators. o Provide support for infrastructure included in center- scale proposals, such as the successful MRPI award to establish the California Institute for Quantum Emulation (CAIQuE). Provide cyber infrastructure (CI) required for efficient intra- campus collaboration: o Utilize a recently hired staff member of the Center for Scientific Computing (CSC) housed at CNSI- UCSB as a supercomputing consultant to liaise with national supercomputing centers and enable a more seamless transition from local high- performance computing resources to national level ones. o Continue active participation in bringing the Pacific Research Platform (NSF funded high speed networking, connecting California universities) to UCSB. o Lead the creation of a CI plan that will provide a roadmap for enabling teaching and research with information technology. Develop a forum for UC- industry interactions: o Provide an easily navigated single point of contact for current and potential industry partners. 2. SHARED RESOURCES & FACILITIES The Cal ISIs collectively, and CNSI specifically, provide a vast collection of leading- edge, open- access resources that foster innovation across disciplines, facilitate university collaborations with industry, provide UC faculty a competitive edge in funding applications, assist faculty and entrepreneurs in navigating the challenging landscape of technology transfer, and aid rapid commercialization of discoveries. In many cases, these shared resources provide transformational technologies that furnish our research teams and start- up companies with a significant competitive edge. The combined nine shared resources at CNSI have supported over 3500 individual researchers from academia and industry, including numerous research groups from across the UC system. By establishing industry partnerships and pooling additional campus resources through affiliate arrangements with seven other CNSI- housed user facilities, CNSI provides the research community truly unrestricted access to a collection of the world s most advanced instrumentation for fabrication and characterization of nanomaterials, systems, and devices. Yet despite CNSI s breadth of equipment, facilities, and expertise, there remains an unmet opportunity to more effectively facilitate system- wide integration. 4
To further enhance utilization, efficacy, and impact of University Shared Resources, CNSI will develop and implement a model for effective system- wide collaboration amongst Core facilities. As a case study, CNSI will create a UC network for Shared Resources in nanoscience and nanotechnology. By leveraging economies of scale concepts similar to those of the NSF s former National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and current National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure programs, the UC NanoNet will maximize research capacity for the UC community as a coherent gateway to University resources for all things nano related. With CNSI as its hub, and with facility nodes across the UC system, the UC NanoNet will meet unrealized potential for facilitation of robust transfer of technological innovation from laboratory to marketplace. This effort will necessitate various areas of engagement including but not limited to: Compilation of an internet- based shared resource compendium for nano- related research, based on a task- centric approach to translational research rather than simple lists of available equipment, personnel, and services: Build upon and integrate targeted workflows in the areas of nanoscience with the ongoing UC- CORE initiative led by UCLA and sponsored by UC Opportunity Funds. Provide an easily navigated portal to serve industry as single point of entry for all things nano- related. Shared information: Utilize statistics and metrics to help guide strategic planning. Create technical documentation to facilitate cross- facility usage and intercampus communication. Co- hosting, marketing, documentation, and delivery: Develop and deliver seminars, workshops, webinars and related events of broad interest, including live streaming across the UC system. Streamlined methods for inter- facility services: Develop material transfer policies and procedures for fabrication, analysis, and characterization. Implement transparent billing methods for standardized best practices. Exploration of satellite models: Explore opportunities to leverage capabilities of facilities at other campuses when a need exists but infrastructure is lacking. Build upon recent efforts to build a satellite facility of the CNSI- UCLA Molecular Screening Shared Resource at the UCSD School of Pharmacy. UC NanoNet will be a scalable Shared Resource model that can be readily applied to other research areas and utilized across the UC- system to enhance system- wide participation, engagement, and collaboration. 5
3. ENTREPRENEURSHIP An essential component of CNSI s mission is to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and to provide a developmental pipeline for commercializing discoveries and technologies from UCLA and UCSB research efforts. CNSI wet lab incubators and co- working spaces provide a vibrant, technology- rich ecosystem to enable young companies, founded by faculty, postdocs, or graduate students, to access research and development infrastructure while leveraging the brain trust and extraordinary environment available on our campuses. In 2015, CNSI doubled its entrepreneurship space at UCLA and opened a new facility at UCSB to meet increased demand and a steadily growing incubator portfolio, currently comprising 19 startup companies. These companies have accumulated more than $21M in total funding from a mixture of federal grants, private funds and strategic partnerships. Participant companies that have matured and transitioned beyond the incubation stage have gone on to secure significant venture capital, undertaken successful IPOs, and been the target of recent acquisitions. Two early- stage members of the CNSI incubator, NanoH 2 O Inc. (acquired by LG Chem for $200M in 2014) and Kythera Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (accepted an acquisition agreement from Allergan for approximately $2.1B in 2015), are the types of successes we expect to continue as programmatic offerings are expanded. Successful technology commercialization requires critical mass. By working together across business networks, venture capital firms, industry partners, high- quality business mentors, and successful serial entrepreneurs can join forces to create sufficient momentum to benefit entrepreneurship ecosystems for all campuses. CNSI provides business development support to entrepreneurs with over 20 seminars, workshops, networking and other training events annually. There is significant demand on UC campuses from entrepreneurial graduate students and researchers for nontraditional education such as entrepreneurship training and business coaching. CNSI has secured valuable partnerships with the Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, the Technology Management Program at UCSB, and the mentorship program in the Office of Technology and Industrial Alliances to provide entrepreneurship training for graduate student, post- doctoral, or faculty trainees who are trying to identify the commercial value of their inventions. We envision CNSI emerging as a technology- to- market Accelerator and a true partner to both inventors and investors. Although regional entrepreneurial ecosystems can differ significantly in terms of technical focus and business needs, several actions have been targeted to enhance the CNSI Entrepreneurial mission and resources: Leverage system- wide entrepreneurship resources: Participate in the newly formed UC Incubator Network. Strengthen ties between entrepreneurship programs across the UC system. Seed new initiatives in support of the University s mission of technology transfer. Strengthen the pipeline of opportunity for local area networks and the recently established UC Venture Fund. Jointly advertise incubator space, events, and educational workshops: 6
Increase the girth, awareness, and brand presence of CNSI incubator companies. Joint branding and advertising to enhance the value proposition of each regional incubator and allow CNSI to scale and aggregate its audience. Deliver educational events online to audiences across campuses and system- wide through the UC Incubator Network. Develop affiliation- neutral membership: Provide participant companies, licensees, or affiliates from UC campuses open access to incubators and other business resources at CNSI. Provide participant companies access to CNSI shared resources at internal rates. Work to extend a system- wide membership model across the UC entrepreneurial ecosystem. Provide a soft landing for cross- campus startups via the opportunity to relocate to CNSI incubators at either campus in a streamlined and efficient manner. Develop shared metrics and evaluation methods in entrepreneurship education and incubator impact: Use common review processes/documents for start- up companies to efficiently assess economic impact and success of entrepreneurship education and incubator programs. 4. EDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT The CNSI Education and Outreach programs mentor and train a diverse group of young scientists to become leaders in academia, industry, or government while extending University impact by building meaningful relationships with Californians beyond the UC system. CNSI offers scientific training through undergraduate research opportunities, scholarships, bridge programs, industry internships, and mentoring/networking initiatives. These programs annually engage over 500 UCLA and UCSB undergraduates in addition to more than 75 community college students, with a recent emphasis on providing education opportunities and workforce training for military veterans. Career development and mentoring initiatives support professional preparation and career transition for more than 1000 PhD candidate and postdoctoral research trainees each year. CNSI also provides STEM learning opportunities for more than 3000 middle- and high- school students each year and offers professional development training for over 100 science teachers per year, impacting more than 45 public unified school districts in greater Central and Southern California. While more can be done to leverage education experts and resources across all the Cal ISIs, several cross- campus, high- impact educational programs already exist. For many years, CNSI UCLA and UCSB, along with QB3, have been involved with the Nano Day STEM initiative developed by the NISE Network hosted at UC Berkeley, which engages millions of people across the nation in appreciation and learning about nanoscience. CNSI is active in the California Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate, along with UC Berkeley, Stanford and Caltech, in building an intercampus organization to advance underrepresented minority 7
research trainees successes in professional careers. QB3 at UC Berkeley and CNSI UCSB and UCLA actively support local campus branches of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), with CNSI UCSB as the home for the UCSB SACNAS Chapter. This committed engagement creates a connected hub of support across California for STEM students throughout their education and professional careers. To create further system- wide synergy between education elements that will magnify our individual impact, CNSI will: Offer Education, Workforce Development, and Evaluation as a service: Share STEM expertise (e.g., assessment methods), contents (e.g., experiment modules), and activities across the Cal- ISI network, leveraging common metrics for evaluation. Provide an integrated education resource (via internet portal or direct consulting engagement) to support educational and training elements, typically required by NSF or NIH, for research proposals from any UC campus. Strengthen professional development (PD) for graduate students and postdocs: Hold regular joint symposia and conferences to allow PD program trainers and trainees from different campuses to exchange ideas. Deliver high profile, quality content online to benefit multiple campuses with reduced capital cost. Establish annual program meetings among educators across the Cal ISIs and UC system to share best practices. Magnify entrepreneurship training: Create an entrepreneurship forum to share best practices, exchange business networks, and share resources to improve commercialization success. Develop a collaborative think- tank exercise in which trainees work on real- world problems with industry leaders in 1-2 day workshops. SUMMARY STATEMENT The mission of the California NanoSystems Institute is to foster knowledge and understanding of nanotechnology by serving as a center for scientific research breakthroughs where disciplinary boundaries disappear. Investigators within CNSI recognize the importance of large, multi- disciplinary efforts and world- class infrastructure for sustained and noteworthy impact on the California economy and for the development of California s abundant human resources. Through strategic plans to expand the scope and reach of research, resources, entrepreneurship, and education programs, CNSI, QB3, CITRIS and CalIT2 will continue to stand as leading examples of the role that the University of California can play in serving the state and the nation. 8