Dear colleagues,
The decision in October to expand the scope of the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and adjust the planning for its headquarters was based, in large part, on the unprecedented opportunity for the University of Illinois System and its partners to take a leading role in the future of computing — a rapidly evolving computing and microelectronics landscape.
Today we begin the next phase in DPI’s evolution with the formation of a steering committee to outline a strategy as we work to define the specifics of this evolving entity.
DPI’s activities will continue to seek to maximize the benefit of the economic opportunities being created in society through applied R&D, workforce development, and business building — but now with a major new emphasis on technology innovations associated with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the emerging field of quantum computing.
The new steering committee is composed of Deba Dutta, DPI’s interim executive director; Rashid Bashir, dean of The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Jeffrey Brown, the Larry Gies Family Chair in Business and former dean at the Gies College of Business at Urbana-Champaign; Adrienne Nazon, vice president of External Relations and Communications for the University of Illinois System; and Kraig Wagenecht, assistant vice chancellor for research and innovation, external partnerships, at Urbana-Champaign.
The steering committee will engage leadership and faculty from all three universities and other key stakeholders and partners during its planning process.
DPI’s new, expanded focus on the future of computing will benefit from the deep expertise found at Urbana-Champaign and the committee reflects that. Additionally, we anticipate the strategic plan will include a new governance model where Urbana-Champaign takes on a larger operating and management role for DPI.
The committee will present its strategic-plan recommendations to me in February, and I anticipate presenting a strategic plan recommendation to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at the board’s March meeting.
Under its expanded vision, DPI will maintain a downtown headquarters as DPI North at a location to be determined while establishing DPI South at the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP), which was announced in July. DPI South will be a quantum-focused facility. The IQMP will be operated and managed by Urbana-Champaign on behalf of the state of Illinois and Gov. JB Pritzker.
With these shifts, DPI will further cement its role as an important part of the Chicago tech ecosystem and the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), working to grow inclusive economic development that will benefit the people of Chicago and contribute to a thriving Illinois.
Tim Killeen
President
University of Illinois System