Collaborate

The City of Richardson and the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) have formed a powerful, on-site partnership that is the IQ® Headquarters for the Richardson Innovation Quarter. This new, innovative space supports Richardson’s startup and entrepreneur community and advances UTD research.

The IQHQ® @ 1302 E. Collins Boulevard, Richardson, Texas

09/15/22 – Press Release

With its 500-acre campus located in the City of Richardson, UTD and City of Richardson have partnered to support the region’s startup and entrepreneur community and develop five new university research centers.

The five new research centers will fall under the umbrella of UTD’s new Emerging Novel Technology Center. The collaboration establishes a formidable physical and symbolic presence for both the City and UTD in a showcase “HQ for The IQ®.”

This initiative is a critical step in the realization of the Richardson Innovation Quarter vision to be the premier tech hub in Texas. The space will help stimulate collaboration across businesses, attract new jobs, and strengthen partnerships between the City of Richardson, UTD and the business community.

UTD is a key local driver of innovation that can seed start-ups and provide training for the workforce in the Richardson IQ®. The space, which is owned by the City of Richardson, will serve as the headquarters for the Richardson IQ® and will house several educational, training and research components from UTD. In addition, an extension of UTD’s Venture Development Center (VDC) will also be located at this facility.

A Collaborative, Innovative Space at The IQ® 

UT Dallas Venture Development Center 

UTD’s Venture Development Center (VDC) extension in the facility provides a series of free and paid programs, including CEO leadership startup boot camps, a series on fundraising, sales and marketing for startups, mentor office hours, networking events, an inspiration speaker series and a startup internship and career fair. The VDC is a leading incubator designed to help students, faculty and alumni commercialize their ideas and inventions. 

UTD Emerging Novel Technology Center

UTD’s research centers feature a series of co-working, research and lab spaces that represent a range of disciplines from multiple schools within UTD. Each center focuses on forward-thinking solutions developed from its respective technology specialty, which include applied artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), imaging and surgical innovation and smart mobility.

The six new, multi-disciplinary UTD research centers are:

	Center for Applied AI & Machine Learning   The Center for Applied AI & Machine Learning (CAIML) is a research and development center that partners with companies to apply cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine-learning technologies to their products, services, and business processes.
	Center for Applied AI with UTD Expertise   The Center for Applied AI with UTD Expertise (CAIQUE) showcases emergent applied AI research at the University to engage companies, win extramural grants, strengthen international partnerships and provide a global network for affiliated students to excel as UTD alumni. The multidisciplinary center draws from expertise across the University and will have affiliate faculty members from around the world. An industry advisory board will help shape the center’s direction. Researchers from the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) will advance fundamental algorithms, data structures, and analytical methods. Additional ECS researchers will pioneer material point methodologies (meshless modeling frameworks) for representing complex topological data to help 3D-model the next generation of manufactured parts, including complex medical devices.
	Center for Imaging and Surgical Innovation   Center for Imaging and Surgical Innovation (CISI) merges UTD engineers and computer scientists, UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators and clinicians to develop emergent technologies to improve patient care and human health. UTD, UT Southwestern and local companies will collaborate on translational research, clinical trials and product commercialization.
	Multi-Scale Integrated Interactive Intelligent Sensing   The Multi-Scale Integrated Intelligent Interactive Sensing (MINTS) Center will develop and deploy a cost-effective irrigation decision-support tool that uses super-resolution machine learning and remote sensing imagery from satellites, drones, and security cameras. The center will collaborate with municipalities, corporate campuses, and homeowners to save money by optimizing their irrigation water usage.
	Center for Smart Mobility   The Center for Smart Mobility (COSMO) aims to provide advanced solutions for the engineering of smart, multimodal cyber transportation infrastructures to improve safety and enhance mobility for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. The center aims to pursue community engagement, strengthen industry collaboration, accelerate the transition of research into the real world, and advance education and outreach efforts.
	IQ Design IQ Design creates engaging experiences that communicate the significance of innovative research at UTD.

Comments from Former Richardson Mayor Paul Voelker & UTD President Richard C. Benson

“This major knowledge capital investment by the City and UT Dallas is a critical step in realizing the Richardson IQ® ’s ultimate vision as the premier tech hub in Texas,” said former Richardson Mayor Paul Voelker. “We salute our partners at UT Dallas for thinking creatively about how to bring cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research and hands-on support for entrepreneurs to our opportunity-rich innovation district. We expect this formal, tangible commitment to The IQ®  to serve as a catalyst that stimulates business alliances, attracts new jobs and inspires brilliant, new ideas that advance the future of global technology right here in Richardson.”

“The City of Richardson and UT Dallas have long had a deeply intertwined, mutually beneficial relationship focused on tech-oriented research, business innovation and training of bright minds,” said UT Dallas President Richard C. Benson. “With this announcement, we are proud to bring teams from across the University’s eight schools to be deeply, directly engaged in the Richardson IQ®  for years to come. Working hand-in-hand with the City, surrounding business community and other institutional partners, we look forward to collaboratively solving some of our nation’s greatest business, medical, transportation and sustainability challenges. This new Richardson IQ®  nerve center is the ideal environment in which to do so.”

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