$194.7 Million Grant Transforms U of A Research Engine, Creates Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research

One of the largest single private grants ever given to a university for advancing research and economic development will allow the new I³R research institute to be become a reality. The $194.7 million grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation funds multiple projects to grow the university’s cross-disciplinary research capability, expand the scope of discoveries made by University of Arkansas researchers and increase the velocity in which discoveries are transferred to the marketplace where they can improve or save lives.

I³R is envisioned as a unique approach to research that will distinguish the University of Arkansas by creating a flexible, state-of-the-art collaborative framework designed to facilitate the integration of research across five overlapping clusters of innovation.

Our traditional university structure has been built around disciplines, usually housed in departments within schools and colleges. Like most universities, we have also developed research centers to support collaborative research within disciplines as well as interdisciplinary research. These cross-cutting structures have helped drive the substantial growth of research at the University of Arkansas.

I³R will be a university-wide presence, not owned or administered by existing academic units. A new research building will become the hub and focal point of integrated activity with strategic outward “spokes” on campus such as our major research facilities, that will still house important disciplinary work in the clusters, and throughout the communities we serve. Faculty, students and staff who are part of the Institute will have appointments in both the centrally managed Institute as well as in traditional colleges and schools.

To learn more about I³R, visit uark.edu/research/i3r

The University of Arkansas Data Science program is a joint degree offered by the College of Engineering, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

In Bentonville, the Data Science program operates a data visualization lab to develop and implement the next generation of decision-making models in a variety of areas, including:

• Accounting Analytics
• Bioinformatics
• Biomedical and Healthcare Informatics
• Business Data Analytics
• Computational Analytics
• Data Science Statistics
• Geospatial Data Analytics
• Operational Analytics
• Social Data Analytics
• Supply Chain Analytics

The mission of the University of Arkansas Division of Research and Innovation is to support research, scholarship, and creative activities at the University of Arkansas. The office supports individual and collaborative research that helps fulfill the duties of a land-grant university to enrich the state and address global challenges.

From its founding in 2004, the Arkansas Research & Technology Park (ARTP) has instituted a culture of collaboration, establishing clusters of companies whose commercial pursuits are aligned with the core research strengths of the University. The ARTP not only anchors University research programs but provides an important hub for industry, government, and university partnerships.

Technology Ventures is located at the ARTP and manages a large portfolio of intellectual assets that are available for licensing including patent applications and issue patents as well as copyrighted works and know-how. We pride ourselves as being flexible and easy to do business with. We would enjoy the opportunity to discuss your unmet needs and find the solution you are looking for.