Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Greensboro Research Park Spurs Manufacturing, Innovation

Julie Knight/The Triad Business Journal
Anthony Dellinger, CEO and researcher at Kepley Biosystems Inc., uses the Agilent Technologies’ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering in Greensboro.

A $65 million research facility in Greensboro originally intended for academic purposes has become a catalyst for business growth.

The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering is a shared project opened four years ago between UNC Greensboro and North Carolina A&T.

But now a group of around 30 manufacturing companies are using the facility in Gateway University Research Park to develop products. The Triad Business Journal's Katie Arcieri  writes about the program in this week's newspaper. She says the partnership provides access to resources that gives companies a competitive edge in the marketplace.

“This equipment that they have access to is some of the most rare and expensive technology equipment in the world,” says Arcieri.

“We are talking about scanning electron microscopes, lithography machines and helium-ion microscopes, so these are things most companies would not be able to buy on their own, but with the consortium and the joint school they're able to access it on a regular basis.”

Arcieri says the long-term goal is for some of the companies to locate operations within the research park's 75-acre south campus.

While several philanthropic organizations such as the Weaver Foundation and the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation in Greensboro also helped found the consortium and remain members to this day, joint school officials expect businesses membership to more than double to 75 or more over the next four to five years.

Earlier this year, VF Corporation announced it will open its Global Jeanswear Innovation Center at the site, creating more than two dozen jobs by the end of 2016.

The Business Report on 88.5 WFDD is a partnership with the Triad Business Journal. You'll find Katie Arcieri's stories and more breaking business news at Triad.Bizjournals.com.

Justin Catanoso is director of the Journalism program at Wake Forest University and a regular contributor to 88.5 WFDD.

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate