FAU, Scripps Florida, Max Planck Announce Plans For Groundbreaking Research And Education Collaboration

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Mar 04, 2015, 09:15 ET

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- One of Florida's leading public research universities and two of the world's premier research institutions will create one-of-a-kind education programs that will attract the best and brightest students to Palm Beach County, and transform Florida Atlantic University's John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter into a hub of scientific inquiry, innovation and economic development.

FAU, and the globally acclaimed Max Planck Florida Institute and The Scripps Research Institute, will build on existing relationships to further scientific discovery and education through shared resources and facilities.

The three institutions will provide undergraduate and graduate students the unprecedented opportunity to enroll in unique degree programs in collaboration with Max Planck and Scripps Florida at the MacArthur Campus.

The initiative will allow students to work and study alongside some of the world's leading scientific researchers as part of their degree programs, while undergraduate research projects will be mentored by these same scientists.

The Institutes will collaborate to develop premier STEM programs -- Science, Technology, Engineering, Math -- and combine FAU Jupiter's existing strengths in STEM areas, with support from the arts, to create a leading STEAM initiative.

FAU President John Kelly said the alliance will help cure diseases, develop drugs, educate students and generate jobs. FAU's economic impact on Florida's economy during 2010-2011, the most recently available data, was $6.3 billion. This initiative creates unique opportunities for FAU's colleges of science, medicine, and engineering and computer science to greatly increase that number, Kelly said.

"This initiative comes from the core of economic development," Kelly said. "FAU, Max Planck and Scripps will solve real-world problems and take strides to improve human health.

"We will create the knowledge economy of the future," he said. "Moreover, we will provide students unique scientific research programs that will be the envy of the world."

A shared facilities environment will provide students access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment. Max Planck and Scripps Florida researchers will have access to FAU faculty, teaching space, and research equipment.

James Paulson, acting president and CEO of The Scripps Research Institute, said the Scripps mission is to build a world-class biomedical research presence in Florida for the benefit of human health and to train the next generation of scientists.

"We believe this new agreement strengthens our existing collaboration with FAU and the Max Planck Institute and enables us to work more closely with our local partners to achieve these critical goals," Paulson said.

David Fitzpatrick, CEO and scientific director at Max Planck, said, importantly, the collaboration will increase research funding in areas of common interest. The Max Planck Florida Institute's research focus is neuroscience, specifically, gaining insights into brain circuitry. The institute utilizes some of the world's most advanced technologies in brain research.

"Combining our resources makes this collaboration a potent force in the scientific and healthcare fields," Fitzpatrick said. "The advances we can take in many important research areas will be significant.

"Together, FAU, Max Planck and Scripps will train the scientific leaders of tomorrow," he said.

The announcement event can be watched online at https://vimeo.com/121043794, and headshots of Kelly, Paulson and Fitzpatrick, logos, photos of FAU's John D. MacArthur Campus and other related files can be downloaded at http://pubweb.fau.edu/marketing/faujupiter/.

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

Max Planck Florida Institute

The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, a not-for-profit research organization, is part of the world-renowned Max Planck Society, Germany's most successful research organization with over 80 institutes worldwide. Since its establishment in 1948, 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists. It has produced over 15,000 publications, more than 3,000 inventions and over 90 spin-off companies, putting it on par with the best and most prestigious research institutions in the world. Its first U.S. institution, the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI), brings together exceptional neuroscientists from around the world to answer fundamental questions about brain development and function and to develop new technologies that make groundbreaking scientific discoveries possible. Their research is shared publicly with scholars, universities and other organizations around the globe, providing the necessary foundation of knowledge to develop treatments and cures for brain disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. For more information, visit www.maxplanckflorida.org.

The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs about 3,000 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists--including two Nobel laureates--work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.

Contact: Gisele Galoustian, 561-297-2676, [email protected], or Joshua Glanzer, 561-297-1168, [email protected]

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University