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UK selected to participate in 'Science to Venture' pilot focusing on national security

Josh James
/
WUKY

The University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have been tapped to join a small group of schools working on national security technology.

UK and UofL are among eight universities chosen by the NobleReach Foundation to take part in a two-year pilot program dubbed Science to Venture.

On NobleRearch's website, the group says that billions of dollars funding research are fueling revolutionary scientific discovery, but they aren’t "enhancing our national security or generating local economic value at the scale they could deliver."

The idea:Fast-track research coming out of universities into lab trials, with the goal of finding real-world applications for those discoveries quicker. In this case, the focus is on national security — with an emphasis on manufacturing materials and biomedical research.

It's a partnership that also includes the U.S. National Science Foundation.

NobleReach is touted as a nonprofit that "brings together the best minds in government, industry, and academia" to enhance security. Speakers at some of its events have included Michael Kratsios, President Donald Trump's chief science and technology policy advisor, and Matt Lira, a Republican strategist who served as Special Assistant to the President for Innovation Policy and Initiatives.