
Photo courtesy Henry Marte
Governor Maura Healey appointed UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen to a reshaped task force focused on the state’s military installations.
The story, published by the State House News Service yesterday, reports “the Massachusetts Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force has been working for more than a decade to stay on top of the possibility of a base realignment and closure effort and to key in on economic development opportunities. It convenes state and federal lawmakers, military officials, and representatives of the higher education and defense industry to promote the six military installations that together are responsible for about $13.2 billion in annual economic activity and account for about 57,000 jobs here.”
Chen is one of four new appointees to the task force, which was founded by the Administration of Governor Deval Patrick in 2012 and will be headed by Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll going forward.

Yesterday’s announcement, which Chen alludes to, celebrates a new partnership between UMass Lowell’s Applied Research Corporation, the United State Air Force and Hanscom Air Force Base. The collaboration taps UMLARC’s intermediary authorities, the university’s applied research expertise and resources, and other academic institutions to support the development of dual-use innovative technologies for the U.S. Air Force.
“The new agreement announced Thursday between Hanscom and the UMass Lowell Applied Research Corp. is another great example of these kinds of collaborations,” Chen went on to say. “Technically called a Partnership Intermediary Agreement, or PIA, it will open new doors for entrepreneurs, small businesses and others to work with Air Force programs. And it will facilitate the sharing of ideas, technology and educational opportunities.”
In December, InsideLowell reported on UML’s agreement with SAIC, a global leader in technology integration, to establish a cyber center that will strengthen the resilience of the defense industrial base and expand the pipeline of skilled cyber professionals across the region.
The UML Cyber Center will be located within the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC), the transformative public-private partnership unveiled earlier this year.