For Immediate Release
April 21, 2009
Contacts: Neil Tickner, 301 405 4622 or ntickner@umd.edu

IARPA Dedication- Top Officials to Mark UM Research Park Expansion

New Intelligence Research Facility Approaching Completion

College Park, Md.- U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) will be among the senior officials dedicating the new U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) building on Monday, April 27, at the University of Maryland's M-Square - the state's largest research park.

The new facility represents IARPA's first permanent home and M-Square's latest construction - and strongly enhances the park's cluster of tenants focused on national security.

University officials say they expect the new facility to serve as a magnet, continuing to attract to M-Square a range of public and private organizations that want to be close to IARPA and the University because of the synergies and opportunities for collaboration.

IARPA's mission is to invest in high-risk, high-payoff research programs that have the potential to provide the nation with an overwhelming intelligence advantage over future adversaries. It was established in October 2007 to fill a critical gap in the Intelligence Community's science-and-technology investment strategy.

Part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the 16 federal organizations that make up the Intelligence Community, IARPA's charter enables it to tackle difficult challenges that cut across intelligence agencies and disciplines.

M-Square Clusters: The new building will join several federal agencies with operations already in M-Square or under construction that facilitate research partnerships with the University of Maryland. These include the departments of Defense and Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's new National Weather and Environmental Prediction Center and the Food and Drug Administration.

Key technology clusters at the park include: homeland and national security; environmental and earth sciences; and food safety and food security. M-Square is designed to offer a first-class research environment with over two million square feet of facilities.

The Maryland congressional delegation, led by Mikulski, Hoyer and Ruppersberger, worked for months to secure a permanent home for IARPA in Maryland.

WHAT:

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the University of Maryland will co-host a dedication ceremony for the new IARPA building now under construction in M-Square, UM's Research Park. Though uncompleted, this will be the only official ceremony to celebrate the new facility. The building is expected to be finished later this year.

The event will run about 40 minutes with statements from the project's principals and an unveiling of the building's final design. Director Blair will speak for the Intelligence Community at the ceremony, but will not be available for media interviews. The event is by invitation only (non-transferable), but open to credentialed media (please RSVP for security purposes; see below). Risers and mult-box will be available.

WHO:

Among the speakers at the dedication:

Dennis C. Blair: director of national intelligence.
U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski: D-Md., member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer: D-Md. and the highest-ranking Member of Congress from Maryland in history.
U.S. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger: D-Md., member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
C.D. Mote Jr.: President of the University of Maryland.
Rand Griffin: President and CEO of COPT, Corporate Office Properties Trust, the joint venture partner for development and property management of the project.

WHEN:

Monday, April 27, at 10 a.m.

WHERE:

5850 University Research Court, M-Square Research Park, College Park, Md.

The facility is located approx. one-half mile from the College Park Metro Station. Research Court is located off River Road between Paint Branch Drive and Kenilworth Avenue. Directions and Maps: Online.

RSVP: 

For security reasons, media are requested to RSVP and to bring credentials. Please contact Sapienza Barone, 301-405-5790; sbarone@umd.edu.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Neil Tickner
Communications Officer
University of Maryland
301-405-4622
ntickner@umd.edu

Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Office of Public Affairs
703-275-3700

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