{"id":8657,"date":"2022-05-13T01:11:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T01:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=8657"},"modified":"2022-12-15T21:28:39","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T21:28:39","slug":"big-things-in-huntsville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=8657","title":{"rendered":"Big Things in Huntsville"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The new 40,000 square feet Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus is situated on a nine-acre lot located at 345 Voyager Way NW just outside Redstone Arsenal’s Gate 9 entrance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Steve Taylor, interim dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, has a sign above the door to his office that reads \u201cBe like Mike \u2014 Do big things for Auburn.\u201d It\u2019s a tribute to his colleague and friend, Mike Ogles, inspired by the words of the Microsoft Outlook calendar reminder Ogles woke up to every day before losing a six-month battle with cancer in October 2021. <\/span><\/p>\n

A 1989 Auburn University mechanical engineering graduate who served the college for several years as director of NASA programs, assistant director of the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence<\/a> (NCAME) and as the driving force behind the Auburn Makes initiative, Ogles was an invaluable resource for Auburn University. Working largely behind the scenes, his connections with NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville helped secure several major research contracts and partnerships for Auburn Engineering, including an $11.6 million NASA contract for work on the Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology project that helped establish NCAME as an international leader in additive manufacturing characterization and qualification research. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, it came as no surprise that when talk of expanding Auburn\u2019s Huntsville footprint and updating its long-term Rocket City research strategy reached Taylor\u2019s ears in early 2021, many of the words belonged to Mike Ogles. <\/span><\/p>\n

The timing just seemed right. Huntsville continued to top lists ranking the fastest growing tech hubs in the nation. The U.S. Space Command had just announced plans to relocate to Redstone Arsenal. In that first meeting, Taylor sat down with Ogles and Melanie Baker, director of Auburn Engineering\u2019s Army and Missile Defense Programs, with a vision: Do something big for Auburn in Huntsville. <\/span><\/p>\n

Purchasing two buildings with more than 40,000 square feet of space situated on a 9-acre parcel of land is pretty big. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think Mike would be proud of the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus,\u201d Taylor said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A framed photo of Mike Ogles bearing the inscription “Do big things for God, family, and Auburn” hangs on the second floor the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus’ main building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Located at 345 Voyager Way NW within minutes of Redstone Arsenal\u2019s Gate 9 entrance and near many of Auburn University\u2019s research partners in defense, aerospace, law enforcement and biotech sectors, the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus (AURIC) lays a permanent foundation from which Auburn can leverage its regional reputation and thriving public-private partnerships into unprecedented national prestige and influence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jim Weyhenmeyer, university vice president for research and economic development, called the decision to move forward on the project \u201ca defining moment for Auburn University and the Huntsville community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis facility,\u201d Weyhenmeyer said of AURIC, \u201cwill fast-track connections that change the world through our valued research partnerships.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

LogiCore \u2014 a technology services company providing life cycle logistics, systems and software engineering, cybersecurity, information technology, programmatics and training services \u2014 operated the facility from 2015-22.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just obvious to Mike and Melanie that we needed a greater physical presence in Huntsville,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe\u2019ve obviously done very well and expanded our research efforts in Huntsville since Auburn opened an office there in 2010, but if we were going to truly grow our research portfolio, they knew we had to have a home \u2014 a physical headquarters that belonged to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ogles and Baker, Taylor said, envisioned the campus as a collaboration engine that focused Auburn\u2019s expertise and next-generation resources on the defense, aerospace and law enforcement agencies that call Redstone Arsenal home. <\/span><\/p>\n

When it officially opens its doors later this year, that, Taylor said, is exactly what it will be.<\/span><\/p>\n