ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories will open an office this fall in The University of New Mexico’s Lobo Rainforest building, a 160,000-square-foot multiuse center that is the first piece of Innovate ABQ, a seven-acre downtown hub of the Innovation Central district in Albuquerque.
“Sandia is an integral part of the high-tech business community along with UNM, the Air Force Research Laboratory and many others who are committed to improving the New Mexico economy,” Dave Douglass, Sandia’s deputy labs director, said Friday at the Lobo Rainforest building ribbon-cutting. “Sandia is proud to be part of Innovate ABQ and proud of the robust partnerships we have formed to advance economic development in the state.”
Innovate ABQ is a public-private partnership created to develop a seven-acre innovation center in downtown Albuquerque to foster economic development and job creation in New Mexico. It aims to develop more than 600,000 square feet of dense, walkable space devoted to bringing together New Mexico’s innovators to foster the creation of long-term, job-creating ventures.
The Lobo Rainforest building is at the site of the old First Baptist Church building at Central and Broadway avenues. It will house Innovate ABQ tenants, UNM’s Innovation Academy, STC.UNM and a student dorm with the goal of bringing together economic and academic programs.
Sandia signed a lease this month for office space in the Lobo Rainforest building, and plans to open a downtown node for its Center for Collaboration & Commercialization, or C3, in September. C3 is designed to strengthen partnerships, technology transfer and ties to the community, and offers programming and services to boost Sandia’s interaction with industry, academia and government.
Called C3 Downtown, the new office will focus on programs that move Sandia-developed technologies into the commercial marketplace. The office will have one full-time staff person, a part-time manager and other staff members holding regular office hours.
Community members will be able to meet with Sandia staff to discuss licensing, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, the New Mexico Small Business Assistance program and other technology transfer programs. The office also will host representatives from Sandia’s supplier and community relations and the labs’ Entrepreneur Exploration program, which links scientists and engineers with business opportunities and resources provided by a variety of partners.
“C3 Downtown will bring Sandia’s tech transfer team together with colleagues from UNM and the Air Force Research Laboratory. The three tech transfer organizations working together will collectively increase the impact of our work,” said Susan Seestrom, Sandia’s chief research officer and associate laboratories director for Advanced Science and Technology. “Sandia looks forward to being part of the vibrant entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem in downtown Albuquerque. Working together, Sandia, the city, UNM and all our local partners will be a powerful force spurring innovation and economic growth in our region.”