DELAWARE STATE SENATE

150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 25

HONORING THE DELAWARE BIOTECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE AND THE DELAWARE BIOSCIENCE CENTER FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (BIOSCIENCE CAT) FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN DELAWARE’S ECONOMY THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF ACADEMIC-INDUSTRIAL LIFE SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS.

WHEREAS, the Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology (Bioscience CAT) has, since its establishment in 2011, worked successfully to seed and support academic-industrial partnerships that have created life sciences jobs in Delaware; and

WHEREAS, the center has supported research leading to new Delaware-based biotechnology ventures; and

WHEREAS, the center has provided Delaware businesses access to high-end research technologies at a reduced rate; and

WHEREAS, the center is affiliated with the Governor’s Prosperity Partnership; and

WHEREAS, since its inception the center has awarded over 80 grants, providing a 15-fold economic return on Delaware’s investment and resulting in the creation of more than 400 STEM and STEM-allied Delaware jobs; and

WHEREAS, the center also focuses on K-12 outreach, working to target Delaware’s young people, with special emphasis on young women and minorities, and increases their interest in science with hands-on research experiences and bringing them into contact with graduate students in a process known as “service learning;” and

WHEREAS, the center operates a “Bio Genius Program” in which high school students are given an opportunity to present their research and compete to attend national and international conferences, resulting, thus far, in sending four Delaware students to such conferences, with two being recognized for their efforts at the White House and another receiving scholarship opportunities; and

WHEREAS, the center provides start-up companies with access to instrumentation and other resources that the companies would not have the funds to purchase on their own; and

WHEREAS, the center has on-going efforts to attract companies and professors in various scientific disciplines to Delaware; and

WHEREAS, in 2020 the center will be moving its base of operations to UD’s new STAR campus;

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 150th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the members do hereby commend the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and the Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology (Bioscience CAT) for their outstanding efforts to strengthen Delaware’s economy through the support of academic-industrial life science research collaborations and do hereby extend the hope for many more years of success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the General Assembly commends these distinguished organizations for their efforts to enrich the lives of Delaware’s young people by providing them with opportunities to observe and pursue scientific research.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members are pleased to welcome a delegation from the center to Legislative Hall and that the visitors be provided with suitable copies of this Senate Concurrent Resolution upon its passage.

SYNOPSIS

This Senate Concurrent Resolution commends the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and the Delaware Bioscience Center for Advanced Technology (Bioscience CAT) for their outstanding efforts to strengthen Delaware’s economy through the support of academic-industrial life science research collaborations and to enrich the lives of Delaware’s young people by providing them with opportunities to observe and pursue scientific research.

Author: Senator McBride