The Georgia Research Alliance, a private nonprofit corporation with headquarters in downtown Atlanta, is a partnership of Georgia’s business community, research universities, and state government. Its mission is to turn university research and development into economic gains for the state.
Founded in 1990, the alliance has three main investment programs: Eminent Scholars, Core Research Resources, and Technology Transfer.
Eminent Scholars are leading scientists recruited to Georgia from many parts of the world to develop and direct research and development programs of economic importance to the state and nation. As of June 2004, forty-nine Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars are affiliated with the alliance’s six universities: the University of Georgia, Georgia Health Sciences University, Emory University, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia State University.
Courtesy of University of Georgia Photographic Services
Core Research Resources range from large, multiuser centers to specialized laboratories and equipment. They provide the sophisticated infrastructure essential to making the discoveries that become the basis for new technology-based businesses.
Image from Virgina Department of Transportation
Technology Transfer programs help to move laboratory discoveries into the marketplace, where they have important economic impact.
As of 2004 the alliance’s investments of $375 million have played a major role in bringing an additional $2 billion in federal and private funding to Georgia, have helped to generate some ninety new companies based on university research and development, and have helped to create nearly 4,000 new high-tech jobs.
