John Albrecht, professor in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, has been appointed to the position of executive director for the University Research Organization (URO).

In addition to his academic experience, Albrecht brings a wealth of administrative background and leadership to the role, having served as the executive director of the Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest with a Laser Applications division in Plymouth, MI and the Coatings and Diamond Technologies division on campus at MSU. He has also held positions with federal government agencies.

The URO is a unit at Michigan State that allows faculty to pursue research in areas of national importance that are challenging or impossible under current academic policies, particularly when review or restrictions on publication or considerations of citizenship status of personnel are involved.

“Michigan State University has the ability to expand our research in restricted projects that complement our robust fundamental research portfolio. The URO will build upon our existing capacity to help researchers participate in these activities by developing larger-scale efforts that are not readily organized within our academic units," stated Albrecht. "In particular, I will focus on projects requiring institutional support and strategic positioning within areas of national importance to government agencies and their more traditional corporate research sponsors.”