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Pharmaceutical Technology LABORATORY BEST PRACTICES 2018 13 benefit and interest. This is a great model; however, it tends to be quite expensive, with a significant fraction of the research budget being consumed in overhead costs. In addition, contracting for these projects can be glacially slow, with negotia- tions often stretching out for a year or even more. Given the rapid pace of scientific development and industrial progress, we often don't have the luxury for such delays, with many of 'last year's problems' rapidly becoming obsolete. In contrast, the NSF mandates a very low cap on overhead, so that almost all funds go directly to support the re- search. In addition, a general membership agree- ment between industry members and the center means that new projects can be initiated with a minimum of bureaucratic delay. PharmTech: The Center for Bioanalytic Metrology is an NSF-sponsored IUCRC that is being devel- oped by Purdue, Indiana University, and Notre Dame and is expected to launch in early 2019. What is the Center's mission and what types of projects do you expect to focus on? Welch: I'm very excited about this new center that we're in the process of setting up. Our mis- sion will be to focus the research capabilities of the faculty, students, and facilities of these three lead- ing analytical chemistry organizations on the most pressing problems of industrial research relating to measurement science and instrumentation. We believe that this focus will be mutually beneficial to industry members and academics alike, help- ing to steer innovation in a useful and productive fashion. It should be pointed out that all research carried out within the center is expected to be published, providing academic participants with high profile publications and valuable exposure to industry researchers and problems. The leadership of the center is really phenomenal and is built on a long tradition of cooperation and collaboration be- tween these three universities. Garth Simpson will serve as the point of contact for Purdue University, with Lane Baker representing Indiana University and Paul Bohn covering Notre Dame University and serving as the overall center director. [As of Oct. 24, 2018], Genentech, Agilent, Shimadzu, FLIR Systems, Sartorius, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly and Company have committed to membership. Other companies and organizations that have expressed an interest in joining the cen- ter include GSK, Waters, Amgen, AbbVie, Pfizer, IBRI [Indiana Biotechnology Research Institute], the US Pharmacopeial Convention, and a number of other industry leading pharmaceutical, energy, food, and instrumentation companies. We are con- stantly collecting information about the measure- ment science needs of industry and will focus the research efforts of the center on addressing these needs in new and unexpected ways. PT For more information • Center for Bioanalytic Metrology http://sites.nd.edu/cbm/ • National Science Foundation Industry–University Cooperative Research Centers www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/iucrc/home.jsp • Chris Welch can be reached at chjwelch@iu.edu. "The stance of US industry toward precompetitive collaboration has changed dramatically over the past few years." —Christopher Welch