 The U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the University of Chicago launched a new partnership with regional academic institutions November 10th. A new collaborative organization, ARL Central, will broaden access to regional technology innovation by establishing a Midwest research hub. Four years ago ARL started this cultural shift of how we do business in the Army research and development community. Our aim and our expectation is that the open campus arrangement will lead to greater discovery and innovation. Like ARL West, established with the University of Southern California in April 2016 and ARL South, established with the University of Texas Systems earlier this year, ARL Central will leverage regional expertise and facilities to accelerate discovery, innovation, and transition of science and technology. General Wins mentioned what we consider in the Army Research Laboratory a model that we call open campus. We launched it four years ago because we knew we had to revolutionize the way defense laboratories conducted business. The complexity of the world, the complexity of the fight that this country is engaged in, needed us to get beyond our walls and our own isolation. ARL Central will be located at the University of Chicago and includes other regional academic institutions to include Northwestern University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois at Chicago, Purdue University, University of Wisconsin, Area Laboratories to include Argonne National Laboratory and Rock Island Arsenal and local industry. Wins said that through collaboration, the Army will become more innovative to deliver the right type of technology that leads to capability for the American soldier. American soldiers and their joint partners will face many challenges in the future and we can't predict what those challenges will be. We need to get the best ideas and the best technology from across the nation to fuel an Army through science and technology that will shape them and provide the capabilities that soldiers need. Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago, said ARL Central is a kind of research entity that brings some of the greatest universities in the world to one location. So I want to welcome you to the city of Chicago and look forward to a long-working relationship together and thank the Army and the Armed Forces for also putting their resources here behind this endeavor. Ryan McCarthy, Acting Secretary of the Army, said the way ARL is structuring the Midwest Research Lab is very unique. It's very unique in that the way we're going to have be very collaborative and bring all of the academic institutions to bear. So exciting times ahead and it'll be a force multiplier for RDECOM as we proceed. I believe that we have some of the greatest universities in the world within easy reach of the city of Chicago and they're represented here today and I believe that working with the U.S. Army and working with the Department of Defense their research is not only going to keep America safe it's going to keep our economy strong. McCarthy said this new business model allows the laboratory to rapidly respond to constantly changing science and technology by leveraging expertise facilities and innovation from partners. We're here to establish an ecosystem where we all have access to each other's resources. So this model is really based on trust and it's based on trust through proximity. We always begin this conversation with developing connections first, finding areas that will mutually benefit all of our partners. From Chicago, Joyce Conant, ARL TV.