Loh, Business Leaders Discuss Plans for Economic Growth

At the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable meeting Wednesday,  President Wallace Loh came prepared with plans for innovation. 

“The future of the University of Maryland depends on EDI – economic development incentives,” Loh told members, according to the Gazette. He added that EDI also stands for employ, develop and innovate.

Loh said that the collaboration of neurosurgeons and anesthesiologists from the university’s Baltimore campus and a mechanical engineer from College Park to design a robot that takes X-rays inside the brain is one example of the economic innovation the university can bring to the community, according to the Gazette.

Discussion of occurred last fall. At a campus forum held last October, the dean of the School of Public Health, Dr. Robert Gold, emphasized the economic impact the move could have. However, the idea has not moved forward. 

Completion of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Center for Weather and Climate Prediction will also bring about 850 new jobs to College Park, he reportedly said at the meeting, adding that the university is able to generate $8 in economic activity for every $1 it gets from the state.

“We are an ivory tower, but at the bottomr you need to have innovative research and business incubators,” Loh said, according to the Gazete.

Business leaders, including Christian Johansson, secretary of the Department of Business and Economic Development, also discussed ways to bring new technologies into the marketplace and help spur small-business lending, the Gazette reported.