KU creates new office to expand research in national defense, partnerships with Department of Defense

Girod also says Panasonic interested in having space on KU campus

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Leaders of the ROTC programs at the University of Kansas salute the flag during a Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 2021.

UPDATED 1:35 P.M. JAN. 15

As the University of Kansas aims to do more work with the U.S. Department of Defense, it is creating an entirely new office to boost the effort.

KU leaders on Wednesday announced the creation of the Office of National Defense Initiatives and added a new assistant vice chancellor position to its management ranks to oversee the project.

Mike Denning, who has served as KU’s director of Office of Graduate Military Programs since 2011, has been appointed to the vice chancellor role. He’ll oversee a staff that includes members of the former Office of Graduate Military Programs and from KU’s three ROTC programs.

KU Chancellor Douglas Girod told the Journal-World in a brief interview that KU wants to best position itself to work with the growing number of national agencies that are addressing emerging national security threats.

“Obviously that is a place that everybody is investing in, and when I say everybody, I mean the government and all branches of government,” Girod said. “It is an area we have expertise, and historically we probably have been underrepresented in funding from some of those partners.”

The new office is a continuation of efforts by KU to become a bigger player in the world of research and collaboration on national defense issues. Last year KU hired a director of national security research, Kurt Preston, a 35-year Army engineer and researcher.

KU also had a big announcement in the space last year when it received $22 million in federal funding to create a new national security research center on KU’s West Campus. KU leaders have said that center likely will be a home for researchers ranging from cybersecurity to radar technology to artificial intelligence.

The center will be built on KU’s West Campus, which is north and west of 23rd and Iowa streets, as part of the KU Innovation Park development. Innovation Park currently has three buildings that house largely startup technology companies, and plans call for this new 80,000-square-foot center to be constructed near those buildings.

The building is expected to add about 250 jobs at the park initially, but the development is projected to spur interest from companies that want to be close to national security researchers and students.

In terms of research areas where KU may have expertise that the defense department and others are seeking, Girod said defending against digital and computer-based threats is near the top of the list.

“Cybersecurity is a very good one for us,” Girod said.

KU distinguished engineering professor Perry Alexander has a start-up company based at KU, Invary, that is working to commercialize cyber defense software that was developed for the Department of Defense. The company touts new technology that helps prevents ransomware and data breaches.

In addition to overseeing projects that are directly related to national security and defense initiatives, the new Office of National Defense Initiatives will assume oversight of KU’s ROTC programs.

Denning said he’s optimistic the new office and reorganization will help KU’s research rise “to the forefront of numerous DoD opportunities.”

Girod said work to build the new national security center on West Campus is going well. He said KU also is exploring how that project can be modified to accommodate a potential opportunity with Panasonic, which is opening a $5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in De Soto. Girod said Panasonic has expressed an interest in having space on the KU campus to be closer to researchers who study issues related to the efficiency of battery technology and other such issues.

While the topic doesn’t necessarily fit into the idea of national security, Girod said KU believes the new building could be a good opportunity to meet the needs of a potentially important partner.

“Their needs are pretty specific so it creates an opportunity to build what they actually need,” Girod said.