Driving Innovation Together
03/01/2025
By Edwin L. Aguirre
Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, a nonprofit research and development company based in Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, has been a leader in solving some of the world’s most complex problems since it was founded in 1932 by its namesake, who was an MIT engineering professor.
Although it initially focused on developing precision instruments for the military and aerospace industries, the lab has diversified its research portfolio over the decades into the fields of biotechnology, health care and autono- mous systems. With 12 locations in the U.S. and more than 2,000 employees, Draper continues to push the boundaries of engineering and technology, from space exploration to medical diagnostics.
Today, Draper is one of the cornerstone partners of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor, or LINC, an $800 million-plus public-private economic development venture on East Campus that will add more than 1 million square feet of new lab and office space, hundreds of units of housing, new retail and entertainment venues and thousands of jobs over the next decade.
“Our expansion to Lowell marks a significant milestone in our mission to drive innovation in Massachusetts and across the U.S.,” said Draper CEO and President Jerry Wohletz at the LINC announcement on campus in March. “Universities are engines of innovation, with powerful ideas that the world needs, but making those ideas real is no small task.
Draper is here to help with men- torships, prototype testing and development, and opportunities for customer collaborations that result in fielded and deployed solutions.” Draper’s Electronic Systems division plans to set up a brand-new lab facility in the LINC space.
“Our LINC partnership will enable the growth and development of a microelectronics workforce for national security,” says Sarah Leeper, vice president and general manager of the division.
Draper aims to conduct research and develop- ment on campus, including designing, prototyping and testing of new microelectronic components, performing materials science research and systems analysis, and bringing R&D projects into production.
“When you combine the expertise of UMass Lowell faculty and the engineering capabilities within Draper, and then you mesh that with UML students who are highly motivated to learn and are ambitious, that’s a recipe for success in developing an innovative, next-generation workforce,” says Leeper.
Unique Student and Alumni Experiences
In addition to career-connected experiences such as capstone learning projects, internships, co-ops and mentoring, Draper will award up to 10 scholarships per year to UMass Lowell graduate students over the next decade, says Draper Scholars Program Director Chris Yu. Each scholarship is valued at as much as $100,000 per year—up to two years of funding and tuition support for a master’s degree, and up to five years for a Ph.D.
“Education is incredibly important to help us uphold the Draper mission,” Yu says.
Chancellor Julie Chen says the collaboration is built on a foundation of common goals and shared missions.
“Partnerships like this one with Draper provide unparalleled experiences, from hands-on intern- ships to collaborative research. By aligning with organizations that share our goals, we can amplify our impact—bringing inventions to market, shap- ing policy and preparing the next generation of leaders,” she says.
Paul Johnson ’25, one of two current Draper Scholars at UML, is pursuing a doctorate in energy engineering with a concentration in nuclear engineering.
“My research at Draper focuses on microelectronics systems exposed to harsh space environ- ments and the characterization of radiation trans- port tools to understand the systems’ response to solar and cosmic radiation,” says Johnson, who is an Army veteran.
Undergraduate students are also gaining invaluable skills and work experience thanks to the UMass Lowell-Draper partnership. Electrical engineering major John Moore ’25 has a microprocess engineering internship at Draper’s Microfabrication Lab, which designs and creates microelectrical mechanical systems for high-precision sensors.
Moore, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in the same field at UML, says the environment at Draper is supportive.
Bob Breton ’90 is one of the many UMass Lowell alumni currently working at Draper. “In one engineering division alone, Draper has 39 employees who are UML alums,” says Breton, director of the Systems Engineering Concepts and Design division.
Jim Moran, a principal member of the company’s technical staff, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering in 1983 and 1986. Moran joined Draper in 2008 and works on developing integrated circuits for embedded systems. He has also been teaching as an adjunct professor at UML’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for 38 years.
“LINC is a great opportunity for our students to assimilate into industry sooner, as well as for Draper to recruit young talent that meets its technical needs,” says Moran.
And that’s just the beginning, says Leeper.
“We’re very excited with our partnership with UML,” she says. “It’ll be wonderful to be on campus and have direct access to the student population. It’ll be mutually beneficial.”