The Power of Proximity: Inside the 2026 Partnerships Celebration
Written By: The Division of Research
You could feel the collaborative energy in the UNC Charlotte PORTAL building for the 2026 Annual Celebration of Partnerships. Sponsored by the Division of Research and its Office of Research Commercialization and Partnerships, the May 14th event brought together university researchers and dedicated research professionals, regional stakeholders, and university business partners who collectively share and anchor the Millennial campus, including PORTAL.
Dr. John Daniels, Vice Chancellor for Research, helped kick off the celebration, stressing that UNC Charlotte’s cross-sector synergy is the “secret sauce” to its real-world impact.
“Think of all the key organizations that are driving economic development in this region,” shared Dr. Daniels. “We work with all of them and we’re all better for it. The banners hanging throughout campus are right, the Difference is Charlotte.”
Dr. Daniels introduced Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber who highlighted the university’s first full year as an R1 university, its sustained research and innovation momentum, and its connection to intentional partnerships.
“Together, we are not just responding to today’s needs; we are anticipating what comes next and moving quickly to meet it,” shared Chancellor Gaber.
The Chancellor elaborated on the Millennial Campus, where corporate, government and nonprofit partners are embedded alongside our faculty and students.
“That proximity creates something powerful. It accelerates discovery, strengthens the talent pipeline and drives economic growth – not just for Charlotte, but for the entire region,” shared Chancellor Gaber.
Keynote: Bridging the Gap from Campus to the Runway
The keynote address was delivered by Jack Christine, Chief Infrastructure Officer for Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). Speaking on the unique, pioneering and growing relationship between the airport and UNC Charlotte’s Aviation and Innovation Research Institute (Charlotte AIR Institute), Christine illustrated how, together, they are innovating airport operations and infrastructure. It’s a partnership that began 12 years ago with a conversation between Christine and Dr. Daniels–a conversation based on one core idea.
“I believed that the airport can be used as a living laboratory to take students in the classroom and give them not just theoretical information about how we do airport planning, how we do airport engineering, but actually take them out to the airport and show them what it’d actually look like in reality,” shared Christine.
The airport and university partnership has seen many iterations and tremendous innovation since that initial conversation, and now focuses on a First-of-its-kind Partnership and Research Project to Improve Runways Across the Nation.
“Where we are 12 years later is something that is far beyond, I think, what maybe any of us imagined at that time,” shared Christine.
The night wrapped up with a huge thank-you to the University Business Partners, off-campus partners, UNC Charlotte faculty and staff, especially the Office of Research Commercialization and Partnerships, plenty of networking, and musical entertainment from the UNC Charlotte Music Department students Liam Hare (guitar) and Elliott Stoffler (saxophone).
