Addressing the grand science challenges of our time requires dynamic collaborations and partnerships on a global scale.  SPARC is a highly selective program that equips outstanding emerging leaders from Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the University of Chicago with the skills required to forge impactful and effective partnerships with industry, government, other academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. Participants in the SPARC program will explore various formats of research impact that will benefit their careers and gain access to practical tools, organizational resources, professional coaching, targeted skill development, mentorship from senior faculty, and networking opportunities with peers at UChicago, Argonne, and Fermilab.

Members of the SPARC cohort will develop a toolkit and network that will help them launch and take a leadership role in new and innovative partnerships that have the potential to transform science and technology. Programming includes fireside chats with University and Lab leadership, talks from leaders in industry, personalized coaching, guidance from an Advisory Council of exemplary science leaders, and networking across the three institutions.
Learn more here.

Benefits of Participating

This intensive program includes in-person master classes to develop the necessary skills for building effective partnerships. Programming features fireside chats with University of Chicago and National Lab leadership, insightful talks with industry pioneers, personalized coaching, expert guidance from an Advisory Council of distinguished science leaders, and exclusive networking opportunities spanning the three institutions. By attending this program, you will:

• Create a professional roadmap to define partnership strategies, align your research with desired impacts, and tailor partnerships to achieve them.
• Advance your command of effective communication, partnership development, and industry engagement.
• Network with other faculty and scientists across the University of Chicago, Argonne, and Fermilab.
• Hear from guest speakers who have built successful partnerships based on their scientific research.
• Receive personalized coaching from executive coaches at the Harry L. Davis Center for Leadership and members of the SPARC Advisory Council.

Ideal candidates will be:

• Mid-career researchers who are interested in elevating their career and research impact through strategic partnerships and collaborations.
• At a career inflection point where they have undertaken some external collaborations but are interested in developing a network and toolkit to help expand external collaborations and partnerships.
• UChicago participants: Faculty or research professors working at the assistant- or associate-level
• Argonne and Fermilab participants: Mid-career scientists/engineers with at least seven years of experience (typically senior scientist/engineer level, but applicants are not restricted

Program Dates & Locations

The program format is designed to maximize impact with limited time commitment (totaling est. 27 hours). Participants are required to attend all program dates. Dates for mentor meetings with Advisory Council members and executive coaching sessions (which can take place virtually or in person) will be scheduled once the program begins.

• March 13: Kick-off dinner and networking (University of Chicago)
• March 14: Full-day session (University of Chicago)
• April 24: Three-hour session (virtual)
• June 13: Full-day session (University of Chicago)
• August 1: 90-day check-in (University of Chicago)

Nominations Process & Timeline

Interested SPARC participants will need to solicit a nomination either from their respective Dean (UChicago participants) or Assistant/Associate Laboratory Director (Argonne/Fermilab participants). Nominations consist of 1-2 paragraphs about why the nominator thinks the nominee is an ideal candidate for participating in SPARC. Nominees will also be required to fill out a brief form with their contact information and a paragraph on their goals for participating in the program.

• Nominations for UChicago participants are due February 14th by 11:59 PM CT.
• Nominations for Argonne and Fermilab participants are due February 28th by 11:59 PM CT.

To submit a nomination, please send the nomination materials to Megan Millard, Associate Director of Executive Education at the Booth School of Business, at megan.milliard@chicagobooth.edu.

Advisory Council

The SPARC Advisory Council is a group of science leaders from UChicago, Argonne, and Fermilab who are exemplary drivers of partnerships within a range of domains and industries. Program participants will be matched with an Advisory Council member based on shared domain areas and partnership-types of interest, and will meet 1-1 with their Advisory Council mentor twice over the course of the program. The 2025 SPARC Advisory Council will be announced before the program begins.

Previous Advisory Council members have included Junhong Chen, Bonnie Fleming, Michael J. Franklin, Maryellen Giger, Scott Oakes, Anne Sylvester, Juan de Pablo, Ian Foster, Laura Gagliardi, Ka Yee Lee, Jayant Pinto, and Matthew Tirrell.

The participants in the inaugural SPARC cohort for the Fall 2023 program (pictured above, along with UChicago President Paul Alivisatos) were:

• Akram Bakkour – Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago
• Anindita Dutta – Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago
• Bei Ye – Section Manager, Fuel Technology Assessment (FTA) Section, Chemical and Fuel Cycle Technologies (CFCT) Division, Argonne National Laboratory
• Bryan Dickinson – Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago
• Heather Whitney – Research Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, The University of Chicago
• Jai Yu – Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago
• Jason Cheng – Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, The University of Chicago
• John Anderson – Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago
• Joseph Strzalka – Physicist, Dynamics and Structure Group, X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
• Justin Connell – Materials Scientist, Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory
• Kalyan Kumaran – Senior Computer Scientist, Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, Argonne National Laboratory
• Kyle Chard – Research Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, The University of Chicago; Joint Appointee, Argonne National Laboratory
• Maria Baldini – Scientist, Magnets Technology Division, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Matthew Kaufman – Assistant Professor, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago
• Nhan Tran – Wilson Fellow and Division Director for Real-Time Processing Systems, Computer Science and AI Directorate, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Nhung Nguyen – Research Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago
• Saravan Chandrasekaran – In-Kind Contribution (IKC) Coordinator, PIP-II, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Sergey Chemerisov – Manager, Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope (IVEM) and Low Energy Accelerator Facilities (LEAF), Experimental Operations & Facilities Division, Argonne National Laboratory
• Sihong Wang – Assistant Professor, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago
• Yuepeng Zhang – Principal Materials Scientist, Applied Materials Division, Argonne National Laboratory

Questions? Please contact megan.millard@chicagobooth.edu

The SPARC Program is a collaborative effort between the Science Strategy Office and Booth School of Business Executive Education. This initiative is supported by the University of Chicago Joint Task Force Initiative (JTFI), a signature UChicago program dedicated to helping Argonne and Fermilab achieve mission success by opening channels of frequent communication and collaboration across institutions.