1. The Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge
Tomás Díaz de la Rubia
Chief Scientist and Executive Director
Discovery Park
Purdue University
Tomás Díaz de la Rubia
Chief Scientist and Executive Director
Discovery Park
Purdue University
Where Disciplines Converge
To Solve Global Challenges

2. GLOBAL MEGATRENDS AND SOCIETAL CHALLENGES

3. SCIENCE MEGATREND: CONVERGENCE
Future discoveries and innovation that will help tackle society's global challenges will emerge from the convergence of multiple science and technology needs.
Implementing pathways to move discoveries from the laboratory into entrepreneurial ventures and startups, formulating policy briefs, and educating the next generation are at the heart of Discovery Park's vision to impact society's global challenges and create healthier, sustainable societies.
Convergence drives the future solutions to global challenges

4. WHERE DISCIPLINES CONVERGE TO SOLVE 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL CHALLENGES
DISCOVERY PARK
WHERE DISCIPLINES CONVERGE TO SOLVE 21ST CENTURY GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Above: Hall for Discovery and Learning Research with Visit Our Solar System interactive exhibit in foreground

5. Strategic Themes Drive Global Solutions
Impacting Global Security
Impacting Global Health
Impacting Global Sustainability
Driving
Global Solutions

6. Strategic Themes Drive the Areas of Focus
Purdue Strengths
Converge at Discovery Park
The Science of Disease
Digital Health
Impacting Global Health
Impacting Global
Sustainability
Energy and Resources Innovation
The Science of Climate and Resiliency
Global Food and Nutrition Security
Impacting Global
Security
Advanced Electronics and Photonics
Propulsion, Energetics and Thermal Mgmt
Autonomy, Cognitive Systems and Cyber
Big Data/Simulation/Cybersecurity
Social and Behavioral Sciences
STEM
Advanced Instrumentation
Nanotechnology
Entrepreneurship
Complex Systems
PURDUE STRENGTH AND CORE COMPETENCIES
Outcomes:
New Discoveries · Enterprise Development · Policy and Economics · Interdisciplinary Talent

7. The Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge
Solving Global Challenges Requires Setting Big Audacious Goals —Game-changing, disruptive contributions to major global challenges
Provide resources to interdisciplinary teams of Purdue faculty and students that will:
Position the university as a leader in generating game-changing, disruptive contributions to solving global challenges in health, security and sustainability, and
Create opportunities for new and significant external funding programs—both public and private— in these areas
While simultaneously generating new discoveries, innovations, and social and policy solutions, and training the next generation of future interdisciplinary talent.

8. The Discovery Park Big Idea Challenge
The themes for the Big Ideas challenge align with Discovery Park’s strategic framework. Topics that will be considered fall within several clusters:
Health: The science of disease and the future of healthcare.
Sustainability: The interconnected themes of food, water, resiliency and the environment, energy, and climate change,
Global conflict and defense innovation, including third offset technologies, policy studies, energetics and propulsion, cybersecurity, electronic warfare, directed energy and related themes.
Cross Cutting Science and Engineering themes:
Digital/Nano: All aspects of nano-, bio-, and nano-bio technology; Internet of Things development and applications;
Data Science and the future of agriculture, energy, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and other fields such as management and the social sciences and the humanities;
The future of electronics and computing, both architecture and algorithms;
It is expected that all proposals will incorporate elements related to entrepreneurship, policy, and social science aspects of the global challenge.

9. Process:
DP Exec Director launches letter to faculty soliciting ideas and describing process,
Proposals should outline how the team will work with at least one, and preferably more than one, Discovery Park Research Center, and should be endorsed, via to the Discovery Park Executive Director, by at least one Center Director. Center Directors may support as many proposals as they wish.
A proposal, not to exceed two pages (single spaced, 12-point font, Times Roman), should be submitted first. The written proposals will be used to down select projects for an oral presentation.
The proposal must clearly identify a team leader and project champion who must be an experienced faculty member.
Proposals should outline a set of milestones that will be met over the period of performance (not to exceed 24 months)
Emphasis will be placed on milestones that demonstrate progress in soliciting and gaining new funding for research from sources external to Purdue in the topical area of the project.

10. The proposal must detail the Big Idea
Global Challenge:
Purdue’s Role:
The Approach
The Benefits and the Competition
The Unmet Need
What’s the Big Idea?
Why can this approach make progress towards solving a global challenge?
Is the research new and compelling?
Will it drive research excellence at Purdue?
What is the need?
Why is this a big challenge?
Who will the solution impact?
Why will the solution be transformational?
Will the idea enable future funding?
Does the idea leverage Purdue’s interdisciplinary strengths?
Who is the competition?
Who are the partners?
Is there a Leader?

11. Process:
Proposals will be evaluated by a team of selected Discovery Park Center Directors, Associate Deans for Research, and other academic leaders and external advisors representing the broad interests and capabilities of the campus. The proposals will be scored based on the following weighed criteria:
30% - How compelling is the Value Proposition? What intellectual value or contribution is represented by the idea? How strong is the scholarship/research base for the proposal? What will be the value of this proposed research beyond enriching the research program of the lead PI? Will it catalyze or enable new areas of research or new collaborations?
50% - How likely is it that the big idea challenge funding will result in new federal, corporate, donor and/or foundation funding at significant scale? Identify likely funding sources as specifically as possible. Why is this team, and why is Purdue, the right place to lead this effort?
20% - How strong is the track record of the team in successfully tackling complex problems and working collaboratively over the long term? Is the team interdisciplinary?
Teams whose proposals are selected for oral presentation will be invited to pitch their Big Idea to the evaluation committee. The teams will compete in a public process akin to an entrepreneur’s pitch to venture capitalists. Presentations will be strictly limited to 8 minutes, with 7 minutes for questions, and are expected to succinctly, but clearly address all elements of the project, as well as describe the project team leadership qualifications, milestones and the budget.