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A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) is a formal
written agreement of limited duration and scope between a government and
non-government agency.
After the initial COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, as organizations began
exploring how to safely resume live music performances, the WPMRC was
studying aerosol production and how air particulates were dispersed by
various instruments and while singing. Associate Dean for the Arts
Suzanne Burton and School of Music Interim Director Mark Clodfelter
discussed the findings with Sergeant Major Denver Dill and Chief Warrant
Officer T.J. Jackson, co-founders of the WPMRC.
“We started having conversations about music, music development and
sound,” Burton says. “Because it’s about music, but it’s not all about
music. It’s also about sound and sonic branding.” Think of the sound you
hear when you open Netflix or Law and Order’s iconic ‘dun-dun.’
Dr. Burton, Sgt. Maj. Dill and Chief Jackson kept discussing
possibilities for a research partnership, with WPMRC eventually
presenting a proposal to UD’s Research Council. Through conversations
with Kathleen Matt, retired dean of the College of Health Sciences (CHS)
and Charles “Buz” Swanik, deputy dean of CHS, the CRADA took form with
suggested ideas for performance optimization, as well as health and
wellness related studies.
After several months of negotiations, the current CRADA was signed in
2022 by President Assanis and USMA at West Point Superintendent LTG
Darryl A. Williams.
This is the third CRADA the University has signed with partners in
recent years. UD signed a CRADA in 2019 on behalf of the National
Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL),
which has its headquarters on STAR Campus. Before that, then University
president Patrick Harker signed a CRADA in January 2010 for an agreement between UD and the U.S. Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).