Welcome to this very special issue of The Fountain, the Graduate School's new information source for alumni and supporters of graduate education at Carolina. I am especially pleased to present this issue which focuses on alliances between graduate education, corporations and businesses. These Carolina-Corporate Connections create exciting opportunities for graduate students and simultaneously benefit our collaborators in the corporate community. As a public research university, these partnerships are a critical part of Carolina's mission and service to North Carolina.

Win-win precisely describes these partnerships. Graduate students have the opportunity to learn within a corporate environment and gain exposure to research applications and cutting-edge technologies. Students and faculty benefit from the resources that corporations provide as well as from the industrial perspective of their partners. Corporations are interested in keeping abreast of new basic research directions and identifying well-trained future employees. Collaboration between many corporations and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has certainly become a tale worth telling. This issue of The Fountain provides just a sample of these success stories.

In this issue, you will read about the exciting new technology that biomedical engineering student Timm Crowder is developing – technology that has the potential to become a promising new business venture. You will also read about alumnae Elise Jackson and Dori Canelas whose industrial experience gave them a head start on their careers. In addition, you’ll meet community leaders David McNelis and David Lewis who offer an important corporate perspective on the connections between graduate education and the business world.

As we go to press, we are anticipating this year’s annual Royster Society of Fellows Public Forum, which will explore issues related to University-Corporate partnerships. We are honored to have a very distinguished panel of speakers, including two who are featured in this issue, Dr. David Lewis, Vice President of the Lord Corporation, and Dr. Elise Jackson, recent Toxicology graduate and scientist at Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals. Two other distinguished speakers include Dr. Dennis Gillings, Chairman and CEO of Quintiles Transnational Corporation, and Dr. Jim Peacock, Kenan Professor and Director of the University Center for International Studies. We look forward to hearing more about vital Carolina-Corporate Connections at the forum.

-Linda Dykstra

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