This feature shines a spotlight on Brian Hawkins, who has been instrumental in the success of the AIM-Bio collaboration between NC State and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Here’s what he had to say about AIM-Bio and his role as program director of NC State’s Office of Partnerships.
Thanks for participating in this AIM-Bio spotlight. Tell us about yourself and share an interesting fact.
I was a working scientist for 20 years before taking on this role at NC State. I live in Durham with my wife, Marsha, and our dogs, Maggie and Neechi. In my spare time, I like to hike with our dogs and cook. I also do some volunteer work; currently I am serving as the 2024 chair for the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.
Please tell us about your role as a program director in the Office of Partnerships at NC State University and how you support the AIM-Bio Program in this role.
This position was created because of the success of the AIM-Bio Program and other programs at NC State funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF). NNF’s priorities are “healthy people and a healthy planet,” and their objective is to support groundbreaking, interdisciplinary work that advances human and environmental health through the green transformation of agriculture and industry. They are interested in all aspects of biomanufacturing, food science, crop science, agriculture, engineering, etc.
NC State has deep expertise and capabilities in all of these fields. My role is to coordinate our efforts within NC State and with our partners (particularly in Denmark) so that NNF continues to look to us as a partner of choice. In practice, this means I am NC State’s resident expert on NNF: staying across what NNF are funding and how their processes are evolving as their funding portfolio grows, establishing clear lines of communication with their scientific staff to understand their strategic priorities are implemented, and communicating these to project and proposal leaders at NC State to help them plan and execute. It also means I am NC State’s primary representative to NNF, so I spend a lot of time educating myself about the incredible work done here and looking for opportunities to put new proposals in front of NNF with a high probability of success.
How has your diverse background crossing several disciplines prepared you for your current role?
I have managed to acquire a somewhat eclectic CV, and I feel compelled to point out to the students that this probably isn’t the best strategy If you want to have a successful career as an academic scientist. But one thing I can do (and what helps in this role) is show up in (almost) any technical discussion and keep up reasonably well. I’m attuned to the different vernaculars of different disciplines, and I have a knack for finding the common ground on which different researchers can come together and find new ways to work. I also like to think I’m pretty good at identifying gaps and helping people find the collaborators they need to fill them.
In addition to your support of the AIM-Bio Program, do you support other collaborations between Denmark and NC State University?
I also provide support for the Cooperative Crop Resilience Program (CCRP) and the Biocatalyst Interactions with Gasses (BIG) Collaboration.
NC State University and the Technical University of Denmark recently signed a Strategic Partnership agreement. How do you anticipate the collaboration between the universities may grow in the future?
As different as these two schools are, I’ve been impressed by the degree of institutional alignment on core values, especially on service and sustainability. The foundation of the NC State–DTU relationship is in biotechnology and plant sciences—and I expect that to remain the case—but there is strong interest on both sides in expanding our collaborations into new areas including chemistry, materials science, artificial intelligence, autonomous machines, and quantum computing.
Brian Hawkins, program director in the Office of Partnerships at NC State University.