SOAR Center

Synergistic Opportunities for Academic Research

The SOAR (Synergistic Opportunities for Academic Research) Center at Wilkes University serves as a centralized hub for building, managing, and sustaining strategic partnerships with industry, government agencies, research institutions, and community organizations. The Center strengthens Wilkes University’s innovation ecosystem by aligning faculty expertise with external collaboration opportunities, advancing use-inspired research, supporting technology transfer, and enhancing workforce development in emerging technology areas.

SOAR directly supports Wilkes University’s 2023–2028 Strategic Plan by expanding research capacity, fostering innovation, promoting academic excellence, and increasing regional and national impact. SOAR was established through support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the EPIIC (Experiential Learning for Emerging Partnerships, Innovation, and Industry Collaboration) program as part of the BRIDGE-TECH cohort.

Partner with SOAR

Our Mission

  • Strengthen strategic partnerships with industry, government, and community organizations
  • Advance applied and use-inspired research initiatives
  • Support faculty development in research, grant writing, and partnership building
  • Establish infrastructure for managing external collaborations and intellectual property
  • Enhance workforce development in emerging technologies
  • Increase Wilkes University’s participation in regional and national innovation ecosystems

Strategic Objectives

Establish SOAR as a Hub for Managing & Expanding Partnerships

The SOAR Center provides centralized infrastructure to support sustainable and strategic external engagement. Key initiatives include:

  • Conducting partnership gap analyses to identify institutional strengths and opportunities
  • Developing a Partnership Management System (PMS) to document faculty expertise and external collaborations
  • Creating standardized templates for MOUs, research agreements, and intellectual property policies
  • Hiring dedicated staff to support partnership development and long-term sustainability
  • Coordinating a cross-campus SOAR Task Force to ensure alignment with institutional priorities

Invest in Faculty Professional Development

SOAR enhances faculty capacity to build and sustain meaningful partnerships through:

  • Launching the SOAR Faculty Fellows Program
  • Providing travel stipends and professional memberships
  • Organizing grant writing workshops and professional development sessions
  • Supporting proposal development with external partners
  • Participating in cohort-based entrepreneurship and innovation training

Through these efforts, SOAR aims to facilitate the development of new external partnerships and increase externally funded research activity.

Upcoming Initiatives

SOAR Faculty Fellows Program

The SOAR Faculty Fellows Program is a competitive initiative designed to support faculty members interested in expanding external collaborations. Fellows are expected to establish new external partnerships and submit external grant proposals in collaboration with those partners.

Partnership Management System (PMS)

The SOAR Center is developing a centralized Partnership Management System (PMS) in collaboration with Wilkes University IT. The PMS will:

  • Catalog faculty research expertise
  • Track industry, government, and academic partnerships
  • Align faculty capabilities with external partner needs
  • Improve coordination and long-term sustainability of collaborations

This system will serve as a foundational infrastructure tool for strategic partnership growth.

Leadership & Governance

The SOAR Center is guided by a cross-campus Task Force that ensures alignment with Wilkes University’s academic mission and NSF-EPIIC objectives. This structure ensures strategic coordination, accountability, and long-term sustainability.

Task Force Leadership

Task Force Representatives

BRIDGE-TECH Cohort Collaboration

The SOAR Center is part of the NSF-supported BRIDGE-TECH cohort, which includes:

  • Bradley University
  • Penn State Harrisburg
  • University of New Haven
  • Widener University
  • Wilkes University

Through quarterly meetings, professional workshops, and collaborative initiatives, the cohort promotes shared learning, industry engagement, technology transfer development, and sustainable innovation practices.

Partner With SOAR

Organizations interested in collaborating with Wilkes University faculty on research, workforce development, innovation, or technology commercialization are encouraged to contact the SOAR Center.

Dr. Abas Sabouni

Professor and Chair
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering

abas.sabouni@wilkes.edu email link
(570) 408-4832

This project is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under award No. 2519880.