Today was an important day for St. Mary’s County! Today we held the Grand Opening Celebration and Ribbon Cutting for the SMART building! SMART stands for Southern Maryland Autonomous Research and Technology building, also known as the “Third Building” at the Higher Ed center next to the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport. The Higher Ed Center is now part of the University System of Maryland and goes by USMSM (The University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland). This is a key piece of the “Aeropark Innovation District” and promises to have a huge impact in St. Mary’s County and the surrounding region and state.
The ceremony was inspiring. Master of Ceremonies Glenn Ives is a member of the USMSM Board of Advisors and did a great job helping to share the common vision that goes back many years. This new facility is the “gold standard” for autonomous research and is 84,000 square feet. Remarks were provided by Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones, Maryland Senate President Pro Tempore Melony Griffith, University System of Maryland Chancellor Dr. Jay Perman, University of Maryland College Park President Dr. Darryll Pines, Dean of Clark School of Engineering Dr. Samuel Graham and Executive Director of USMSM Dr. Eileen Abel. There was a lot of recognition for the work that has gone into making this vision a reality.
The vision is the state-of-the-art research and education facility that fosters cooperation between academia, private industry and our Navy partners to ensure a pipeline of qualified local workers and rewarding careers. The vision is that this facility will lead the state and nation in autonomous research and will have huge impacts in helping ensure sustainability in our region.
Remarks were also given by Commissioner President Randy Guy and former commissioner and current Chair of the USMSM Board of Advisors Joe Anderson. Randy spoke on the county’s commitment in looking to the future and the importance of this technology and Joe shared the importance of the county commissioner’s commitment to this project. This project is touted at the state and federal levels, but the St. Mary’s County Commissioners (in the previous term before I took office) were the first to put “skin in the game” and dedicated $1 million to this project. According to Joe Anderson, that was the spark that helped ensure the success of this project.
The ceremony concluded with the entire crowd following a bagpiper piping down the hallway to a ribbon cutting ceremony. As soon as the ribbon was cut (giant scissors delivered by an autonomous vehicle), a UAV towing a Maryland banner flew across the room several times. It was a fun start to a promising future!
If you have not been out there, go see the new building and all of the work taking place in the AeroPark Innovation District. Park and watch some planes take off and land at the airport. Feel the vibe of the potential for the future. Be proud of all that St. Mary’s County has to offer and will continue to offer well into the future!
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Congratulations to all. Rome wasn’t built over night but this center will provide a bright future for all who enter the door of this center of excellence.