Since 1991, the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) has played a leadership role in developing the UC MBEST Center, a multi-partner research and development center aimed at developing innovative solutions to emerging issues of the 21st Century. The Center brings together the strengths and resources of private industry, state and federal agencies, policy makers, educational institutions, and other partners to address these issues. Key to the vision of the Center are strategic research alliances between and among the regional research and educational institutions and participants in the UC MBEST Center.

Mission and Objectives

The mission of UC MBEST Center is to develop and promote the collaborative and cooperative interaction between private business, government research agencies, public and private education and research institutions, and policy makers in strategic alliances to address the environmental opportunities and challenges of the next millennium.

This mission is further defined by five key objectives:

1. Foster applied research and technology transfer
2. Establish a community of high-technology businesses
3. Foster regional economic development and job creation
4. Enhance educational and research opportunities
5. Provide competitive advantages for the Monterey Bay region

For more information, see UCMBEST Mission Statement (97 KB) and the UCMBEST Vision (165 KB).

Institutional Context

The UC MBEST Center is benefiting from a region world-renowned for its collection of earth, marine and environment science facilities, programs, and scientists. These partners are made up of universities, government research facilities, and independent research organizations, which collectively comprise one of the largest research networks in the nation.

Over 1,600 natural and social scientists at these institutions and others actively collaborate to integrate innovative science and technology in areas that directly complement planned UC MBEST Center activities.

With a region-wide focus on the study of natural systems and measurement, visualization and communication technologies, connected by a high-speed asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, the significance of the Monterey Bay Research Crescent as a productive and diverse virtual laboratory is unsurpassed.