STRATIS selects UMD, MIT labs as IT research partners

They will jointly pursue technology research and development projects to enhance complex computing capabilities.

STRATIS, a large division of L-3 Communications, is going back to college, having signed partnership agreements with the advanced research laboratories at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland, the company announced April 4.

As a result, L-3 STRATIS will pursue technology research and development projects aimed at enhancing complex computing capabilities for government and commercial clients at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory.

The Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory , known as CSAIL, is MIT’s largest independent laboratory and one of the world’s most important centers of IT research. The lab and its members have played a huge role in the technology revolution of the past 50 years.

Founded in 1983, Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction lab’s faculty, staff and students have been leading the way in HCI research and teaching.

“These key university alliances continue to demonstrate STRATIS’ role as a thought leader within the national security market space,” said Les Rose, president of the Reston, Va.-based division of L-3.

L-3 Communications Corp., of Mclean, Va., ranks No. 8 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.