ANN ARBOR, MI — The University of Michigan will partner with a Japan-based sportswear company to establish a new research center.
ASICS will contribute $25 million in funding to support the new ASICS x Michigan Sport Innovation Center, a research effort working to progress human performance and sport science through a new multi-year research collaboration, according to a Dec. 19 University Record update.
The Ann Arbor campus will also host ASICS’ first research hub in the United States.
The company evaluated multiple universities to identify an academic collaborator. It reached out to UM through the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which assists companies wishing to invest in the state.
“Michigan has a proud tradition of innovation from our auto industry to health sciences, and we’re building on that tradition to make our state the best place to have an idea,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in the update. “Today’s announcement will bring together researchers from one of our flagship public universities with ASICS to pioneer new advances in sports. This is a huge win for Michigan.”
A university-wide interdisciplinary team of researchers will work with experts in medicine, engineering, human performance, robotics, textiles and social sciences from the company, the University Record update states.
The ASICS x Michigan Sport Innovation Center aims to enhance performance for athletes of all levels, according to the update. UM and ASICS will use its facilities and engagement programs to work directly with athletes and progress “data-driven solutions for peak performance.”
“We are thrilled to partner with ASICS, an organization that shares our commitment to solving complex challenges through innovation and a human-centered approach,” UM Interim President Domenico Grasso said in the update. “Welcoming ASICS’ inaugural U.S. research hub is a tremendous honor and affirms the strength of our faculty, students and collaborative research culture, both locally and globally.”
Innovation Partnerships, a unit of the UM Office of the Vice President for Research, brought together a team of researchers, who will be led by Ken Kozloff, co-director of the Human Performance & Sport Science Center, to work with the company to tackle challenges from a variety of perspectives.
Six UM faculty members are in the new research initiative steering committee. They represents the College of Engineering, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, School of Kinesiology, A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Institute for Social Research and Michigan Medicine.
“We are honored to enter into a strategic partnership with the University of Michigan, one of the world’s leading research-oriented universities,” Mitsuyuki Tominaga, ASICS Corp. president and CEO, said in the update. “Since our founding, ASICS has upheld the philosophy of ‘Anima Sana In Corpore Sano’ — a sound mind in a sound body — and has long supported athletes of all levels in achieving peak performance through fundamental research and advanced technology.”
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