University Selection

The AMI Site Selection Committee process is well-formulated and is designed to benchmark and evaluate prospective universities and to recommend elite research institutions to Mr. Mann for his consideration as possible sites. Universities are sent an invitation from Mr. Mann and upon acceptance a process is initiated leading to visits by AEMFBE representatives and a formal, extensive visit by the Site Selection Committee.

The analysis process and several visits follow over approximately a 12–15 month period during which discussions and discovery take place. The culmination of the due diligence by both parties is a formal offer and awarding of an AMI from Mr. Mann and the acceptance by the university.

To be considered, the university should have an aggressive biomedical engineering department and strong ties between engineering and a medical school. The top administration of the university must have a proven commitment to interdisciplinary research and to entrepreneurial activity. Benchmarking of a prospective university includes over 50 metrics to identify campuses with the highest potential for success. The number of annual biomedical patent applications and patents issued is an important benchmark of campus commitment to such activity. Other metrics considered can include the total research expenditures, federal research support, the licenses and options yielding income, the start-up entities initiated, well aligned scientific publications and their citations, the ability of the university to attract top performing faculty, graduate students, research fellows and doctorate candidates. More mundane measurements include matters such as space and facilities, the state of the universities general capital campaign, etc.

There are currently more than 50 universities that are under consideration, and additional universities are added to the list based on the recommendations of the Site Selection Committee and Mr. Mann’s requests.