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Welcome to SPARK, �鶹��’s annual review of research and scholarship. In this issue, our sixth, we highlight some of �鶹��’s highest-impact research and the ways it improves the state’s economy, interacts with New Hampshire business and industry and influences the world.

This issue tells stories about the myriad ways �鶹�� research helps Granite Staters address their most pressing issues — education, energy and the environment, healthcare, workforce development — and how �鶹�� partners with businesses throughout the region to help them thrive and grow.

Welcome, too, to Marian McCord, �鶹��’s new senior vice provost for research, economic engagement and outreach. On campus for just a month before SPARK went to press, McCord shares her thoughts on public impact research in “A Closing Inquiry.”

One final note: The physical magazine SPARK was in the process of being printed when the coronavirus pandemic swiftly altered our lives, so there is no COVID-19 content in this issue. Nonetheless, �鶹�� has mounted a robust response to the virus, bringing its research and resources to bear in ways ranging from creating an emergency care site on our empty campus to sharing expertise on the disinfectant properties of UV light.