The Office for Research and Innovation hosted their second event in the Research Development Support series focused on engineering research centers will include invited guest speaker Junhong Chen, the Crown Family Professor of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. Chen, who previously led the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center program and led the evolution and rollout of the Gen 4 Engineering Research Centers program, shares his thoughts regarding the purpose and function of the program and what reviewers are looking for in a successful center that supports convergent research, education, and technology translation that leads to societal impacts.