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Research and Development Council of New Jersey Initiated by Gov. Richard Hughes in 1962, the Research and Development Council quickly became a public-private partnership driven by the private sector. Inspired by the growing need to serve technology-based industry and academia, the Council expanded in 1993 to an agenda that encompasses entrepreneurial, emerging, support, and services industries. For more than 35 years, the R&D Council of New Jersey has been the voice of R&D and technology in New Jersey. The R&D Council is an association of more than 100 leading industrial and academic research facilities and technical support companies representing two-thirds of the state's more than 80,000 scientists, engineers, and technicians. Over three decades, the R&D Council has a sterling record of sustained commitment to the encouragement of innovation and invention in New Jersey. It has also been an articulate voice and the state's leading advocate for maintaining a healthy climate for the continued growth of operating research and development laboratories. The Council has focused on enhancing the growth of all research enterprises by capitalizing on core abilities and interests and by leveraging investments. It has also facilitated important partnerships between its distinguished members and New Jersey's colleges, universities and schools. For decades, the R&D Council has encouraged creativity and leadership by promoting accomplishments in science, research and development. The Council's New Jersey Science/ Technology Medal and its Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award are two of the state's most esteemed awards.