33 HIGHLIGHTS In 2017, Dr. Bernard Yurke, a Distinguished Research Fellow in the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State University, was named as the first INL Distinguished Joint Appointment.The appointment is intended to foster collaboration between the two institutions in basic energy science research in coherent exciton interactions in matter. The Joint Appointment Program adopted a new costing model to incorporate more appropriate overhead rates for outgoing joint appointees.This smooth transition helped INL recover indirect costs that were lost in the previous model. Overall, the number of personnel on joint appointments has remained steady at 23. Four new Blanket Master Agreements were created to expand the university network for joint appointments, a 20 percent increase in the number of universities.These new universities included James Madison University, The Ohio State University, Penn State University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. University Partnerships plans to keep expanding the university network into 2018 and strengthen academic relationships to support the INL mission. INSTITUTIONS WITH INL JOINT APPOINTMENT BLANKET MASTER AGREEMENTS Boise State University Cal State University, Long Beach Idaho State University Indiana University James Madison University Massachusetts Institute of Technology North Carolina State University The Ohio State University Oregon State University Pennsylvania State University Purdue University University of Florida University of Idaho University of Nevada, Las Vegas University of Texas – San Antonio University of Utah University of Wisconsin University of Wyoming Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 3 5 Other 6 Nuclear Science & Technology Materials & Fuels Complex 1 National & Homeland Security 3 Energy and Environment Science &Technology 5 Center for Advanced Energy Studies JOINT APPOINTMENTS BY ORGANIZATION