Project Manager
Tanja van Tooren-Pijpaert is an independent Project Manager and supports SC Innovates® and the SmartState® Center for Innovation + Commercialization with special projects. Previously she worked at the University of South Carolina (USC) College of Engineering and Computing, where she identified research funding opportunities for the college, established collaborations with internal and external partners to form competitive research teams and supported the development of research proposals. In addition, she formed industry partnerships to secure projects for the undergraduate capstone design program. Prior to joining the college, Tanja worked at the USC McNAIR Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research, where she organized the annual SC Aerospace Conference & Expo, which attracted over 500 participants and 50 exhibitors.
Before she moved to the United States, Tanja worked in The Netherlands as a Consultant for Material Technology at NEN, the Netherlands Institute of Standardization. In this role, she advised, facilitated and represented national technical committees to ensure Dutch representation at the European (CEN) and international (ISO) level. Tanja participated in several European research projects and managed a European Project to increase the participation of Small Medium Enterprises in European standardization. Tanja earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands.