Posts Tagged ‘faculty’
Posted September 14th, 2011 by admin
Helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses is the goal of both the Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) and Innovation Transfer Network (ITN). When Connie Faylor, Regional Manager for BFTP of Northeastern PA, began consulting with Healthworks, Inc. - an established business preparing to launch a new innovative service - she suggested an independent market feasibility study. When the costs for this diagnostic procedure exceeded the firm’s current budget, a potential remedy was to connect the company to a college professor willing to undertake the project as a class project.
Faylor described the conditions to ITN Business Development Officer Jennifer Leinbach, who concurred and recommended a highly qualified Kutztown University practitioner who recently tackled a similar challenging case with excellent results. An office appointment was set with Kutztown University Business Professor Dr. Therese Maskulka and two star graduate students to review the proposed project’s complexity and scope with Healthwork’s President/CEO Sandra Wolfe-Korejwo and Marketing Officer Keith Chamberlain. The team felt an immediate attraction and is eager to begin work.
Additionally, Leinbach connected Healthworks to leadership at Reading Area Community College to discuss the development of new training programs to address workforce development issues.
Guest Post by Jennifer Leinbach, ITN Business Development Officer
Tags: Ben Franklin Technology Partners, collaboration, colleges, commercialization, Connie Faylor, faculty, Innovation Transfer Network, Jennifer Leinbach, Kutztown University, market research
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Posted August 8th, 2011 by admin
ITN hosted its first session to introduce a select group of investors to faculty members working on interesting engineering projects ripe for commercialization. The networking event was not meant as a funding pitch, it was meant to put smart people in a room together and see what magic happens.
This was a great first cut at connecting area angel investors with the expertise that resides on local campuses. The idea behind it being that investors can learn to tap into this expertise for things like due dillegence with potential portfolio companies, and that valuable real-world exchanges can take place. In this session, faculty from network members Messiah College and Elizabethtown College presented new developments in small scale biofuels (view video), assistive technology (view video), and dielectric spectrometry (view video). Several follow-up meetings between camps have already taken place.
A few hints on making this mix work are 1) Invite investors who are open to developing relationships and engaging expertise over the long haul. Ones who get the long-term community benefits, not just a pure investment mindset. 2) Pick faculty open to a presentation review and critique. It will be edited and shortened. 3) If possible, have faculty bring along company execs who are using the product, or working closely in the development. They add a different perspective to the presentation, especially during Q&A. 4) Make it casual and offer easy networking at the end - which probably means food and beverages.
We’re scheduling the next meeting for the end of September, this time focused on IT and software development. It’s a work in progress, but we’re excited to see where it leads.
Tags: Add new tag, biodiesel, collaboration, commercialization, concrete, Elizabethtown College, faculty, Harold Underwood, Innovation Transfer Network, investors, Messiah College, Mike Zummo, Nat Hager
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Posted May 3rd, 2011 by admin
How can the concept of “innovation” be boiled down to elements that impact company revenue? ITN recently brought in manufacturing company CEO, Richard Dennis, of Die-Tech to share his strategy at the CREDC Manufacturers’ Roundtable.
Dennis shared several points, but one that generated a bunch of follow-on questions was his policy that employees are evaluated and financially rewarded by how many ideas they bring to the table each month that get implemented, outside of their core area - meaning thinking outside the box. This innovative thinking could be product or systems related, didn’t matter, although Dennis pointed out that “product innovation alone is the least profitable and easiest to duplicate.” Reducing the turnaround time in a large stamping process is worth thousands, if not millions of dollars, and requires his employees to think differently. After implementing his “ideas” expectation, Dennis’ data points to a significant increase in annualized gross margin per employee.
Dennis has similar expectations for his partners. About a year ago, he tasked our organization with pulling together a meaningful group of faculty who could discuss the current trends in health care, as it related to potential market opportunities in metal stamping. (I blogged about this in a May 2010 post.) During the roundtable, Dennis shared the results of this endeavour: The information discussed during the faculty session enabled Die-Tech to close $100,000 of revenue in the medical segment in 2010, and helped expand his pipeline to $1,000,000 in 2011.
Dennis has worked hard to develop a strong culture of innovative thinking at his metal stamping business and is constantly on the hunt for people and partners who can improve its top line growth. By linking with organizations like ITN that connect CEO’s with local, bright, minds on the college campuses, business leaders can potentially speed market expansion and better understand how to translate innovation into customer solutions.
Tags: business growth, college, Die-Tech, faculty, innovation, Innovation Transfer Network, manufacturers, market research, revenue pipeline, university
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Posted January 18th, 2011 by admin
Recently a group of engineering faculty (and three graduate engineering students) connected at Messiah College in the first ITN Engineering Forum. These gatherings offer faculty among the ITN schools to meet informally, connect professionally, and gain understanding about the variety of innovation underway across the region. We have seen relationships arise from these, and other ITN events, resulting in research collaborations and joint efforts in pursuit of public and private sector projects. This event was also supported by the NSF-PFI (Partnerships for Innovation) grant. Below is a brief re-cap of the discussion, which is planned as a quarterly meeting.
The group was welcomed by Dr. Randy Fish, Engineering Department Chair and Professor of Engineering, who also spoke briefly on Messiah’s Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.
The first presentation was by Dr. Nathaniel E Hager, III; Research Scientist in the Physics & Engineering Dept. of Elizabethtown College. Dr. Hager uses ultrafast pulse Time-Domain-Reflectometry (TDR) to assess the cure of concrete and cementitious materials.
Dr. Aldo Morales, Co-Director of the Center for Signal Integrity at Penn State Harrisburg, spoke on the Center’s activities. “Signal integrity is the engineering field that analyzes high-speed electrical interconnects with the overall goal of improving the design, reliability, and performance of digital systems.” Karthik Balasubramanian, a graduate student in electrical engineering also presented on signal integrity and high speed interconnects.
Mike Zummo, Biodiesel Project Manager and 2006 mechanical engineering graduate at Messiah College reflected on the years that Messiah has been involved in biodiesel, both here and overseas. A small scale production biodiesel facility has been constructed and in September 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the Collaboratory a USDOE grant for nearly $500,000 for research and refining of the production process.
Dr. Harold Underwood, Associate Professor of Engineering, specializes in circuits, electromagnetics, linear systems, antennas and wireless communication systems, and RF/microwave applications. He has been working in partnership with The SymBionyx Foundation on an assistive technology for Asperger Syndrome clients, known as Wireless Enabled Remote Co-presenceTM (WERC).
Posted by Malcolm Furman, Faculty Liaison at ITN
Tags: biodiesel, business, circuits, collaboration, concrete, engineering, faculty, faculty research, Innovation Transfer Network, Messiah College, student projects
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Posted November 5th, 2010 by admin
A three legged stool is how our guest speaker at the recent Seconds vs Semesters event referenced the relationship between the business community and its surrounding colleges and universities. A college campus brings only one of the three elements needed for commercialization success, according to Mr. Jerry McGuire, Associate Vice-Chancellor of Economic Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The other two elements are found outside the campus. Enter the business community.
New ideas, fresh technology and research are in rich supply across the academic community, particularly when you consider the entire student, staff and faculty population. What those ideas need in order to move up the food chain are management and funding. Ideas provide the framework for a potential new business or product. The business community can insert the right team and the necessary funding to navigate the path from the back of a napkin to the shop floor or retail shelf.
McGuire argues that once the university has developed the idea and demonstrated a market, “there is this valley of death in which the other two elements don’t exist at the university and is out there in the community…in all university scenerios having an organization or method to connect with funding (whether grants, banks, or angel investment) and management is very critical to any idea that needs to move foward in the commercial sense.”
A recent New York Times article confirms McGuires notion that universities need to engage with the business community and investors. According to the article, the highly touted Sand Hill venture firm, Andreessen Horowitz (the guys who founded Netscape) sends their staff to college campuses to identify promising engineers for portfolio companies. This is further confirmation that a productive economic development balance relies on the trio of ideas, management, and funding or, said another way, business, academia, and investors.
Watch a brief video interview with Jerry McGuire.
Tags: Andreessen Horowitz, angel investors, collaboration, commercialization, entrepreneurs, faculty, funding, Innovation Transfer Network, investors, Jerry McGuire, management, New York Times, Seconds vs Semesters, start up advice, venture investors
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Posted September 9th, 2010 by admin
Using descriptors like “academentia” as part of his spirited economic development presentations, Jerry McGuire dares to challenge traditional thinking in business and academia. Sitting at the eye of a thriving east coast mega-region, Mr. McGuire is experienced in helping colleges and universities create significant value, and bottom-line results, in a fast-paced business environment.
As the Associate Vice-Chancellor for Economic Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Mr. McGuire is slated to deliver an energetic and thought-provoking presentation, Seconds vs. Semesters, speaking to corporate CEO’s, faculty and students at Elizabethtown College on Monday, October 25, 2010. The Innovation Transfer Network (ITN), South Central PA’s bridge between the private sector and a network of academic institutions, is pleased to host Mr. McGuire and provide a platform for him to share examples of what works and what doesn’t in kick-starting an economic transformation.
Over the coming weeks, ITN will release snippets outlining other cool interactive elements of the event which will take place at the KAV, at Elizabethtown College. The opportunity to host such a lively guest means ITN is planning a unique mix of media, networking and content meant to fuel an ongoing discussion! Visit this blog weekly to keep up and register for this event.
Tags: business, collaboration, Elizabethtown College, faculty, innovation, Innovation Transfer Network, Jerry McGuire, Seconds vs Semesters, students, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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Posted June 25th, 2010 by admin
The region’s first gaming meeting between faculty and businesses kicked off in June, as the SSGX group (simulation and serious games) met at JPL in Harrisburg. A lively clan from across South Central PA came together to discuss several important topics around creating a gaming hub and raising awareness of the talent in this region.
With the growth of gaming across the country, several issues were raised between attendees. How do we define gaming in this region? What are the current projects underway in the group? What challenges does the region face in terms of growth in this sector? One topic bantered about was the need to educate businesses that “gaming” does not equate to “playing.” New technology and the influx of a younger generation has created the opportunity for more effective, engaging, learning tools. The ability to interact with a scenario, while learning new material, decision-making skills or “how to” accomplish a task is an important element to employee training and growth.
As you might expect, the group is a tech savvy bunch and plans to communicate between meetings using Ning.com (http://ssgx-cpa.ning.com) Join the group virtually, or network in person at the next meeting slated for September 8th, tentatively set at Millersville University. (email ITN directly at itnwk@psu.edu)
Tags: business networking, faculty, innovation, Innovation Transfer Network, JPL, serious gaming, simulation, South Central PA, SSGX
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Posted January 13th, 2010 by admin
Drafting a new Intellectual Property (IP) policy is not for the faint of heart. ITN arranged a conference call this morning between one of our liberal arts colleges and our university partner supporting ITN on IP questions. The Director shared a few items for consideration and potential road blocks for companies, faculty and the universities as they draft new policies. It was interesting to hear the crazy circumstances that creep up in university-based IP development.
Major topics on the call included questions around how to treat students (graduate students vs. undergraduates) as they get involved in projects. What happens when students move into the lab and begin working on specific research? Are medical and law students treated the same as students involved in research?
The age-old issue of getting agreements in writing appears to be a step people still avoid. It’s a simple step that can eliminate many a sleepless night and large investments in legal battles if parties would simply take the time to document their mutual understanding prior to moving forward. This doesn’t have to invovle the next iteration of search technology either. Issues can be as simple as developing new website designs (created by students) or faculty course design. Laying out who owns the final product in advance can go a long way in saving relationships.
Joint ownership of IP, and assigning patents to companies or back to faculty, are additional tricky and potentially time consuming endeavours. If ownership of IP is between multiple parties (either people or people/colleges/universities), there are specific items to discuss on how those parties can move forward on development. And if outside funding has occurred to support IP development, meaning an NSF or NIH grant for example, then approval for assigning IP becomes more involved - and takes longer.
When faculty members want to pursue starting a company and integrate their IP into the start-up, things get really interesting. Is the role of the faculty member as company owner or as a key management team member? Will the university take an equity stake to license the technology or not? Will a specific faculty member’s skills translate to strong start-up company leadership? (Most investors say no.) These were all part of the dialogue.
For colleges and universities looking into a new IP policy, tapping into a qualified IP resource for Q&A early in the process can be a big help, and time-saver. You might also want to take a look at Wendy Kennedy’s “So What? Who Cares? Why You?” It’s a reader-friendly, colorful workbook for those seriously considering launching a company - whether faculty or not - and can be a valuable handout. The more access everyone has to simple, easy-to-read guidelines and forms, the smoother the process can be for all parties involved.
Tags: faculty, Innovation Transfer Network, intellectual property, IP, IP policy, start-ups, Wendy Kennedy
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Posted December 9th, 2009 by admin
The other day Malcolm and I had lunch with two faculty members from Lebanon Valley College (LVC) and a Director from JPL in Harrisburg. It was an opportunity to host a casual business and academic discussion with folks interested in the same topic. In this case, what makes a quality intern in a design/creative environment?
The pair from LVC are both energetic faculty and not afraid to try new ideas in the classroom. They are two of the three professionals involved in the Digital Communications Group at LVC. Meeting JPL’s Director gave us all a chance to hear more about what an entrepreneurial organization looks for in young talent. She was well versed in many aspects of JPL and understood the corporate culture they continue to foster.
As part of the discussion, the Director shared that JPL values students who can cross multiple departments with strong collaboration. Even better if they have cross discipline training; some expertise in both communications and graphic design, for example. According to her business feedback though, this is rare. For their part, LVC is working on just such an endeavour inside the Digital group. Faculty from Art, Business and English are leading the effort to bring business skills into the artistic, digital, creative space.
After years of developing a well-known, well-respected intern program, JPL has the luxury of attracting and hiring mostly seniors, and is willing to pay for top talent. It was apparent that part of this has to do not only with the candidate’s skill set but in JPL’s ability to evaluate what candidates have learned from their successes and mistakes. What changes did the student made to a project? Why? What’s the thought process? How did they react to constructive feedback, someone who didn’t love their design? It was a valuable conversation and I credit LVC and JPL for the willingness to sit down and hash out a few ideas around the table.
Imagine what we can accomplish if more meetings like this take place: Faculty interested in hearing what the business community wants from graduates. At ITN, we’re willing to shell out a few bucks for a cheap lunch or coffee in the spirit of helping our network members connect with business, and we plan to do more of it.
Tags: business, design, faculty, Innovation Transfer Network, interns, JPL, Lebanon Valley College
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Posted November 3rd, 2009 by admin
This is a guest post by ITN’s Faculty Liaison, Malcolm Furman
Greetings All! Over the past couple months we all have been pretty busy with the website, a few events, and meeting new people. If you haven’t yet done so, have a look at my new grant highlights page, “Mal’s Picks.” If you don’t see your particular interest in that short list, give me a call – I have a reserve in the file.
In my travels around the region, I have renewed contact with Lebanon Valley College – meeting four professors over the summer and meeting their new Dean, Michael Green and a few more faculty for lunch. So far we have seen Chemistry and Biology faculty and recently Jennifer and I had a great meeting with the Digital Communications group. Moving south to Franklin & Marshall College, I met Curtis Hare and Claude Yoder. As it turns out, these folks comprise only a small fraction of the Chemistry talent in the ITN community. I am also working with a few faculty on Requests for Research [RFRs], a pathway to sponsored research for which our Out of Cycle Seed Assistance Grants may be particularly useful.
ITN has received referrals from industry, including Ben Franklin Technology Partners, DCED, and from HACC. These range in purpose from heat sinks, to concrete, materials recovery to computer and electronics applications, and maybe a power plant. I am encouraged by the alternative fuels work being done at Penn State Harrisburg and Dickinson College. There is great opportunity for collaboration among the schools for these and other projects.
The IT and computer science connections I have made so far span Shippensburg Univeristy to Millersville University. The sophistication in gaming and simulation technology in the region is commendable. Jennifer met the guys from VGI Phila (VideoGame Growth Initiative) and they’ll be coming to meet ITN for what we hope will be a lively discussion. Call me (717.948.6455) if you want to join the meeting.
For many of our faculty I am finding links to federal grant solicitations, not only in gaming, but in materials, devices, and human factor developments. As we move forward I believe these grant programs will become important components in the commercialization process – providing sufficient resources to the project partners to reach the critical mass needed to go to market. Having spent three days at the Federal Laboratories Consortium regional meeting gave me a sense of the opportunity that exists in making those connections work. I will be writing about that in more detail later.
In addition to my activities with faculty, I’ve also met with Fred Botterbusch of MANTEC, our regional IRC. Being able to expose our faculty to the wider connections in the business community, and vice versa will be a great advantage. While I haven’t listed all of the meetings, calls and letters fielded from my cubicle over the past couple months; please know that one way or another, I have made some connection with all of the schools. I do enjoy projects that “stink, glow or burn” but I am also involved and excited about the many opportunities I find here. In addition, when I have spoken of our activities to the business community or organizations, like the FLC, there is much interest in what we are doing – and usually a request to become involved or stay informed. Until next time….
Tags: commercialization, computer science, concrete, faculty, federal labs, funding, gaming, grants, innovation, Innovation Transfer Network, materials, Pennsylvania, research, VGI Philly
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