VentureLab showcased 10 faculty-developed technologies at varying stages in the technology transfer process, opened laboratories for tours and gave brief presentations. Then attendees had the opportunity to spend time with individual Georgia Tech faculty members and VentureLab staff to discuss the technology prospects in detail.
Also, Georgia Tech President Wayne Clough spoke to attendees,
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President
Wayne Clough
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noting that while Georgia Tech is breaking ground in technology transfer activities, economic development is not a new mission for the university. The state created Georgia Tech in 1885 to help move the South's economy from an agrarian to an industrial one, so economic development has always been on par with Georgia Tech's education, research and service missions, he said.
"Today our mission is only different in that we are in an age of information and services," Clough explained. "We serve the original intent of our economic development mission in a different way."
Building upon extensive federally funded research in science and engineering, Georgia Tech faculty and students are creating innovative technologies with commercial potential. "We have many great new ideas boiling away at Georgia Tech, and many of them will make their way into the commercial arena," Clough said.
Georgia Tech is committed to supporting entrepreneurial activities by faculty and students to make this goal a reality, Provost Jean-Lou Chameau told the group. He pointed to Georgia Tech's creation of VentureLab last fall and the university's operation of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a technology business incubator. Also, the university's commitment was recognized earlier this year in "Innovation U.," a report from the Southern Growth Policies Board, which cited Georgia Tech as the most advanced with regard to universities' roles in a knowledge economy, Chameau added.
"This didn't happen by accident," Clough said of the ranking. "It took a dedicated, focused strategy."
photo by Gary Meek
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VentureLab company Vivonetics is the first true living cell gene expression imaging company. The technology, based on research by Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Gang Bao, standing, has applications in drug discovery, molecular biology research, medical diagnosis and prediction of pharmaceutical treatment efficacy based on genetic analysis. Here, researchers Andrew Tsourkas and Carrie Williams, seated, use a confocal microscope to examine fourescence from a sample of molecular beacons that could be used to detect cancer.
(300-dpi JPEG version - 733k)
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Provost
Jean-Lou Chameau
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Since its formation a year ago, VentureLab has evaluated 90 research innovations involving more than 100 faculty. A dozen of those innovations were identified as having commercial potential. Of those with commercial interest, four have so far been the basis for the formation of new companies. Two of them – Qcept Technologies and Radatec, Inc. – have already been admitted to the ATDC.
Clough and Chameau cited several reasons for Georgia Tech's entrepreneurial success. They are: ATDC, VentureLab, the Georgia Tech Research Corporation and its Office of Technology Licensing, about 2,500 contracts totaling $320 million a year in externally funded research (putting Georgia Tech among the top 30 research institutions in the nation), eminent scholars funded by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), relationships with industry partners and strong state support, and Tech's emphasis on collaboration among Georgia research institutions. In addition, Georgia Tech's administration strongly encourages faculty and students to become entrepreneurs.
Despite Georgia Tech's success, Chameau said the university wants to do more. He cited the Washington Advisory Group study that Georgia Tech recently commissioned and the recommendations that resulted from it. One recommendation already implemented was the creation of VentureLab as a one-stop center for entrepreneurs and industry. Another recommendation was the establishment of metrics to measure the university's economic development success, and some of these are already in place, he added.
"We have a strong commitment to commercialization," Chameau said. "It is an important part of our culture at Georgia Tech. Now we have people who want to come here because of our commercialization support. So we are fairly successful.... But we are not satisfied. We will keep improving."
photo by Stanley Leary
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Building upon extensive federally funded research in science and engineering, Georgia Tech faculty and students are creating innovative technologies with commercial potential.
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Clough encouraged both faculty and industry representatives to familiarize themselves with VentureLab. "It is a mechanism to simplify interaction between industry and faculty," he said. "It is one-stop shopping for faculty. VentureLab will help faculty down the long and complicated route to commercialization."
VentureLab evaluates faculty technologies' commercial potential, research team experience and business interest. For technologies meeting these criteria, VentureLab provides business support services and advice, connections to outside funding and pre-seed awards to move innovations toward commercialization. And VentureLab organizes events such as Technology Day to create a bridge between technologists and investors and potential customers.
VentureLab will help maximize the economic return the state of Georgia receives on its investment in Georgia Tech, noted Wayne Hodges, vice president for Economic Development and Technology Ventures.
"Georgia Tech has a rich environment for innovation, and there is strong support for commercializing technology throughout the market cycle," he said. "Through annual events like Technology Day, VentureLab will bring faculty together with investors, established companies and entrepreneurs to help move innovations out of the lab and into the marketplace."
For more information, contact Steve Derezinski, Director, VentureLab, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332-0390. (Telephone: 404-385-2360) (E-mail:
steved@venturelab.gatech.edu). Information is also available online at www.venturelab.gatech.edu.
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Last updated: April 12, 2003
