Articles

Creighton University law, science, medical and business students are getting a real-world taste of what it takes to convert scientific research into new business ventures.

Sixteen students - selected through a competitive application and interview process - are enrolled in the inaugural class, which met for the first time on Feb. 13. A three-year, $536,000 National Science Foundation Partnerships for Innovation grant is funding the effort.

Titled "An Interdisciplinary University-Based Education Partnership to Support Biomedical Technology Commercialization in Nebraska," the program involves Creighton's College of Business Administration, School of Law, School of Medicine and Office of Technology Transfer.

http://www2.creighton.edu/publicrelations/newscenter/news/2008/february2008/february262008/entrepreneurship_nr022608/index.php

We know that face-to-face interaction and networking is key to starting, nurturing, and supporting entrepreneurial projects on the way to becoming established and profitable enterprises. It is far cheaper to meet your IP lawyer informally at a small educational session than over his or her desk with the meter running, for example. In Colorado, there are a number of formal and informal programs that provide these kinds of networking opportunities. Perhaps the most informal is BioBeers, a spirited gathering that is particularly welcoming to young entrepreneurs and interested students...

From the online description, "All About BioBeers":

Colorado has a rich history in the life science industry. A fundamental component to accelerate the region towards achieving a top-tier bio-cluster ranking is a thriving and nurturing bio-entrepreneurial community. BioBeers is designed to function as such an accelerant, where like minded bio-preneurs gather once a month to share ideas, cultivate business relationships and build life long friendships.

For more information about "the premiere life science start-up club in Colorado":

http://www.biobeers.com

Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman today announced an Emerging Industry Skills Partnership grant of $85,000 to the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin to prepare 60 workers for rewarding careers in biotechnology and help meet the increasing demand for highly skilled workers in the region's growing biotechnology research cluster.

Governor Doyle made the Emerging Industry Skills Partnership part of his Grow Wisconsin - The Next Steps strategy for economic and workforce development. The grant that Secretary Gassman announced on his behalf will leverage an additional $200,000 in federal and private funds to ensure that Wisconsin remains a leader in the emerging biotechnology industry.

"Dane County has become the biotech hotspot of the Midwest, and the workforce training initiative we are launching today with our partners will help us remain at the forefront of pioneering research," Secretary Gassman said. "With this effort, we take a big step forward in developing a highly skilled biotech workforce, allowing us to compete at the high end and enabling this important, emerging industry to pursue research so vital to the world."

The grant is one of 10 being awarded under the Governor Doyle's Emerging Industry Skills Partnership initiative, a total of $850,000 to provide new and incumbent workers with the necessary skills and meet workforce demands in biotechnology, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Secretary Gassman announced the grant during a visit to Third Wave Technologies, a molecular diagnostics firm developing products to detect human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can lead to cervical cancer. Joining her at the University Research Park location were representatives of other biotech firms and the leading partners in the training initiative, the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Biotechnology and Medical Device Association (WBMDA).

As outlined by Secretary Gassman, the grant will:

Provide job skills training to 30 new workers and additional skills training to 30 incumbent workers; Develop a clear understanding of region's emerging biotech firms and their workforce needs, and establish a career pathway framework to meet those needs; Build a biotech industry partnership focused on workforce development and include core members of the biotechnology and medical device association; Work with the association to develop, within their corporate leaders, the essential workforce development skills necessary to help fledgling research companies grow and thrive. Accepting the grant from Secretary Gassman were Pat Schramm, Executive Director of the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin and Jim Leonhart, Executive Director of the WBMDA.

"This grant will enable the biotechnology industry to develop both the workforce strategies and workers that will be needed for future expansion," Schramm said. She said the grant would leverage not only federal money, but funding from other sources, such as Thrive, the Madison Region Economic Development Enterprise.

"Wisconsin's bioscience industry has been built on the strength of well-educated scientists and business people," Leonhart said. "The WBMA is pleased to be a partner with the state in its ongoing efforts to ensure that one of our bioscience industry's fundamental advantages will continue to be our well trained and educated people."

Other partners in the biotech training project include Madison Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Capital Region Economic Development Entity (REDE) and the Department of Commerce.

Dane County has more than 6,100 biotech workers, nearly a third of all biotech workers in the state. Biotech jobs are projected to increase by 15 percent in south central Wisconsin through 2014. On average, biotech workers earn an estimated $62,800 a year in Dane County and $56,700 a year in the south central region. Slightly more than half the jobs require a bachelor's degree. Nearly a third of the positions, primarily lab technician jobs, require a two-year associate's degree.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Ed Schafer and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman announced that combined, USDA and DOE will invest up to $18.4 million, over three years, for 21 biomass research and development (R&D), and demonstration projects. These projects specifically aim to address critical barriers to making production of biomass more efficient and cost-effective, in an effort to advance the Bush Administration's strategy of bringing online more clean, bio-based products and biofuels to help reduce our dependence on oil from unstable parts of the world and mitigate climate change. Secretaries Schafer and Bodman made today's announcement while delivering remarks at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008 (WIREC).

"These grants help fund the innovative research needed to develop technologies and systems that lead to the production of bio-based products and biofuels," Schafer said. "Funding new technologies will help make biofuels competitive with fossil fuels in the commercial market, putting America on the path of reducing its dependence on foreign oil."

"Continued investments in biomass are critical to furthering the President's goal of making available clean, abundant and domestically produced biofuels for widespread use," Secretary Bodman said. "Increasing supplies of renewable energy and using more energy efficient technologies must continue to play an indispensable role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting the rapidly growing demand for energy."

Projects announced today are integral to furthering President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, which aims to change the way this nation powers its cars, homes and business by increasing energy efficiency and diversifying energy sources in effort to increase energy, economic and national security. Funding for these projects will be provided through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, a joint USDA-DOE effort established in 2000 to develop the next generation of clean, bio-based technologies.

Grant recipients are required to raise a minimum of 20 percent matching funds for R&D projects, and 50 percent matching funds for demonstration projects. Of the $18,449,089 announced today, USDA will provide up to $13,225,554, and DOE will provide up to $5,223,535 (Fiscal Years 2007-2009). Grants are subject to negotiation and will begin immediately, and funding is subject to appropriations from Congress.

WIREC 2008, held in Washington this week, aims to garner broad, high-level international support for developing and deploying clean, renewable energy technologies as a key mechanism for increasing energy security, mitigating climate change, improving air quality and promoting sustainable development. In addition to raising political support for, and public awareness of the importance of renewable energy, WIREC also includes broad market opportunities for agricultural producers in the rural sector worldwide. WIREC 2008 is the third global ministerial-level conference on renewable energy, following events in Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004. For more information on WIREC 2008, visit: www.wirec2008.gov/wps/portal/wirec2008.

The following entities have been selected as grant recipients:

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS:

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (NJ) - up to $971,799

Grant Purpose: To develop a U.S. native grass breeding consortium to identify regional optimum biomass productivity on marginal lands and switchgrass performance in specific U.S. regions.

Agrivida, Inc. (MA) - up to $982,589

Grant Purpose: To study altered plant compositions for improved biofuel production. This will include analysis of rice straw, sorghum, and switchgrass performance in specific U.S. regions.

University of Florida (FL) - up to $866,576

Grant Purpose: To address genetic engineering of sugarcane for increased fermentable sugar yield from hemicellulosic biomass in Florida.

Ceres, Inc. (CA) - up to $839,909

Grant Purpose: To identify and characterize plant genes involved in biosynthesis and deposition of cellulose and hemicellulose in plant cell walls, with a focus on switchgrass throughout the U.S.

Ceres, Inc. (CA) - up to $883,290

Grant Purpose: To evaluate herbacious and woody crops for use in thermochemical processing, specifically examining willow and switchgrass species grown throughout a wide range of geographies in the U.S.

Regents of the University of Colorado (CO) - up to $1,000,000

Grant Purpose: To develop rapid solar-thermal chemical reactor systems for conversion of biomass to synthesis gas.

North Carolina State University (NC) - up to $999,889

Grant Purpose: To develop advanced technology for low-cost ethanol from engineered cellulosic biomass.

Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) - up to $975,676

Grant Purpose: To develop a microwave-assisted pyrolysis system for conversion of cellulosic biomass to bio-oils.

Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) - up to $715,340

Grant Purpose: To develop pathways to achieving U.S. bioenergy policy goals, develop economic costs and environmental impacts, and identify potential technological bottlenecks.

Regents of the University of Minnesota (MN) - up to $576,368

Grant Purpose: To research and analyze lignin as a facilitator during saccharification by brown rot fungi.

University of Kentucky Research Foundation (KY) - up to $999,964

Grant Purpose: To develop advanced ceramic materials for the separation and recovery of high-value pentose derivatives from cellulosic biomass using molecular imprinting.

Battelle Memorial Institute, on behalf of DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (WA) - up to $1,000,000

Grant Purpose: To address catalytic conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals using ionic liquids.

Packer Engineering (IL) - up to $1,000,000

Grant Purpose: To research and develop on-farm conversion of biomass to synthetic gas, combined heat and electric power, and fertilizer.

Kansas State University (KS) - up to $690,000

Grant Purpose: To demonstrate pelletizing forage crops and perennial grasses in the field to increase cellulosic ethanol production.

The University of Akron (OH) - up to $743,904

Grant Purpose: To research and develop supercritical methods for biorefinery of rubber-bearing guayule biomass.

Purdue University (IN) - up to $1,000,000

Grant Purpose: To develop a low-cost, high-yield process for direct production of high energy density liquid fuel from biomass. Synergistic use of solar hydrogen with biomass will be explored.

Iowa State University (IA) - up to $944,899

Grant Purpose: To develop catalytic production of ethanol from biomass-derived synthesis gas.

Cornell University (NY) - up to $998,943

Grant Purpose: To develop more effective enzymatic conversion processes through nano-scale elucidation of molecular mechanisms and kinetic modeling.

GE Global Research (NY) - up to $820,035

Grant Purpose: To integrate biomass gasification with catalytic partial oxidation for tar conversion.

DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS:

Texas Engineering Experimental Station (TX) - up to $600,000

Grant Purpose: To provide a demonstration of commercial feasibility of anaerobic fermentation of biomass for the production of carboxylate salts and their conversion to keytones.

Washington State University (WA) - up to $839,909

Grant Purpose: To provide product diversification strategies for a new generation of biofuels and bio-products.

For more information on President Bush's Advanced Energy Initiative, visit: www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/2006/energy/index.html.

While the Bioscience industry and higher education institutions strive to make money from IP, we must remember that it is also possible to do good with IP, even when there is little financial incentive to do so.  Here in America we treat sleep apnea, while in Africa they have a serious problem with "sleeping sickness."

Here is a WIRED science article about Australian scientists who have developed a blood test for African sleeping sickness that does not require the fancy equipment found in upscale medical labs. Even better, they made the details of their work available for free by publishing a paper in the Feb. 6 issue of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, which operates under a Creative Commons license.

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/03/third-world-bio.html

Here are two good article links around the topic of workforce transformation, one recent, the other slightly older (2003)

Engineering for a Changing World:

A Roadmap to the future of Engineering Practice, Research, and Education

2008, The Millennium Project

The University of Michigan (http://milproj.dc.umich.edu )

James J. Duderstadt

President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering

The University of Michigan

http://milproj.ummu.umich.edu/publications/EngFlex_report/download/EngFlex%20Report.pdf

ENSURING WORKFORCE SKILLS OF THE FUTURE

THE BIRTH TO WORK PIPELINE (2003)

By: Rick Stephens

President - Shared Services Group,

The Boeing Company, Bellevue, Washington

and

Elane V. Scott, Consultant to The Boeing Company

http://www.cpec.ca.gov/completereports/externaldocuments/birth_to_work_pipelinev50.pdf

The challenge of future workforce education is

more than ensuring the delivery of content driven

programs at the right time. There must be

students with the desire to participate. Available

data indicates there are enough students in the

pipeline and sufficient workers available to meet

the demands of the growing employment base.

Statistics such as academic performance and

career track selections, however, indicate that

they are not strongly interested in the fields

where there is a great demand and economic

opportunity. In fact, in some cases there is even a

decline in interest, in spite of greater promise for

income, especially among women and

minorities.

This raises the question of what else is impacting

their perspectives, attitudes and beliefs such that

they do not attend programs aimed at their long-term

prosperity and meeting industry needs?

Phoenix Union Bioscience High School is a new science and math-focused small high school, part of the 'small schools' movement. "...The school is located in the Hub of biotech research. medicine and higher education in downtown Phoenix and through partnerships with its neighbor institutions, students will have the ability to receive real world learning experiences." [brochure copy] Funded by a 2003 bond package, the school will extend advanced science, technology and match opportunities to minority and disadvantaged students (early enrollment is 70% hispanic) in an urban setting. The district is also opening a 'Cyber' school and a police/fire career interest school.

Links:

YouTube video of the opening of the bioscience HS in Phoenix:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yhyXDnEZ90

Brochure http://www.phxhs.k12.az.us/education/sctemp/51be14a7d385b9dcfc9480a18c13242e/1204041088/Bioscience_Brochure.pdf

School website

http://www.phxhs.k12.az.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=5720

News Articlehttp://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0522a-bio0522.html

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0522a-bio0522.html

Washington Business Journal - by Erin Killian Staff Reporter

An economic impact analysis commissioned by the Maryland Technology Development Corp. found that the state can hold more technology incubators and the current 18 generate $104 million in state and local taxes.

Columbia-based Tedco was seeking to find the benefit of the incubators because four more have been proposed.

So it hired North Carolina-based research group RTI International to analyze the state capacity to handle them. In interviews with the emerging companies and graduates of the incubators, the study found the state has the "potential to support more high-tech incubators," however "the capacity for niche incubators in regenerative medicine and alternative energy is not as clear," the report said.

The group found that the incubators employed 5,374 people directly and 8,670 indirectly through economic interactions in 2006. The annual salary combined was $845 million. That translates to $1.2 billion in gross state product, according to a statement. The average annual pay for technology jobs is $75,000, or more than 60 percent higher than the statewide average annual wage of $46,000.

"The technology industry is a significant contributor to Maryland's expanding economy," said David Edgerley, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, in a statement. "As the results of this recent analysis illustrate, Maryland's technology incubators not only foster the development of new technologies, but stimulate the state's economy in a number of ways."

The analysis found that helping the companies find space once they graduate, especially those in the life sciences, is the most pressing concern amongst the entrepreneurs.

RTI used a research model called Implan to gather the data between April and September 2007 from 359 clients and graduates.