Interview: Colorado BioBusiness Ecosystem is Breaking New Ground
Rick Silva, director of technology transfer at UCDHSC and acting Director of the Fitzsimons BioBusiness Partners (FBBp): "It takes broad and incredibly specialized skills to build a biomedical product. Ours is the most regulated industry on Earth. Our products are among the most complex to develop, and the least likely to have a customer. Getting it right takes a village."
Interview: Terry Boult on Security, Identity and Privacy
Terry Boult, co-founder and CEO of Securics, Inc. and El Pomar Professor Innovation and Security at UCCS, discussed security and the unseen challenges of biometrics with w3w3.com.
CU-Boulder Scientist and Administrator Susan Avery Named President of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Board of Trustees of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announced Sept. 12 that CU-Boulder Professor Susan K. Avery has accepted the position of president and director of the institution, a private organization dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education.
CU-Boulder Women-In-Technology Advocate Inducted Into Hall Of Fame
Lucy Sanders, who directs the National Center for Women and Information Technology on the CU-Boulder campus, has been inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame, considered one of the most prestigious recognitions for women working in technology and science.
UCDHSC Physician Honored with Governor’s Proclamation Day
John “Jack” Githens, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics at UCDHSC and former director of UCDHSC’s Colorado Sickle Cell Disease Treatment and Research Center, was awarded one of the state’s greatest accolades on Sep. 28: a Governor’s Proclamation Day.
Do you know of a recent award, new position or transition of interest to the CU tech community? Please send information to TTOnews@cu.edu.
TTO's Learning Laboratory: The Student Connection
Bard Center Bioentrepreneurship Fellows
Over the summer, UCDHSC Bioentrepreneurship Fellows worked in the TTO on prior art searches, met with inventors, evaluated new invention disclosures, drafted executive summaries, and took inventory of the primary and patent literature, outside contacts, interactions, and agreements for preparation of due diligence packages.
In addition to mentored TTO assignments, the Fellows are now taking a technology transfer course taught by Arlen Meyers, M.D. on the Anschutz Medical Campus; for this course the Fellows are writing an innovation plan for a company which would assist universities and private research institutions in evaluating their biomedical IP portfolios and actively marketing these technologies to outside companies. Technology Commercialization Associates would evaluate an institution’s IP portfolio pro bono, then make recommendations as to which biomedical technologies should be marketed, which invention disclosures should be patented if they haven’t already, and which patents should be abandoned. The Fellows’ innovation plan is out for review and will be presented at the end of the fall semester.
Spotlight On:
CU-Boulder Technology of the Month:
CU1836B – Quantitative Phase Imaging with a Bright Field Microscope
UCDHSC Technology of the Month:
CU1843H – Prediction of Survival and Response to Therapy in Cancer by Measuring MicroRNA
CU Company of the Month:
Proteome Resources, LLC manufactures ultra-high-purity reagents and provides services to the biotechnology industry. Reagents (proteins, enzymes and antibodies) primarily focus on enabling research and drug development around the Ubiquitin Proteasome pathway and apoptosis. Services chiefly comprise custom producing recombinant proteins in research (ug) and development (mg) quantities using various, optimal expression systems. To meet the demands of strategic customer partners, and maintain its protein leadership, the company recently launched a High-Throughput Screening & Expression service for producing large numbers of proteins (25+) efficiently and quickly. Through these services, the company is also building a large library of proteins – and corresponding antibodies – serving a variety of research areas.
Upcoming Events
Faegre & Benson International Business Forum
October 18, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver
IBF 2007 will offer new workshops on outsourcing, franchising, and many international IP topics in the areas of trademark, patents, IP portfolio management, trade secrets, China IP issues, IP transactions, and technology collaborations. Registration and full schedule online.
CU-Boulder Fall Convocation: A Celebration of Faculty Achievement
October 19, Old Main, Boulder
On Friday, October 19, 2007, CU-Boulder will host its second annual Fall Convocation; events include speakers throughout the day and an awards ceremony followed by a reception.
CTEK Entrepreneur's Ball
October 20, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver
This black-tie fundraiser allows supporters of Colorado entrepreneurship to kick-up their heels with 450 of Colorado's most prominent CEO's, investors, entrepreneurs, geek gliterati, and those that understand how critical entrepreneurial success is to Colorado's economic vitality.
Keiretsu Forum Academy for Investors: Clean-tech Investing 101
October 23, Wells Fargo Center, Denver
Please join Keiretsu Forum members and other early-stage investors for an informative look at the opportunities evolving in the Clean-tech sector. This first session will provide an overview of the landscape and a closer look at several important power generation developments with a number of invited speakers.
BioBreakfast: Trends in Venture Capital Investing
October 24, Museum of Nature and Science, Denver
The Colorado BioScience Association will host this panel discussing 2007 investment trends, what types of bioscience companies are receiving venture capital, and predictions for the upcoming year. Register online.
2007 Coleman Institute Conference on Cognitive Disability and Technology
October 24-26, Westin Hotel, Westminster
The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities conference will feature presentations by outstanding scientists and engineers, disability leaders, government officials, and business executives, an overview of cognitive technologies research at CU and other major universities, and a CU system-wide faculty research poster session.
TiE-Rockies MentorFest 2007
October 25, PPA Center, Denver
TiE-Rockies announces MentorFest 2007, the continuation of a TiE tradition. This will be a chance for anyone who is working on a business concept to get their plan in front of a highly experienced group of serial entrepreneurs for review and assistance with, planning, funding, starting, operating, developing, and selling their business.
Colorado's New Energy Economy: The Path Forward
October 30, Marriott City Center, Denver
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the Governor's Energy Office and the Office of Consumer Counsel are partnering with Energy Outreach Colorado to sponsor a conference examining current and future energy issues as Colorado moves toward more renewable and alternative energy technologies.
New Faculty Breakfast: Resources Available Through the CU Technology Transfer Office
November 2, ATLAS Building, Boulder
This free breakfast seminar for newly-hired (past 3 years) CU faculty will give an overview of the resources available to faculty through the TTO. For more info or to RSVP, please contact Debra Caamano.
UCDHSC Department of Medicine’s Fifth Annual Research Day
November 3, Marriott Tech Center, Denver
This open-to-the-public event will feature talks by School of Medicine faculty and a keynote address from Michael Schwartz (University of Washington), all related to a theme of obesity. More than 200 posters on all topics regarding the scholarly activities of Departmental members will be available for review and discussion. For more info please contact Peggy.mcintosh@uchsc.edu.
Boulder/Denver New Technology Meetup Group
November 6, Wolf Law Building, Boulder
This ongoing event provides a forum for technologists and entrepreneurs to showcase the new (especially web-based) technology developing in Boulder/Denver tech community. Five companies have five minutes each to demonstrate their new technology, followed by five minutes for Q&A from the audience.
20th NREL Industry Growth Forum: Financing the Path to a Clean Energy Future
November 6-8, Denver
America's largest venture event focused exclusively on companies developing clean energy products. 35 clean energy companies will present their business plans and growth strategies; cutting edge technologies from NREL, CU, and other Colorado research institutions will also be featured.
Angel Capital Summit
November 13, Marriott City Center, Denver
Colorado's leading entrepreneurial and investor organizations invite you to attend the Angel Capital Summit, a unique collaboration bringing entrepreneurs and investors together in the Mile High City. Presented by Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC (EKS&H) and hosted by the Rockies Venture Club. (Entrepreneurs: view the call for presenters.)
Colorado Inventor Bootcamp & Showcase
November 15, Cable Center, Denver
This DaVinci Institute event will start with an Inventor Boot Camp covering the basics of commercializing inventions. Later, the Showcase will feature great inventions from both independent inventors and businesses. Details and registration online.
Butcher Symposium on Genetics and Biotechnology
November 16, Westin Hotel and Resort, Westminster
This Symposium brings together CU faculty in the many areas of research related to genomics and biotechnology to improve awareness of the relevant resources at CU, to spark new collaborations, and to identify means and opportunities for strategic advancement.
Public Safety, New Technologies, and the Future of Emergency Response
November 28, UCDHSC School of Public Affairs, Denver
Co-Sponsored by the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program and the CU Denver School of Public Affairs, this conference will take a look forward at the future of emergency response, evaluating how new technologies can be adopted to enable first responders to operate more effectively.
To have your event featured here, please send an email to
TTOnews@cu.edu.
CU Resources
Leeds MBA Program Ranks In Top 20 In Two Surveys Ranking Entrepreneurship, Social Responsibility
The CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business MBA program has been ranked in the top 20 in two surveys released this week. The Aspen Institute ranked the Leeds School 20th for social and environmental stewardship in its 2007-08 Beyond Grey Pinstripes rankings (8th among small program). Additionally, Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review partnered in a survey of entrepreneurship programs nationally and ranked the Leeds School graduate program 14th in the nation in the magazine's fifth annual ranking of the top entrepreneurship programs. (See also: University of Colorado business school making the lists.)
Thinking Outside the Box
CU-Colorado Springs’ Mind Studios provides a resource for budding inventors who need help getting their concepts off the drawing board. And it provides a way for its director, Michael Larson, to carry out his mandate as UCCS El Pomar Chair of Engineering and Innovation. (More media coverage of Mind Studios.)
UCDHSC Shares in Grant to Fund Nursing IT Programs
The National League for Nursing and three institutions of higher education (including CU’s Health Sciences Center) have received a $1.5M grant to fund a five-year Health Information Technologies Scholars Project to integrate technology into academic and clinical practice.
Innovation in the News
Bill Could Improve Funding for Small Biotechs
In a victory for small biotech, the U.S. House passed a bill that allows small companies to be eligible for federal small-business programs even if they're majority-owned by VC firms. However, among other concerns, critics say opening up SBIR awards to more established companies will make competition harder for small start-ups.
Experts Look to Strengthen VC-University Relations
University startup companies and a healthy venture capital industry to seed them are more important than ever to the US economy and to its continued global competitiveness, according to various speakers at a university startups conference held last week.
Roundup: University, Community, State, National and International Initiatives
- Foundations Commit $100M for Detroit’s Next Economy
Ten foundations have joined forces to create an eight-year $100M New Economy Initiative for southeastern Michigan, with a goal of transitioning the region’s economy toward more knowledge-intensive industries.
- Houston Firms Get Nearly $4M in Biotech Grants
Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced on October 9 more than $3.8M in state grants to four Houston-area biotechnology companies; the grants were awarded through the $200M Texas Emerging Technology Fund created by the Legislature in 2005.
External Resources
