CU-Boulder Technology of the Month:

Detection of Nucleic Acid Hybridization Using Liquid Crystals

UC Denver Technology of the Month:

Treatment of Lung and other Vascular Injury using Bone Marrow Derived Angiogenic Cells

Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development Launches with "Call for Proposals"

The Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4) launched this month with a statewide "Call for Proposals" from Colorado life science technologies in need of funding and active management. CID4 is a private, not-for-profit entity, formed in 2009 to bridge the gap between basic research and successful product commercialization, thereby creating more Colorado jobs in the life science industry.

CU Technology Commercialization Highlighted in Denver Post

In a weekend 'guest commentary' piece in the Denver Post, Chancellor Philip DiStefano (CU-Boulder) advocated for prioritizing state funding to research universities; DiStefano provided several examples of CU technologies having a real-world impact, including the FluChip flu diagnostic (licensed in some fields to InDevR) and a water-saving leaf sensor (licensed to AgriHouse).

Sundrop Has Hot Plans to Produce Energy

Louisville-based Sundrop Fuels says it has perfected a solar-energy technology capable of producing 100 million gallons of synthetic gasoline annually from corn stalks and wood chips. Sundrop Fuels acquired CU licensee Copernican Energy in 2008.

RealD Creates Innovation for 'Avatar,' 'Up,' Other Top Films

Boulder is home to the research and development office of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based RealD, a maker of 3-D technologies used for movies such as "Avatar," "Up," and the upcoming "Alice In Wonderland" and "Toy Story 3." In 2007 RealD acquired CU licensee ColorLink, who helped develop the optical filter technology underlying RealD's theater displays.

AmideBio Raises Capital

Boulder-based AmideBio, LLC raised $274,997 in a seed round that will be used to hire employees and commercialize its peptides. The company manufactures peptides using a process developed by University of Colorado professor and company co-founder Michael Stowell.

Governor Honors OPX Biotechnologies

CU licensee OPX Biotechnologies Inc. was one of two companies presented with the Governor's Excellence in Renewable Energy awards by Gov. Bill Ritter Tuesday at the state capital. See also: Boulder's OPX Biotechnologies sets sights on 'sustainable' acrylic.

InDevR Pioneers Tools for Life Sciences Industry

Kathy Rowlen, the chemist, inventor and former professor who co-founded bioscience company (and CU licensee) InDevR Inc., speaks the language of business. Describing the company's just-launched Virus Counter, she says, "It allows customers to do in 30 minutes what used to take seven days. It costs less and produces more accurate results."

TerraSpark, ffA Team Up for 3D Seismic Research & Development

CU licensee TerraSpark Geosciences has entered into an agreement with ffA ("Foster Findlay Associates Ltd") to explore parallel research and development programs. ffA and TerraSpark believe that innovation in building geologically consistent 3D representations of the subsurface may be greatly accelerated by combining their unparalleled strengths in image analysis, interpretation and visualization.

New UC Denver Research Produces Promising Advance in Cancer Vaccines

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and National Jewish Health have used a new strategy to develop cancer vaccines that are remarkably effective in mice. In the Feb. 16 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Kimberly Jordan, PhD, Jill Slansky, PhD, and John Kappler, PhD, report that 100 percent of the mice vaccinated with a peptide they developed remained alive and tumor-free for at least 60 days after inoculation with colon cancer cells.

Colorado BioScience Association CEO Resigns

John Collar has resigned as chief executive and president of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA); Collar, who led the association since December 2008, resigned Feb. 1 to pursue other opportunities. CBSA has appointed Denise Brown to serve as interim executive director beginning Feb. 15 while a formal search is conducted. Brown is rejoining the association after retiring as executive director in October 2008.

TTO's Rick Silva on VC Financing and Tech Transfer

"The definition of the term 'venture ready' is definitely different than it was a couple of years ago. Venture investors may not get into a deal as early or be willing to back a deal prior to some meaningful proof of concept being in hand." Read the full interview here.

Venture Capital and Private Equity for Renewable and Sustainable Technologies

February 18-19, Grant Hyatt, Denver

This two-day conference will provide an overview of topics related to financing for cleantech businesses. Topics include: Financial Ingredients to Developing a Renewable Energy Project, What Lenders Look for in Renewable Energy Projects, and Federal and State Grants.

Entrepreneurs Unplugged: With Krista Marks, Co-Founder of Kerpoof

February 22, CU-Boulder

Entrepreneurs Unplugged is a meeting place where faculty, students and community members with technical backgrounds learn about and get involved in entrepreneurship.

Venture Capital in the Rockies: Winter

February 23-25, Beaver Creek Resort

Venture Capital in the Rockies is the largest and oldest capital conference in the Rockies region. Now in its 27th year, VCIR showcases the region's most promising companies for an audience of over 150 venture investors and service professionals from around the region and across the country.

CBSA BioBreakfast
February 24, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora
The landscape of the FDA will be changing in the near future. Three medical device leaders from CaridianBCT, Medtronic Navigation and Cochlear Americas will share their views on this changing landscape and what to expect in the future. Presented by the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA).

RETool: Opportunities in the New Energy Economy - Understanding Smart Grids

February 26, CU-Boulder

The rapid growth of renewable energy is a bright spot in a troubled economy. Get ahead of the curve - take an intensive, four-day certificate program surveys renewable energy technologies and policies and points the way to a bright and sustainable energy future.

Fifth Annual Sustainable Opportunities Summit

March 2-4, Colorado Convention Center, Denver

Learn how to use sustainable business practices to drive innovation, improve financial performance and advance economic development.  This year`s expo will feature up to 100 companies, including some of the region`s most innovative clean technology, as well as Mayor John Hickenlooper.

Boulder/Denver New Technology Meetup Group
March 2, CU- 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.

Fourth Annual C-Level @ A Mile High

March 11, Invesco Field, Denver

Opportunity doesn't always knock.  This time you can bid on it!! Come network and bid on feature time with your target CIOs, VPs of IT, and other C-Level "Celebrities!" Presented by the Colorado Software and Internet Association (CSIA).

Colorado Green Tech Meetup

March 11, CU-Boulder

An ongoing event to support eco-entrepreneurs and others people involved and/or interested in green tech: energy generation, transportation, construction, and efficiency technologies. Businesses and researchers present new technologies, and attendees may announce business news, job openings, fundings, etc.

Entrepreneurs Unplugged: With Tyler Tysdal, Managing Director of Mantucket Capital

March 15, CU-Boulder

Entrepreneurs Unplugged is a meeting place where faculty, students and community members with technical backgrounds learn about and get involved in entrepreneurship.

Silicon Flatirons' Annual Mile High Tech Entrepreneurship Conference
March 18, CU-Boulder
Silicon Flatirons' annual entrepreneurship conference is a cornerstone of CU's Entrepreneurship Week. This year's conference will focus on the role of place in entrepreneurship.

University of Colorado Denver Core Lab Book

The 2009-2010 Core Facilities guidebook (PDF) is now available from UC Denver, providing summaries and contact information for all UC Denver core labs. The guide is produced by the UC Denver Office of Research.

New Grant Program for Early Career Biomedical Researchers Debuts at CU

The Boettcher Foundation is sponsoring the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program, which is aimed at supporting early career biomedical researchers whose work has a direct impact on human health. Materials for grant applications, due March 15, are available at www.cu.edu/boettcher. The grant program at CU will provide a minimum of $200,000 and a maximum of $350,000 payable over up to three years to awardees, who will receive the title of Boettcher Investigator. Applicants may send inquiries to webb-waring@cu.edu.

Call for Applications: Entrepreneur Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

The Founder Institute Comes to Denver

The Founder Institute, a incubator program started by Adeo Ressi of The Funded, announced it is coming to Denver this spring with a four-month program beginning in April. The Founder Institute offers a variety or programming including structured training classes and access to experienced mentors to support new entrepreneurs. A unique feature of the program is that all of the program stakeholders - including the participating founders and the mentors - share in the equity upside of all the newly formed companies. The Denver program is currently accepting applications with a deadline of February 28.

Fast Company: Why You Should Start a Company in... Boulder

In January, Fast Company published a vignette highlighting what makes Boulder attractive to entrepreneurs: "[T]he core personality in Boulder is an entrepreneurial personality. It's an independent, hippyish, smart, counterculture place. [...] [Y]ou have an acceptance in this community of both independent thought, as well as a very high comfort level with ambiguity and failure. So if it's not clear what you're doing, you're still very welcome here." Read more here.

Biotech Chiefs Slam U.S. Report on Gene Patents

Anticipating a series of federal recommendations on gene patents coming out in early February, a former Senator and four executives at biotech companies and biotech trade groups criticized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for taking, they said, a stand that would undermine the technology transfer objectives of the Bayh-Dole Act and the biotech industry generally in the United States.

Roundup: University, Community, State, National and International Initiatives

Florida 5-Year Plan Advocates STEM, Clusters & Tech Commercialization
Enterprise Florida released its latest five-year strategic plan for the state, calling for increased investment in STEM education, university research, commercialization assistance and early-stage capital access programs.

White House Releases Science And Engineering Indicators 2010 Report

In January the National Science Board released its Science and Engineering Indicators 2010 report, the major authoritative source of U.S. and international data on science, engineering, and technology. The latest report tells us that the state of U.S. science and engineering is strong, but that U.S. dominance of world science and engineering has eroded significantly in recent years, primarily because of rapidly increasing capabilities among East Asian nations, particularly China.

Venture Capital Industry Sees Further Deterioration of 10-Year Returns

"When you're the first person whose beliefs are different from what everyone else believes, you're basically saying, 'I'm right, and everyone else is wrong.' That's a very unpleasant position to be in. It's at once exhilarating and at the same time an invitation to be attacked."

Larry Ellison, American entrepreneur; founder of Oracle Corp.