|
Please forward InnovationSpotlight
to anyone you think will find the information of interest and have them join our mailing list. |
|
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
CONTACTS |
|
Tom Chmura
Vice President for
Economic Development
[email protected]
Doug Banks
Associate Vice President for Economic Development
[email protected] |
|
UMass Donahue Institute
Lynn Griesemer
Executive Director;
Associate Vice President for Economic Development
|
|
Commercial Ventures & Intellectual Property (CVIP)
William Rosenberg
Executive Director [email protected] |
|
Mass. Tech Transfer Center
Abigail Barrow
Director
[email protected]
|
|
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CAMPUS
CONTACTS |
|
UMass Amherst
James Capistran
Executive Director, UMass Innovation Institute
[email protected]
|
|
UMass Boston
John Ciccarelli
Associate Vice Chancellor for Govt. Relations & Public Affairs
[email protected]
|
|
UMass Dartmouth
Paul Vigeant
Associate Chancellor for Economic Development
[email protected]
|
|
UMass Lowell
Steven Tello
Associate Vice Chancellor,
Entrepreneurship and
Economic Development
[email protected]
|
|
UMass Medical School
James Leary
Vice Chancellor,
Community & Govt. Relations
[email protected]
|
|
MassMEDIC's Annual MedTech Investors Conference
November 1, 2013
Campus Center
UMass Boston
|
|
Global Cleantech Meetup 2013
November 12 - 14, 2013
Seaport World Trade Center
200 Seaport Blvd, Boston
In partnership with
UMass and
Mass. Tech Transfer Center
Register Here
|
|
STEM SUMMIT 2013
November 13, 2013
Gillette Stadium
Foxborough
Sponsored by
Governor's STEM Advisory Council, Mass. Business Roundtable and
UMass Donahue Institute
Learn More
|
|
MassTLC
FUTURE OF ROBOTICS SUMMIT
December 13, 2013
Microsoft NERD
Cambridge
In partnership with
Mass. Tech Transfer Center
Register Here
|
|
Follow us on Twitter!
@UMassEconDev
 |
|
OPENED
SUMMER 2013
Life Science Laboratories
UMass Amherst
More details here
|
|
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Integrated Sciences Complex
UMass Boston
Opening mid-2014
Press Release
|
|
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Massachusetts Accelerator for Biomanufacturing
UMass Dartmouth
Fall River
More details here
|
|
|
GREETINGS!
InnovationSpotlight is an electronic newsletter
designed to highlight research and development,
innovation and technology across the University of Massachusetts and its five campuses and their
impact on the Commonwealth's innovation economy. |
|
|
Building Support for UMass and its
Impact on Innovation & the Economy
 | | Robert L. Caret |
Dear Friends of UMass:
Last week, I completed my third statewide bus tour to talk about the profound impact the five campuses of the University of Massachusetts have on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the innovation economy that thrives here.
We do this, of course, by educating the citizens of today and tomorrow, by conducting research that leads to the discoveries and developing ideas that fuel the state's innovation economy, and by delivering services to every corner of our state through our five campuses and over 75 other locations that are home to UMass services and programs.
In other words, we shape the Commonwealth's future by closely adhering to the public university land-grant mission that was born a century and a half ago.
The statewide bus tours I undertook in 2011 and 2012 were valuable for many reasons. I heard time and time again that people valued all of the things that the University was doing, but just wanted us to do more. Give us "more UMass" was the common refrain. And it is a message that is hard to question: We educate 72,000 students a year (most of whom come from and will remain in Massachusetts), award more than 15,000 degrees, conduct $600 million in research annually, and have become a national leader in generating licensing income from faculty discoveries.
While traveling the state, I also spoke about the importance of supporting UMass - and of how grateful we are for the support we receive. UMass recently received an unprecedented $50 million funding increase from the state and House Speaker Robert DeLeo has expressed his desire to provide us with comparable infusion in the 2014-2015 budget, a second major increase that would allow us to fully implement our 50-50 plan. We also are coming off a strong year in the critical area of raising private funds, generating $103 million in 2012-2013. In recent weeks, we've seen generous gifts from industry such as Sanofi and Vertex.
As we rode the bus across the state, my message was consistent, and I repeat it here: To all of our supporters - public and private - thank you, and continue to invest in UMass. Public and private support enables us to do more to provide the talent and innovation required by a tech-based economy, and allows us to expand our impact and meet the rising demand for "more UMass."
Sincerely,
Robert L. Caret
President
|
|
CONDUCTING WORLD-CLASS R&D |
|
UMass Amherst Named "Innovation All-Star" by BBJ/MHT
 | |
Mike Malone |
The Boston Business Journal & Mass High Tech named their annual Innovation All-Stars, recognizing the accomplishments of UMass Amherst in the Education category. The media companies cited the launching and growing the UMass Innovation Institute, engaging the life sciences industry in attracting a $95M life sciences grant, growing its "innovation challenge" business plan competition, and its overall growth in innovation and entrepreneurship during Mike Malone's tenure as "chief research officer."
|
|
UMass Med School Professor Wins Keio Prize
 | | Victor R. Ambros |
The 18th Keio Medical Science Prize has been awarded to Victor R. Ambros, PhD, professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Silverman Chair in Natural Science. Keio University of Japan annually awards this prize "to recognize researchers who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of medicine or life sciences."
|
|
UMass Campuses, Industry Explore 'Big Data'
 | |
Yanlei Diao |
Professors Prashant Shenoy and Yanlei Diao of Amherst conducted a workshop at the UMass Boston Venture Development Center on Oct. 4 that brought nearly 50 UMass researchers from all five campuses with an interest in "big data" together with industry experts from EMC, Fidelity, IBM and others. The workshop focused on research strengths and opportunities for cross-campus and university-industry collaboration in this emerging field.
|
|
UML Launches Center for Terrorism, Security Studies
UMass Lowell has launched a new research center to meet the ongoing threat of domestic terrorism by studying those behind it and developing solutions. Top experts in academia will lead new degree programs and research efforts, and an opening event drew 200 representatives from counterterrorism, law enforcement and academia to the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. The event also included news that more than $1M in research grants has been awarded to the center by the National Institute of Justice.
|
|
UMA Engineer Gets $750K for Energy Research
 | |
Ashwin Ramasubramaniam |
UMass Amherst engineer Ashwin Ramasubramaniam has been awarded a five-year $750,000 grant by the US Department of Energy to study ways to improve reactions in fuel cells aimed at advancing alternative energy sources. Ramasubramaniam is a faulty member in the mechanical and industrial engineering department at UMass and is conducting computer experiments to determine how fuel cells' electrodes might be made to work more efficiently and at a lower cost.
Read the Press Release
|
|
DOD Awards $750K to UMA to Study Turbulence Using High Performance Computing
A UMass Amherst engineering team will be using high-performance computing capacity and data storage available from the U.S. Department of Defense to study fluid turbulence to reduce drag on underwater vehicles and improve sensor systems. The work is supported by a five-year, $750K contract and existing DOD grants.
|
|
UMass Dartmouth Receives Grant for Highway Pavement Research
Researchers in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department received over $400,000 in grant awards by the New England Transportation Research Consortium (NETC). The grants were administered through the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) for projects to further study and develop innovative technologies in the area of pavement material construction and sustainability.
Read the Press Release
|
|
UMass Boston Professor Receives NASA Grant
 | |
Chandra Yelleswarapu |
Chandra Yelleswarapu, professor of physics at UMass Boston, will be working with East West Enterprises to develop a specialized microscope that could be used on the International Space Station. East West Enterprises was recently awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NASA. East West Enterprises is based in Huntsville, AL, but recently opened a office at the UMass Boston Venture Development Center (VDC). The VDC offers a grant-writing workshop for SBIR applicants. Yelleswarapu credits the workshop with helping to improve his grant-writing skills, and connecting him with bioscience researchers.
|
|
UMass Lowell Search for UMII Executive Director
The University of Massachusetts Lowell is seeking outstanding candidates for the position of UMass Innovation Institute (UMII) Director, Lowell campus. Candidates with extensive experience will be considered at the Executive Director level. UMII is a UMass system-wide, multidisciplinary institute focused on applied research and innovation that is complementary to UMass academic research and that creates customer value in all forms for government, industry and academic partners.
Read more at UMass Lowell Jobs
|
|
Phone App Helps Doctors Make Right Call in Treating Heart Patients
A new cell phone app has been developed to assess cardiac patients so doctors can more easily identify patients who are at risk of dying. The app was developed through a partnership between UMass Medical School (UMMS) and the University of Edinburgh, built upon a multinational database developed and coordinated by the UMMS's Center for Outcomes Research.
|
|
TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP |
|
CVIP Reports $35M Income, Two New Startups
The University had an active final quarter of fiscal 2013 in terms of faculty disclosures, patenting activity and licensing, with Amherst and Worcester leading the way. Faculty invention disclosures and patent applications were strong for the quarter and the year, licensing income reached $35M, and two startups were launched in the fourth quarter, food-technology startup OCL from Amherst and Endeavor Medical Technology from UML.
|
|
Fred Reinhart Appointed AUTM President-Elect
 | |
Fred Reinhart |
Fred Reinhart, Director of the Amherst CVIP office has been named President-elect of the Association of University Technology Managers, the leading international association of technology managers from universities and research institutions. Reinhart has been active in AUTM for over 20 years, and his appointment is a real honor - both personally for himself and institutionally for the UMass technology transfer program. |
|
MTTC Awarded $499K for MassCEC Catalyst Awards
MTTC, led by founding director Abi Barrow, has secured funding of $499,000 from MassCEC for a new round of Catalyst awards to be given out over the next year. The 33 prior and current awardees have collectively now raised over $12M in new funding - the majority of which is new grant funding from the DOE.
Read more at MassCEC
|
|
Reflectance Device Helps Soldiers, ER Patients
 | |
Babs Soller |
UMass Medical School start-up company Reflectance Medical Inc., founded by former UMMS Research Professor Babs Soller, has a new device. Mobile CareGuide 3100 allows medical personnel to take blood oxygen and pH readings without a blood sample to identify patients who are about to go into shock in a timely manner. This device uses light to read patients' blood chemistry without cutting into them which will help save the lives of soldiers wounded in the battlefield and patients showing up at emergency rooms.
Read more at Forbes
|
|
Student Enrollment Surges to Record 72,000
Enrollment at the University of Massachusetts is projected to reach 71,988 students this fall, a record for the five-campus system. Enrollment has steadily climbed over the past six years, from 61,034 students in the fall 2007 to the current projected headcount, an increase of 18 percent.
Read the Press Release
|
|
Sanofi Provides $1M to UMass Boston to Support Student Success in STEM
Sanofi and its Cambridge-based biotechnology company, Genzyme, provided a $1M gift to UMass Boston to support student success programs at UMB's College of Science and Mathematics. The gift expands an existing partnership. The announcement was made at the opening of Sanofi's new R&D facility in Cambridge, which will be focused on cancer research.
|
|
Vertex, UMass Team up on $300K STEM Scholarship
Vertex and UMass announce a new four-year, need-and merit-based scholarship program to assist Boston high school students pursuing higher education at UMass in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year.
|
|
UMB Receives $3M Environmental Science Grant
UMass Boston has received a five-year, $3.1M Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) grant from the National Science Foundation. This funding will enable UMass Boston to implement an interdisciplinary, transnational approach to studying global environmental issues.
Read more at UMass Boston News
|
|
Grant Affirms UMMS MD/PhD Program 'Among Best'
The MD/PhD program at UMass Medical School has just joined a short list of the best physician-scientist training programs in the country, receiving a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Medical Scientist Training Program. The award represents recognition by the NIH of the excellence and rigor of the UMMS program, which joins 43 other programs in the country to receive MSTP funding and becomes only the second such program in Massachusetts.
Read more at UMass Med Now
|
|
UMB VDC Places First Life Sci Startup Interns
What do Valentina Dunn, Hembly Rivas, Amy Worth and Jacob Borr have in common? They are top undergrads (or recent grads in Valentina's case) at UMass Boston. And they are the first crop of life science students which have won internships through the Venture Development Center's Student Entrepreneurship Program at prestigious biotech startups. Support for this program is being provided by the City of Boston. The hiring companies are enEvolv, Parabase Genomics, Pressure BioSciences and GnuBIO, all located at the Venture Development Center except GnuBIO which is in Cambridge. These students promise to be the first of many to be hired. As GnuBIO said: "If you have any more stellar candidates, please send them to me."
|
|
UML Summer Co-op Scholars Get Real-World Experience
Sixty-four sophomores from all six colleges on the UMass Lowell campus presented their work in 44 posters during this year's Summer Co-op Scholars Poster Session. This program provides students the opportunity to test their research projects in a safe environment.
|
|
UMMS Tools Help Scientists Navigate Career Path
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences' Cynthia Fuhrmann has been recognized by the AAMC for developing an innovative online career planning tool for biomedical scientists-in-training.
|
|
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH |
|
UMass Medical School Economic Impact
The UMass Medical School and UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc. are leaders in education, research and health care delivery in the Commonwealth. They also add significantly to the region by contributing billions to the local and state economies - an estimated $5.7 billion in total economic activity across the Commonwealth, with more than $4.19 billion generated in Worcester County alone.
|
|
UMass Lowell Driving Regional Economic Growth
UMass Lowell released a report earlier this month highlighting its impact on the local and regional economy, which includes more than $600M in capital projects, from the $95M University Crossing to the $40M Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center. Download the Economic Report.
Read more at UMass Lowell News
|
|
Donahue Institute Leads Knowledge Corridor Talent Strategy
The UMass Donahue Institute's Economic and Public Policy Research group began work on a project looking at the education levels of the labor force in the area known as the Knowledge Corridor, a region reaching from north-central Connecticut to the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts, focusing on the development of a Talent Action Strategy to foster and retain the area's skilled workers. This work will be incorporated into a comprehensive economic development strategy by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
Read more at UMass Donahue Institute News
|
|
STEM Summit to take Place November 13
The 10th annual Massachusetts STEM Summit will bring together over 1,000 of the state's business, government and education leaders to discuss policies and programs that promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education from early childhood through adulthood and into the workforce, as well as address the Massachusetts Statewide STEM Plan. Governor Deval Patrick, Congressman Joe Kennedy and UMass President Robert Caret are scheduled to speak, and more than 40 breakout sessions addressing topics from curriculum development to career pathways will take place throughout the day. The STEM mission is tied to the economic development goals of the Commonwealth, preparing residents to fill the highly skilled jobs needed to propel an innovative economy and closing the achievement gap that exists between the state's richest and poorest students.
|
|
Donahue Institute Supports Mass. Chambers
The UMass Donahue Institute's Economic and Public Policy Research (EPPR) group is working with a few local and regional chambers of commerce in Massachusetts to support a wide range of economic development, research and strategic planning initiatives. In Cambridge, EPPR is completing a business impact study that is developing a wide range of economic, real estate, industry and demographic data indicators for the city. For the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, EPPR has completed a preliminary market assessment of a large redevelopment site in the Brockton downtown area. Finally, EPPR is about to start a new project for the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce to help reimagine its Chamber Foundation.
|
|
Sequestration, State Unemployment Leading to 'Sluggish' Economy
The latest MassBenchmarks journal, published by the UMass Donahue Institute in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, reports that the state unemployment rate has been rising even as the national rate has been falling, and that young workers and those with less than a college education in particular face challenging conditions with little hope for near-term progress.
|
|
|
|
|
To learn more about the University's Economic Development efforts, please call 617-287-4087 |
|
|
|
