7:15-8:15

Registration/Breakfast

8:15-8:30

SUMMIT OPENING and WELCOME

• Ali Andalibi (Program Director, SBIR/STTR, National Science Foundation - NSF)
  [Our nation’s universities are the often the birthplaces of transformative ideas that can be of great benefit to society. Too often however, the flow of these important discoveries towards the marketplace is slow and indeed many times, the discoveries never leave the university. The goal of this Summit is to bring together university decision-makers and venture capitalists in order to find ways of accelerating the movement university-based findings from laboratories into start-ups.]
• Steve Ferguson (Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, National Institutes of Health - NIH)
  [As a healthcare agency and a major sponsor of university research, NIH is also interested in accelerating the pace of how such research results reach the public. University-based biomedical start-ups should not overlook the benefits of interacting with the NIH and other federal labs, not the least because of non-dilutive funding, technical assistance, opportunities for collaboration, new technology sourcing or even as new customer.]
• Tony Stanco (Director, National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer - NCET2.org)
  [The National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer is dedicated to the creation and funding of high-impact University Startups as an important vehicle to accelerate the movement of innovation from the lab table into the lives of citizens and consumers.]

8:30-9:00

Mark Heesen (President, National Venture Capital Association-NVCA)
[I will give an in depth discussion of the state of the venture capital industry: where venture capitalists are investing in terms of industry, stage, and geographic preference. Why specific areas of the country have benefited from venture more than other areas. The importance of serial entrepreneurs, of a good infrastructure to grow a company, and of universities that understand tech transfer from an entrepreneur’s and VC’s perspective.]

9:00-9:15

Ambassador Richard Russell (Associate Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President of the United States)
[My remarks will focus on the roles of the Federal Government and universities in encouraging innovation. Over the past thirty years, many new technologies in the information technology and telecommunications fields have been transformed from Government-funded, university-based research projects into mainstream consumer products. In many cases, the vital link in this process has been entrepreneurial innovation backed by venture capital. This is part of a larger process involving dynamic, complex interactions among the private sector, universities, the Federal Government, State governments, and the marketplace.]

9:15-10:45

University-VC Perspectives on Creating and Funding Successful and Sustainable University Startups

• Jonathan Silver (Core Capital Partners)
  [I will identify where VC and university interests are in sync and where they diverge as a framework for thinking about how to design a spinout/transfer program.]
• Phil Bronner (Novak Biddle Venture Partners)
  [I will talk about what Universities can do to make tech transfer and commercialization better, and how to improve University relations with VCs and angels.]
• Steve Fredrick (Grotech Capital Group)
  [I will talk about some best practices and things to avoid when building Venture-backable University Start-ups.]
• Jim Huston (Blue Print Ventures)
  [I will talk about the fact that university spinouts offer a great opportunity to commercialize the breakthrough inventions coming out of research institutions. But from the perspective of a VC, structuring these transactions has unique challenges in people, intellectual property rights, and the “time to money”. What can universities learn from VCs who have done successful spinout transactions to overcome these challenges? I and Blueprint Ventures have a long history of doing early stage spinouts from corporations, and will address ways in which university spinouts can be launched with higher odds of success and with better alignment between the institutional investors, the founding team, and the university parent.]
• Mark Frantz (Red Shift Ventures)
  [I will talk about that technology transfer from universities, either start-ups or licensing opportunities, helps drive innovation in our country and across the globe. While good work has been done to date, the more we can do to further encourage the activities, the more likely we are to have a vibrant, robust economy for decades to come.]
• Nariman Farvardin (Dean, University of Maryland)
  [I will be talking about the connection between "globalization" and increasing importance of developing "structured programs in universities to instill a culture of entrepreneurship among the faculty and students." This is particularly important at the M.S. and Ph.D. levels where students engage in developing new technologies.]
• Pradeep Khosla (Dean, Carnegie Mellon University)
• Robert Clark (Associate Dean of Research, Duke University)
  [Economic growth in the United States has benefited greatly from innovation. As manufacturing and engineering services are outsourced beyond the geographic boundaries of our nation, our primary contribution to economic growth, here and abroad, is derived from innovation. Universities play a critical role in generating intellectual property and spawning new technologies. Our challenge in the near-term is to enable this process and increase the efficiency from the conception of the idea in the inventor's laboratory to commercialization.]
• Ryan Drant (NEA)
  
• Jack Turner (Associate Director, MIT)
  [I will draw attention to some myths of university technology transfer and counter these with my sense of reality. I'll identify what I see as the factors contributing successful university tech transfer and follow with the "stress points" I've seen in working with venture capital firms considering investment in start-ups based on university technology.]
• Bruce Robertson (H.I.G. Ventures)
  [I will speak about the unique technology transfer challenges confronted by university scientists and tech transfer offices, VC's, and companies in the life sciences sector.]

10:45-11:00

BREAK

11:00-11:15

Krisztina Holly (Vice Provost and Executive Director, USC Stevens, University of Southern California)
[I will present and discuss key learnings from my past experiences as both a serial entrepreneur and as the founding director of the Deshpande Center at MIT. My goal is to create awareness and understanding about the different motivators for VCs and academics—and how to better align them to effectively advance ideas into the market. From there, I will discuss how I have translated these experiences to create a new model for VC and university relations at USC with the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation.]

11:15-11:30

Aris Melissaratos (Senior Advisor to the President for Enterprise Development, Johns Hopkins University)
[I will be discussing the cultural transformation required to gradually shift a premier research university toward a more entrepreneurial model while preserving the imperative of research excellence. This involves enhanced mentoring of entrepreneurs, new approaches to connecting inventors and venture capital, and new curriculum offerings for both undergraduate and graduate students. The integrated multi-path approach will create a much more positive feeling about commercializing technology and enhance the image of Johns Hopkins as not only a great research university but one that is open "to and for business."]

11:30-11:45

Guy Diedrich (Vice Chancellor, Texas A&M University System)
[I will address the challenges and benefits associated with integrating commercialization as a necessary part of the research process in universities. Texas A&M recently amended the system tenure policies at our nine universities to allow for the commercialization of intellectual property to be considered in tenure decisions. The A&M System also has combined federal relations, research and commercialization under a single office. The purpose of this strategic move is to create a seamless process of requesting research funds with performing that research and commercializing the most promising innovations. Instead of operating under three separate groups, Texas A&M is integrating the three functions into a single efficient research and commercialization process.]

11:45-12:00

Robert Cresanti (Under Secretary for Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce)
[I will provide my perspective on the tack that some states have taken to shift their economic development strategy away from relying solely on attracting businesses to the state to one which emphasizes growing innovative and entrepreneurial companies. Texas is one example. They are working to leverage and grow world-class research at their universities as well as assist small, early-stage technology companies in accelerating commercialization of new, high-potential technology developments into the marketplace through the $200 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund established in 2005. Other states are employing a similar strategy, but any initiative of this nature in Texas, focused on building innovative capacity from the ground up, is bound to offer great economic development potential, considering the resources and leadership commitment to get it off the ground.]

12:00-12:15

Stephen Merrill (Director, National Academies' Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) Board)
[Commercializing results of university research: a new era of experimentation implies a renewed need for evaluation.]

12:15-12:30

Chris Hayter (Director, Economic Development Program, National Governors Association - NGA, Center for Best Practice)
[I will be talking about the increasing attention that governors are giving to public-private partnerships, including with universities, to promote innovation, local university startups and entrepreneurship within and among states.]

12:30-12:45

Vivek Wadhwa (Columnist, Business Week and Executive in Residence/Adjunct Professor, Duke University)
[Globalization poses a new threat to U.S. competitiveness. While we struggle to get our facts straight on current trends, another wave is emerging – one that may take innovation and design from the U.S. to foreign shores. I am a tech executive and BusinessWeek.com columnist who has been researching the trend at Duke University. I will discuss my Business Week articles and research findings on why universities have to rapidly evolve their system for commercializing research.]

12:45-2:00

SEATED LUNCH

2:00-3:30

More University-VC Perspectives on Creating and Funding Successful and Sustainable University Startups

• Keith Crandell (ARCH Venture Partners)
  [I will talk about sharing a venture investor perspective on best practices for commercializing technology from university research.]
• Daniel Behr (Director Business Development, Harvard)
  [My general topic will be about how at Harvard we are changing the paradigm for how we get potential start-up opportunities “ready” for investors. This includes a proactive entrepreneurial start-up team within the university, translational development funds, and new forms of collaboration with VCs.]
• Tom Byers (Founder/Faculty Director, Stanford Technology Ventures Program - STVP, Stanford University)
  [Entrepreneurship education is spreading rapidly across the entire campus of many universities providing opportunities for all majors to learn about innovation and related subjects. Among many other benefits, it can also play a role in successfully creating university startups.]
• Catherine Cotell (In-Q-Tel)
  [As a strategic investor (as opposed to a traditional VC firm) focused on mission-impact technologies for the U.S. Intelligence Community, In-Q-Tel engages with universities on several fronts. Recognizing that universities are vibrant centers for innovation, we rely on universities to map the course of future technology breakthroughs that the intelligence community will want and need to implement. We identify emerging technologies that are ripe for spinout into new companies and we search for technologies that may fill gaps in what our portfolio is delivering to the intelligence community. I will discuss the mechanisms In-Q-Tel uses to nurture and deliver novel capabilities to the intelligence community by catalyzing the commercialization of university research.]
• Jura Zibas (Super Angel, Stanford Phelps)
  [As an investor working with one high net worth individual, I will discuss our decisionmaking process, working with other investors and structuring deals to meet the demands of the high net worth individual.]
• Keith Gillard (BASF Venture Capital)
  [I will talk about early stage investment from a corporate/strategic viewpoint. I will also discuss other non-investment options, such as business development and joint development agreements, which can come out of a strategic relationship with or without investment.]
• Cynthia McIntyre (Chief of Staff to the President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
  [I will talk about how the successful commercialization of university intellectual property startups requires strategic alliances with investors and businesses, and how university resource commitment drives outcomes. Examples will be presented to highlight the "random walk" to success.]
• Jeff Fagnan (Atlas Venture)
  
• Andrew Cittadine (CEO, American BioOptics)
  [I will plan to talk about my experiences as a cofounder or CEO of three separate startups based on university technologies including company formation, financing, development, and successful acquisition.]
• Fred Farina (Assistant Director, California Institute of Technology)
  [I will talk about generally about the Caltech model of technology transfer and particular our model for creating new startups. Caltech’s OTT was established in 1995 and in its first decade 80 new startups were created. I will elaborate on OTT’s active role in fostering entrepreneurship and helping faculty and other researchers to connect with investors and entrepreneurs to form new companies.]
• Michael Loeb (Loeb Enterprises)
  [I will share a true story relating to an Ivy League School and their misunderstanding of entrepreneurs, and generalize that to the academic community. I will attempt to illustrate how the current academic model is not fit for budding entrepreneurs, and how it is that model - not the entrepreneur - that must change.]
• Timothy Tong (Dean, George Washington University)
  [I will discuss the convergence of alumni development, entrepreneurship, economic development, and fund raising; how these activities are synergistic to one another; and how the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science is approaching to provide a common thread to these activities.]

3:30-3:45

BREAK

3:45-4:00

Kesh Narayanan (Director, Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, National Science Foundation - NSF)
[The NSF fosters discovery research for innovation. In this talk, I will focus on avenues that NSF offers to move discovery to innovation. Specifically, I will address recent efforts we have undertaken to accelerate the innovation process and the role of small business in the innovation ecosystem.]

4:00-4:15

Jo Anne Goodnight (Acting Director, Division of Special Programs, Office of Extramural Programs, National Institutes of Health - NIH)
[The NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are the best VC deal in town --a $650 million early-stage fund with no strings attached. This session will provide an overview of the NIH SBIR/STTR programs, including ways industry and academia can develop mutually beneficial partnerships for investigators seeking to commercialize their technology innovations. This session will provide an overview of the SBIR/STTR programs and will describe how entrepreneurial researchers can tap into this funding opportunity.]

4:15-4:45

Alumni Angel Groups: Bridging the Funding Gap from Lab to VCs and Corporations

• Tony Stanco (Director, National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer - NCET2.org)
  [While a senior attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, I worked on how angel investors can provide seed and early stage capital to fill the funding gap. I'll talk about how university-affiliated angel groups, especially alumni angel groups, can help both create and fund university startups and provide a quality dealflow pipeline to VCs and the Fortune 500 for further funding or successful exits.]
• Jeremy Adelman (Associate Director of Advancement, The George Washington University)
  [At George Washington University, alumni are becoming “angel investors”, making personal investment in early stage companies. By matching alumni investors with faculty, student and alumni-run companies, the value creation stays within George Washington and sets the stage for significant gifts to the University, equity in the new company, and commercialization of technologies developed in University labs. This type of activity engages some of the most affluent members of the alumni body in a sustained and often lucrative way. As a result, our alumni come back and remain committed to our school.]

4:45-5:15

Innovation Across Borders: The Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP)

• Valerie La Traverse (Science and Technology Counsellor, Canadian Embassy)
  [There are several examples of technology collaboration and partnering between Canada and the United States and further potential to collaborate across borders. I will give a brief introduction on the innovation environment in Canada and examples of successful partnerships, including the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP), an informal collaboration process between two jurisdictions involving academic, private sector, financial and the public sectors. CCSIP enjoys the support of Canada's leading research universities and the University of California.]
• Tom Sweeney (Garage Technology Ventures Canada and Chair, Cross-Border VC & IP Working Group, Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership Initiative)
  [I will discuss cross-border VC and IP issues examined as a result of his work on the CCSIP and give other examples of cross-border investing.]
• Andrew Csinger (University of British Columbia University Industry Liaison)
  [I will discuss the role of UBC in the CCSIP and the provide the perspective of a Canadian university working with the University of California.]
• Ross Wallace (Director, Corporate Strategy, MaRS, Toronto)
  [I will discuss one outcome of the CCSIP which involves MaRS, the creation of the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, which will coordinate and fund cancer stem cell research of both Canada and California researchers, universities and private industry.]

5:30-8:00

NETWORKING RECEPTION sponsored and hosted by the Embassy of Canada