EIRs

 

 

Publications News Advisory Committee Contact Us

  Home
STARS at UW
STARS at WSU
EIRs
IPZs
Resources


Coupled with the long-term strategy of research STARS teams, is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program aimed at generating a short-term boost to Washington economic vitality and stimulating job creation.  The EIR program, funded by STARS, is designed to enhance entrepreneurial assistance programs targeted at research universities, key research-dependent industries and small businesses.  A strong Entrepreneurial-in-Residence program is underway at both the University of Washington and Washington State University.

Entrepreneurs-in-Residence capitalize on Washington's strong entrepreneurship history by housing leading locally-based, entrepreneurial executives directly at the universities to collaborate with university researchers.  The entrepreneurs, contribute necessary expertise for transforming research and intellectual property into viable business strategies, plans and start-ups.  After a short period of operation, the program has seen dozens of potential spin-outs in the pipeline converting university intellectual property into private businesses and jobs.  The EIRs also provide an expert resource for the university's other initiatives which foster entrepreneurship and industry relations.

 


University of Washington

The University of Washington’s Center for Commercialization (C4C), has recently recruited five additional industry experts as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs).  They join four continuing EIRs.

C4C’s EIR Program has helped dozens of projects develop commercially viable business plans.  Several new companies have launched and are in various stages of fund-raising and commercialization, including Adeona, Portage Bay Photonics, Cardiac Insight and Corazonix.

New EIRs  -  March, 2011

  Lars Johansson is an active Cleantech angel investor and the co-chair of Northwest Energy Angels. At UW C4C his primary focus will be on commercialization opportunities in the Energy/Cleantech space. His background is in IT where he was an executive at Microsoft for a combined 16 years. Johansson joined Microsoft in Sweden and was responsible for the Nordic Enterprise business when in 1993 he relocated to Redmond to lead the development of the company’s initial volume licensing programs. Most recently he was responsible for the Worldwide System Builder business.
 

  Ronald Berenson is a medical oncologist, who founded several successful NASDAQ-listed biotechnology companies that have developed mAb-based therapeutic products used to treat cancer. Berenson has been the architect of multiple entrepreneurial ventures in the biopharmaceutical industry. He was a founder and executive at HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, which is developing therapeutics in hematology and oncology, at Xcyte Therapies, which developed antibody-based immunotherapies to treat cancer, and at CellPro, a biotechnology company that developed and commercialized stem cell harvesting methodologies for hematology and oncology applications.
 

 

Terri Butler draws on more than 20 years of experience in technology and market development. Previously, she provided strategic counsel to several small companies in her commercialization work with Washington State University. Butler holds 13 U.S. patents: six in coating technologies for electrostatic printing developed while employed at 3M Company and seven patents in nutritional product applications.

Since arriving at UW, Butler has been leveraging her expertise in advanced materials to support startups in MSE and ME commercializing high-performance organic/hybrid functional polymer materials for electro-optic applications, and next-generation building materials.
 

 

Henry Berg’s career focus is the application of new technologies to business problems. His experience ranges from hands-on product development to business strategy and management. At present, Berg is a director with A3 Alliance, a technology private equity fund. Prior to A3, Berg held several roles at Microsoft, where he developed a big picture view of the challenges facing technology companies today.

 At C4C, Berg has taken on the role of a hardware advisor to startups in EE and ME, focusing on technologies such as advanced polymer cooling skins for electronics, pico projection technology, low-power wireless systems and advanced security technology.
 

 

Stephanie Amoss has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare and medical device industry and most recently as a marketing and strategic consultant for medical device start-ups. Previously, Ms. Amoss served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Development for Pathway Medical, a Kirkland-based medical device specializing in endovascular atherectomy. 

At C4C, Amoss is focused on providing UW researchers, EIRs, and the commercialization teams market research and development expertise.
 

Continuing EIRS
 

 

Ken Myer is the former president and CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association and board president of the Technology Alliance. Over a 20-year career he has led companies ranging from startups to those at the Fortune 100 level.  Myer co-founded Interval Systems and positioned the company as a leading provider of lean manufacturing software tools for industrial engineers. He also led worldwide marketing, sales, technical, and customer service teams for Active Voice Corporation, which Cisco Systems purchased in 2001. Earlier in his career he held executive positions at IBM Corp.

At C4C, Myer has been actively involved with a wide variety of projects from CSE, EE and other departments.  These include potential startup companies in areas such as advanced wireless sensing, electronic records for healthcare, rehabilitation medicine, and technology for customer relationship management for non-profits.
 

 

David Kaplan is a Seattle-based innovator and entrepreneur who has been concentrating on smart grid and supporting power industry technologies. In 2006 he founded V2Green to deliver information technology solutions that capture the full economic value of connecting electric vehicles with the power grid. He served as chairman, CEO, and chief technology officer until the company’s 2008 acquisition by GridPoint, after which he led the Electric Vehicle Business Management unit until February 2009.  Earlier in his 30-year technology career he worked at Microsoft and Impinj. Kaplan holds degrees in economics and operations research and is the inventor or co-inventor of more than a dozen patented or patent-pending technologies.

Kaplan is working with UW faculty members in CSE and EE to pull together a Center of Excellence in the Smart Grid area.  This has included discussions with local energy companies and outreach to WSU and PNNL to help coordinate regional strategies in the smart grid space.  This work is expected to lead to a smart grid oriented startup company.
 

 

David Croniser, an engineer and pioneer in diagnostic imaging, has focused his clinical, technical, and business experience in the UW healthcare sector. In the 1980s he founded and led one of the earliest ultrasound imaging companies, Quantum Medical Systems, purchased in 1991 by global industry leader Siemens. Croniser has consulted for numerous start-up companies focused on cardiovascular diagnostics, simulation software, and medical practice software. He returned to Siemens in 2000 to work on strategic product development, then direct ultrasound marketing efforts, and later work in the anesthesia technology sector.

Croniser is supporting faculty in commercializing a technology to improve the detection of kidney stones, integrated with a first line of defense technology that actively promotes the expulsion of the stones. Croniser has also joined a new imaging team that is committed to bringing significant improvements to the planning, tracking and quantification of the effectiveness of breast cancer therapies.  
 

 

Thomas Schulte has 30 years of experience developing medical devices and medical diagnostic products.  Dr. Schulte spent 17 years leading research and product development programs at Becton Dickinson & Co., a Fortune 500 healthcare product provider.  His technology management experience also includes successful product development in start-up companies like Micronics, Inc. of Redmond, Wash., a spin-out company from the UW’s Department of Bioengineering, and at Pelikan Technologies in Palo Alto, Calif., a company focused on diabetes care and glucose testing. 

Schulte is currently working with faculty in several departments, including Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, on technologies for improved clinical diagnostics.  His work with faculty in Bioengineering has led to the formation of a new company to enhance the speed and sensitivity of clinical immunoassays.  He’s also involved with UW spinout companies exploring improved methods of nucleic acid isolation, and new methods of assessment of cardiac disease markers.

Link to UW TechTransfer website: depts.washington.edu/techtran

 


 Washington State University's Entreprenuers-in-Residence

Accelerating technology from research to the private sector
 


 

 




Kevin Petersen


Dr. Jumin Tang

 
Developing Food Safety Opportunities

Kevin Petersen - Working with WSU researcher, Dr. Juming Tang. WSU has formed Food Chain Safety, LLC (FCS) . Funded by USArmy and consortium of private food companies.  FCS will be manufacturing microwave sterilization food processing systems for the food industry.  Three orders have already been placed for an estimated retail value of $5 million. Mr. Peterson is now in the process of expanding the consortium and forming international partnerships (China & Europe)
 

Data:  Approximately 4 additional new patents to be filed. One new company formed. Estimated direct jobs in short-term: 10
 

Quotes from industry members:

 “This is a tipping point technology …. You cannot compare food processed through microwave sterilization to any other approach … the difference is phenomenal”        Evan Turke – Sr. Fellow – Kraft

Microwave Sterilization is no longer a dream … It is very real and it is groundbreaking.”  Phillip Minerich– VP Product Development – Hormel

 

Working with WSU Nuclear Radiation Center and BSEL           


Jeff Canin


 


Bryan Zetlen

The EIR team is working together on the commercialization of medical & industrial radioisotope production capacity of WSU reactor, establishing deeper ties with PNNL and commercialization experts. They are also aligning research priorities for WSU TC and BSEL and developing commercial applications & investment in cutting-edge WSU positron research.
 
NRC : One new company to be formed. Estimated direct jobs in short-term: 10
BSEL:  Multiple companies may be formed as a result of commercial demonstration activities focused around BSEL.
     

 
Lewis Rumpler - Working to support the successful commercialization of technology generated from the significant research enterprise at WSU. Prior to this, Lewis was Executive Vice President of Business Development at Signature Genomic Laboratories (SGL). SGL was the leading provider of molecular genetic testing for pre and postnatal constitutional disorders.

Data: 2 patent apps to be filed, one new company to be started. Estimated direct jobs in short-term: 3

 
     

 
Peter Quinn - Building sustainable businesses in rural Jefferson County. Focus is on WSU’s portfolio of near-market, modestly scaled economic opportunities (e.g. Vet Surgery tools, cheese to bread, and beer, wine & cider industries)
 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen Fleckner - Collaborative Resourcing – in partnership with NuElement, WSU is developing a parallel technology deployment model to facilitate the rapid commercialization of WSU research products to yield validated, market relevant research products.

Data:  Approximately 10 new patents to be filed. One new company to be formed. Estimated direct jobs in short-term: 5

  Jerry Schwartz is an Entrepreneur in Residence with the WSU Research Foundation in support of the CASAS Intelligent Environment research of Dr. Diane Cook and Dr. Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe. Jerry is CEO of Luna Blue International Ltd. and a Northwest legal and business leader with over 25 years of experience in a variety of senior executive roles within the technology industry, with expertise in new business and strategic development, commercialization of research activities and global product launches. Mr. Schwartz has held senior leadership positions in Microsoft Corporation, Fox Communications, and locally successful technology start-ups: iCopyright.com, Design Intelligence and Midisoft. Jerry holds BA, MBA and JD degrees from the University of Puget Sound and an LLM in international legal practice from Salzburg University in Austria. He is a member of the State Bar of Washington and California.
 

  Robert E. Schilling - Commercializing the diagnosis of trichonomiasis, the world's most prevalent sexually transmitted disease.  Robert is working to commercialize diagnostic technology with WSU researcher John Alderete.  Mayfield Bioscience (MBS) is an early-stage life science company created to focus on the this technology.

  Justin Thornley is the CEO of Intelipedics LLC, a company dedicated to extending the functional life of orthopedic implants. Prior to this venture Justin was the Director of the Innovation Assessment Center for the EDA of Washington State University, the president of Logistitek, Inc., and the Director of Information Technology for Walden VC.  Justin holds a B.A. in Business Administration with a major in Entrepreneurship from Washington State University where he served as president of Students in Free Enterprise and is a Harold Frank Engineering Entrepreneurship Fellow.
   
Tom Murphy has several years' experience helping companies achieve growth by bringing new products to market.  He runs a consulting firm that specializes in the interim C-level services.  He will help WSU commercialize positron technology.
 

 

 

 

Regional Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Northwest Innovation Resource Center - Whatcom County

In August, 2011 Chris Leyerle, former EIR at WSU will join the NW Innovation Resource Center to begin the new regional EIR program focused on commercializing regional intellectual property in the Whatcom County area.

 

Return to:  Top of Page | Home Page

WA STARS | Evergreen Plaza, Suite 607  | 711 Capitol Way  |  Olympia WA 98504-8302                  Privacy Notice