UNMC researchers and their inventions will be celebrated during Innovation Week starting Oct. 20.
UNeMed has planned a series of activities to highlight and assist individuals in moving novel discoveries from the lab to the marketplace.
The highlight of the week will be Thursday, Oct. 23, when UNeMed — the technology commercialization arm for UNMC — recognizes individuals for their new inventions, patents and licensed technology at the 2008 Research Innovation Awards.
UNeMed will honor 15 inventors of technology that has resulted in five separate commercial licenses, and 22 inventors who have transformed eight different inventions into issued patents. This past year, UNeMed has assisted 96 inventors in disclosing 69 new invention notifications.
In addition, two presentations and a fun contest that educate and inform inventors on funding opportunities and strategies to move their technology forward will be offered that week. UNeMed also will be holding an open house for its new satellite office in the Durham Research Center.
The campus community is invited to attend all events, including the Oct. 23 awards ceremony, which will begin at 4 p.m. in the Durham Research Center (DRC) Auditorium. The ceremony will include comments from UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNeMed President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Linder, M.D., and Michael Dixon, Ph.D., vice president and chief operating officer of UNeMed.
Awards will be presented at 4:15 p.m. to individuals with new inventions, issued patents and licensed technology. An Emerging Inventor Award and the $10,000 new invention contest check also will be presented, followed by a reception in the DRC atrium.
Additional Innovation Week activities include:
- Monday, Oct. 20 – Great Idea to Commercialization, “How to Stay on the Road to Success” will be presented by Chuck Valauskas, patent attorney, founder and partner of Valauskas & Pine in Chicago. He will discuss how to officially keep a laboratory notebook to properly document discoveries. He provides counsel to companies, ventures and educational institutions with emphasis on start-ups based on new product and services concepts and technologies. The presentation will be in DRC auditorium from 2 to 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 21 – An elevator pitch contest known as “You, the Investor, 60 Seconds … GO!” will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. in the DRC, Room 1006. Contestants present a 60 second, or 200 word pitch of their idea to a panel of judges. Cash prizes of $500, $250, $100 will be awarded for the top three pitches. The contest is open to all UNMC faculty, staff and students. The Dundee Bank has partnered with UNeMed to sponsor this competition. Registration information may be found on the UNeMed Web site at www.unemed.com or by e-mailing unemed@unmc.edu.
- Wednesday. Oct. 22 – Panel Discussion to answer questions on ways to finance start-up companies and how this process works for university companies will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. in DRC Center, Room 1004. Panelists are Dr. Linder; John Brasch, MBA, president of the Nebraska Angels; John Decker, one of the leaders of the Nebraska Angels of Lincoln, Neb.; and Jeff Hansen, a partner of Denargo Capital LLC, Denver. Nebraska Angels is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation organized to exchange information about investment opportunities in early-stage and emerging growth companies with ties to the state of Nebraska. Nebraska Angels has approximately 35 members in the Lincoln and Omaha area. Denargo is a group of experienced operations managers, investment bankers, and strategic thinkers who focus on helping business owners and investors build and create value and liquidity. They provide and raise capital for growth, invest directly in control positions in private companies and assist management and shareholders in improving performance.
- Thursday, Oct. 23 – The 2008 Research Innovation Awards ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in the DRC auditorium. A reception will follow in the DRC atrium.
- Friday, Oct. 24 – The UNMC campus is invited to an open house for UNeMed’s new satellite office in room 1007 of the DRC, and at the main office in Annex 14, 4460 Farnam St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Free UNeMed T-shirts will be given away. In addition, graduate students and post-docs docs can register for a chance to win an iPod.
For more information, visit the UNeMed Web site at www.unemed.com.