VU entrepreneurs?

Vanderbilt University students have, to some extent, taken tech commercialization and entrepreneurship into their own hands, witness this spring's TechVenture Challenge. Read about it here.

TTDC update

Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC) may eventually need to look for private funding for its operations. Update here.

Jericho in N'ville

Jericho Sciences slipped into Nashville six months ago and is quietly preparing to develop a therapeutic approach that could help dramatically improve HIV treatment. Story here.

Y-12 IP licensing

We reported on Venture Incite (Solidus) going after ORNL/Y12 intellectual property for commercialization. Here's another one: Y-12 solvent technology. I'm thinkin' it's stronger'n WD40.

Solidus Venture Incite update

Solidus Co. and its TNInvestco-linked Venture Incite tech-commercialization accelerator are making a splash with their option on superhydrophobic technology from ORNL. It's just the beginning, apparently. Read about it here.

TN needs visionaries

All the patents in the world won't create jobs if they aren't investable and transformed into goods and services through commercialization - that seems to be the message from Friday's panel of ORNL, VU and other experts. TN has some catching-up to do with respect to its population of serial entrepreneurs and visionary leaders, too. Read about it here.

TN co-investments

'Less rivalry, more collaboration' might be a reasonable guess at the subtext of today's address by Gov. Bill Haslam, before an audience at the NEXT TN Conference, hosted by TTDC. The governor's INCITE innovation program includes state co-investments, more pressure on commercializing technologies, honors for entrepreneurs, more incubators statewide and more. Read our take, here.

Speaker Harwell eyes campus science

Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell and Memphis-area State Rep. Mark White will study what might be impeding the commercialization of intellectual property spawned on campuses within Tennessee. This NewsBits installation has numerous other stories about economic development, new tech products, venture capital, that Chattanooga venture forum and more, right here.

Pathway ramps-up lending

Pathway Lending, the early-stage economic development lender focused on jobs-creation, expects soon to hit $100MM in assets. CEO Clint Gwin discusses the mission and the hundreds of companies aided, plus Pathway's growing footprint in Tennessee and in alliance with UT Research Foundation. Read it here.

Vanderbilt Vc's?

Vanderbilt University is not only reorganizing and staffing-up its tech transfer unit, but has created an advisory committee that includes VC's and entrepreneurs. Read more here.

Venture Incite

Venture Incite, the tech-transfer arm of Solidus and its emerging network of incubators, confirms it has several tech maturation grants in prospect. NashvillePost.com has it. Our earlier note on Venture Incite chief Scott Ewing (at left).

VU tech transfer leadership

As VNC reported earlier this week, Vanderbilt University is recruiting a leader for the newly created position of assistant vice chancellor for technology transfer and commercialization, with Korn Ferry's Atlanta's office doing the search. A source tells VNC the University is in discussion with several strong candidates, but that later-arrivers are welcomed, up to a point. VU's office of tech transfer and enterprise development has been led quite a while by Chris McKinney (left). Good chance the new AVC will be inplace by 1 July 2011. VU OTTED has made a visible push the past decade, but increased Administration emphasis on leveraging campus IP -- consistent with global trends -- is likely to benefit city, society and University.

UTC SimCenter commercialization

UT-Chattanooga is coping with budget shortfalls, in part, by commercializing the research services of its renowned National SimCenter's computational engineering services. The TFP reports.

Pathfinder: perfect match from VU

At my age, I tend to think of great pairings like Galloway and Stefansic at Pathfinder Therapeutics as more than 'coincidence'. There's multi-disciplined, polite-but-restrained Bob Galloway (at left), blazing a path in science, and often displaying what seems to be, at best, 'uneasiness' with the whole issue of commercialization. Then, there's fellow scientist Jim Stefansic, equally dedicated to expanding knowledge, who added an MBA from Belmont to complement his VU-bred scientific toolset. The future's not entirely clear for Pathfinder, but Stefansic offers a few comments on what it's like from his vantage. The story's here.

NellOne Therapeutics (more)

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported on NellOne Therapeutics yesterday. Our original story yesterday is here.

UT Research Foundation seeks investors

University of Tennessee Research Foundation seeks investors for a new endoscopy simulation system (patent applied) for use by veterinarians. The KNS reports.

UMemphis tech-transfer accelerates

At the University of Memphis, FedEx Institute of Technology Executive Director Shaye Mandle says tech transfer and commercialization are on the verge of 'exploding', after years of relative inattention. The Memphis Daily News reports.

NV Entrepreneur Center peer metrics

Nashville Entrepreneur Center has a good first web presence, but in this interim while a fundraising campaign is being planned and executed, a CEO, an operating budget and a bricks-and-mortar facility remain over the horizon. Meanwhile, the EC has laid out its near-term objectives, and there are many. Among the bulletpoints is a reference to a peer -- the Technology Venture Development office of the University of Utah, which conducts, among a wide range of other activities, actual tech transfer and commercialization, and apparently gets grants and royalties. Related VNC coverage is here.

'Sustainable Future' has rep in the Noog

Sustainable Future announced Barrett Taylor will represent the group in Chattanooga, with principal duties helping companies and others secure commercial-Solar grants from governments. Chattanoogan.com here.

TyraTech loves WSJ

In this era of All Things Green, it's easy to understand why an item in today's Wall Street Journal is important to tech-transfer portfolio watchers at Vanderbilt, as well as to firms in Memphis and in Florida. In a report on use of natural ingredients as pesticides, the WSJ made happy campers of the folks at TyraTech, a Florida firm with R&D and tech-commercialization ties to Vanderbilt, at the same time gracing Terminix, the marketer of SafeShield, which contains ingredients engineered by TyraTech. Terminix is a unit of Memphis-based ServiceMaster. Meanwhile, Nashville industry recruiters and your loyal scribe are awaiting words from TyraTech regarding its once-rumored relocation here from Melbourne, Fla. VU is home to key TyraTech scientist Essam Enan (at left).