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.

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).

UT Tech Transfer: Advanced Plasma

Although Knoxville-based Atmospheric Glow went bankrupt, the IP developed at and owned by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation lives on in Advanced Plasma Products, a subsidiary of Applied Science Products (formerly, Flight Safety Technologies), which relocated from Connecticut to Knoxville in 2009. APP's plasma technology kills airborn microbes that are sucked into a filter. The KNS has the story. Geoff Robson of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth (CEG), which has been helping bake the APP bizplan and capraise, did a nice job stating the case for APP in a profile on the CEG's startup-oriented Out of the Garage site. Geoff is a former CFO with an Emerson Electric division and manages the formal CEG program on the UT-Knoxville campus. The CEG is a business-counseling and incubator programwithin Tech2020, sponsored in part by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

DuPont Danisco ethanol plant opening Jan. 29

Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC and UT Research Foundation's Genera Energy LLC will hold a grand celebration for the milestone plant, Jan. 29. Ethanol Producer has it.

Biofuels plant nears ignition in Vonore

The Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol plan at Vonore, Tenn., a joint venture between Dupont and Genera Energy (a subsidiary of UT Research Foundation) is reportedly prepared to produce its first fuel this month. Larisa Brass reports it in the KNS. (KNS photo at left)

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.

arGentis licenses UT therapy

Memphis-based arGentis Pharmaceuticals has licensed a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis from the UT Research Foundation. The CA reports.

TN R&D alliance

Grants attract proposals like bees to honey, and so it is with the latest round of U.S. EPSCoR funding for improving R&D infrastructure in laggard states, including Tennessee. There's $20MM at stake, and VNC reports on new collaborative efforts to win that money, on the parts of Tennessee universities, ORNL, companies and others. We note, too, the Tennessean's story this morning about some Tennessee legislators' resenting what they see as a changeup in the state's plans for its highly touted biofuels project, saying they were misled about the use of native switchgrass in the project. The KNS reports on the legislative pushback, also.

Cumberland Emerging Technologies allies with UT Research Foundation

Cumberland Emerging Technologies (CET) in Nashville today announced its collaboration with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) to pursue commercialization of a drug that may mitigate or even prevent asthma in children. The principal investigator on the drug is the UT College of Medicine's Dr. Dukhee Betty Lew.

UT: Petersen's Performance

UT President John Petersen's five-year self-review and forthcoming review by the UT system board provides a rare, integrated view of UT's strategy for supporting not only research and education, but also economic development, public service and its own reputation management. Petersen's self-exam is here (pdf). UT Research Foundation also recently honored 20 UT-linked patent holders, an interesting list. Today's KNS story on Petersen and the review process.