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(Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Sep. 22--The University of Pittsburgh's technology transfer chief Marc Malandro has a lot to say about the "Mind to Market" report, released this week by the Milken Institute, which ranked universities' success in commercializing their biotech research.
Pitt didn't shine in the study, failing to make Milken's list of the top 25 institutions that channeled their research into products and companies from 2000 to 2004.
It was a disappointing showing for Pitt, which reported in January that it had spun out a record 10 startups from research generated within its walls in 2004.
Dr. Malandro said Pitt supports the conclusions of the Milken study, which considered such things as research published, patents issued, income received from licensing discoveries and startup companies formed.
But there's more to the story, he added.
It's difficult to realize the full impact of Pitt's tech transfer efforts in 10 years, Dr. Malandro noted, given that Pitt's technology transfer efforts didn't kick into full gear until 1996.
Pitt continues to fine-tune and tweak its technology transfer program, Dr. Malandro said. Recently, he took over Pitt's Office of Enterprise Development (OED), formerly led by Carolyn Green, who left in August to launch her own biotech firm.
The OED is charged with educating and assisting Pitt scientists on the commercial potential of their research.
By melding his office with the OED, Dr. Malandro said Pitt can be more strategic about capturing technologies that have the potential to become products -- and helping researchers recognize the possibilities of their work.
The tech transfer office will release its annual report for 2006 on Oct. 10, the day Pitt has designated its Celebration of Innovation, honoring the university's innovators.
"Our office continues to move forward and we work very hard to be judged as successful amongst our peer institutions when sometimes comparisons of our offices are like apples and oranges," Dr. Malandro said.
AUGUSTASYSTEMS, a Morgantown, W.Va., maker of tools for managing sensor systems, was one of the 25 startups picked to pitch to potential investors at this week's 3 Rivers Venture Fair at PNC Park.
The 4-year-old company, led by Chief Executive Officer Pat Esposito, opened a Pittsburgh office in May and has partnered with Carnegie Mellon University spinoff EyeSee360 Inc. to develop its sensor-using security product, known as ThreatViewer.
ThreatViewer was used during July's Major League Baseball All Star Week to aid security personnel, according to spokesman James Dobbs. The firm, he said, hopes to raise to raise $1.5 to $3 million.
PLEXTRONICS, the O'Hara-based nanotechnology firm headed by Andrew Hannah, was a runner-up in the 2006 Wall Street Journal Global Technology Innovation Awards.
The newspaper assembles a panel of judges from the academic, research and industry worlds to review novel technologies in 12 categories, including medicine and medical devices, wireless, security, consumer electronics and semiconductors. Now in its sixth year, the competition attracted 600 applications. The judges weighed whether the technology truly represented a breakthrough from conventional methods. A winner was named in each of the 12 categories, along with 37 runners-up.
SPEAKING OF NANOTECH -- for some consumed by economic development, nanotech is the new biotech. States are spending millions to snag the title of "Nanotech Hub." As the still nascent industry blossoms, it is following a similar pattern from the last century, when biotech was the hot industry to nurture.
Several states -- Pennsylvania included -- are busy trying to build a nanotech industry, a science that by manipulating atoms and molecules promises to radically alter the way products are made and the world does business.
While some see dollar signs, others are worried. This week, Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies chief science adviser Andrew Maynard testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee that "nanotechnology is no longer a scientific curiosity. It is in the workplace, the environment and the home. But if people are to realize nanotechnology's benefits, the federal government needs a master plan for identifying and reducing potential risks."
In his testimony, Mr. Maynard said "the federal government needs to invest a minimum of $100 million over two years in targeted risk research in order to lay a strong, science-based foundation for safe nanotechnology."
According to Mr. Maynard's analysis, despite investing more than $1 billion annually on nanotechnology research, U.S. government spending on highly relevant nanotechnology risk research is only $11 million per year.
Mr. Maynard's testimony, which is available online at www.nanotechproject.org, draws heavily from his new report, "Nanotechnology: A Research Strategy for Addressing Risk."
THE PITTSBURGH TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL has released its Annual Total Compensation survey of the southwestern Pennsylvania region. The survey gathered employment compensation information from 52 companies within the region, a 37 percent increase from last year's survey. The results will be discussed Thursday at the council's human resources network event at the Westin Convention Center Hotel, Downtown.
PAUL J. PETROVICH, a senior technology consultant at the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence Small Business Development Center, has received the prestigious national Tibbetts Award. The award recognizes his services connecting Western Pennsylvania's technology innovators with the Small Business Innovation Research funding they need to enhance their product development efforts. Mr. Petrovich will receive the award Tuesday at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
GREG COTICCHIA may have left LogicLibrary last week, but he hasn't disappeared. He's returned to his consulting practice, Entra Inc., which he said has been around for 11 years. Mr. Coticchia added that he already has four customers, including local firms Four Rivers and IGD Systems/e-billinghub.com.
Got tech buzz? Contact Corilyn Shropshire at [email protected] or 412-263-1413.
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Copyright (c) 2006, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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