Exciting Times for Innovation

05.27.11

This year has been one of great advancement in the development and strengthening of the Innovation culture and infrastructure at RPI.  Laban Coblentz, Chief of Staff to President Jackson and Associate VP for Policy and Planning initiated RPI’s first Innovation Council. Professor Gina O’Connor represents the Lally School’s Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship on that council. In addition to the Severino Center, the Council is comprised of leaders of RPI’s Incubation program, Technology Park,  Office of Technology Commercialization, Office of Research, Government and Community Relations and Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship. 

Together this group represents much of Rensselaer’s Emerging Ventures Ecosystem (EVE), a new initiative designed to ensure that all of the elements of RPI’s innovation system are linked and work collaboratively.  The Innovation Council meets bi-weekly to discuss new businesses that are emerging from the faculty and students, new incubator companies, and larger initiatives associated with regional and global economic development.  The Council and the EVE program have already succeeded in engineering several new processes to help ease the process of technology commercialization and new venture creation for students, faculty and alumni.