Researchers from a number of disciplines in engineering will share their experiences on the pursuit of innovation and commercialization efforts at a forum on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 4:30-6 p.m., in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University. The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be held in room 101 A-B at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy on the Evansdale campus.
Three speakers will highlight the event. Eric Beckman is professor of chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and co-director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainability Innovation. He is also the chief science officer for Cohera Medical, Inc., which creates surgical adhesives. Kayvan Najarian is an associate professor of computer science at Virginia Commonwealth University and director of VCU’s Biomedical Signal and Image Processing Lab. He is also associate director of VCURES, an internationally recognized center of excellence devoted to the study of critical illness and injury including its causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Walter O’Brien, professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, is director of its Center for Turbomachinery and Propulsion Research. The center has provided research and educational service to industry and government agencies for nearly 30 years. Each speaker will give a short presentation, which will be followed by a question and answer session.
“These researchers will speak about their experience collaborating with industry, balancing university research responsibilities and their entrepreneurial pursuits, and will discuss obstacles and recommendations for university faculty interested in pursuing innovation and commercialization efforts,” said Lindsay Emery, business development manager with WVU’s Office of Research and Economic Development. “This is a great opportunity to hear how faculty researchers have been successful—and unsuccessful—in entrepreneurship.”
The event is hosted by WVU’s Linking Innovation, Industry and Commercialization and the Statler College.
