Thursday, March 31
12:00 - 1:15 PM (ET)

“Bringing Notre Dame's Best Ideas to Market”

Abstract

The IDEA Center manages the commercialization of inventions from University of Notre Dame faculty, staff, students, members of the community and alumni.  James, Associate Vice President for Innovation, and Steve Asiala, Faculty Engagement Associate, will share the IDEA Center's ambitious plans to build an innovation ecosystem around the University of Notre Dame and highlight how faculty and students are key to this plan.  James and Steve will highlight the most recent ecosystem impact data as well as share specific examples of successes and failures.

Biographies

James Thompson is currently the Associate Vice President for Innovation at the University of Notre Dame and a General Partner in the Pit Road Fund.  Additionally, James is on the Board of Directors of the for profit companies Tayco Brace, Vital View, Grannus Therapeutics, KB Pro, Lumen Biologics, Frost Technologies, Peterson Greenfield, Importin Joe's Coffee and Irish Woodworks.  While at the University of Notre Dame, James has helped to set up the IDEA Center and implement the Commercialization Engine, a system to assist companies successfully commercialize providing assistance in the areas of strategic planning, funding, problem solution fit, product market fit, recruitment of leadership and more.

Steven Asiala is the Faculty Engagement Associate with the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame. In this role, Steven partners with Notre Dame faculty to identify research discoveries and innovations which serve as the basis for Invention Disclosures and commercial opportunities. He also acts as the primary point of contact for faculty and is responsible for communicating the IDEA Center’s role and processes to the academy. Steven earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and a BS in Chemistry from Grand Valley State University.