Fascinating Seminar on Genetically Engineering Plants and Commercialization

Thank you to Dan Voytas (U of M Center for Genome Engineering), Ben Lang (Minnesota Crop Improvement Association) and Doug Cameron (First Greet Partners), as well as the seminar attendees for a fascinating discussion. 

The idea of precision genetic engineering of plants to make food healthier and easier to grow addresses a fundamental global need.  As one panelist put it, over the next 50 years, the worlds food needs will increase dramatically even as the amount of available land decreases.  In the second half of the session, we examined concepts of technology diffusion and Lean Startup principles to consider the challenges and opportunities in commercializing these advances.

Technology Commercialization Seminar on March 28: Tapping the Potential of Plant Genomics

Tapping the Potential of Plant Genomics

A MIN-Corps/3M Technology Commercialization Seminar

7:30am – Noon Saturday, March 28

Room 1-107 Hanson Hall, 1925 4th Street S, Minneapolis, MN 5545

Registration: https://tapping-the-potential-of-plant-genomics.eventbrite.com

Is genome engineering the key to the next Green Revolution?  Join groundbreaking academic and industry leaders in this half-day seminar to explore the potential of commercializing plant genetic engineering to increase the quantity and quality of the world’s food supply while reducing adverse environmental impact.

Dan Voytas will review advances in precisely genetically engineering plants to withstand pests, have enhanced nutritional value, and grow on marginal lands   Dr. Voytas is Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, and Director of the UMN’s Center for Genome Engineering.  He also is Chief Science Officer of Cellectis Plant Sciences, and recently received the University of Minnesota’s first Entrepreneurial Researcher award.  

Dr. Voytas will be joined by industry panelists to discuss the commercial, social, and environmental implications of this break-through technology.  Panelists will include Ben Lang (CEO of the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association) and Doug Cameron (Co-President of First Green Partners.  The second half of the seminar will be a workshop on commercialization opportunity identification and lean startup principles, led by Carla Pavone (Associate Director of the Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship).

SBIR/STTR Seminar Added to MIN-Corps Spring Schedule

We are lucky to have Jesus Soriano visiting Minneapolis on April 14 and 15 to connect with researchers and small businesses about Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer federal grants.  Dr. Soriano is the Program Director, SBIR/STTR, Division of industrial Innovation and Partnerships at the National Science Foundation. He'll be spending meeting with University and economic leaders, participating at the Design of Medical Devices Conference, and also meeting with individual small businesses.  At 4pm on April 14, he'll keynote a MIN-Corps seminar open to all members of the University and the general public.  Register here.

3D Printing and Bionics Seminar Was Amazing

Over 100 students, faculty and industry people came in bright and early on the morning of Saturday, February 28 to gather for an amazing half-day seminar on 3D Printing and Bionics.  Mike McAlpine (currently at Princeton, in the process of moving to the U of Minnesota!) gave a keynote talk discussing his breakthrough research using using a combination of 3D scanning and printing technologies to enable multidimensional integration of functional electronic components with biological tissue and organs.

Thank you to  Ping Yeh of StemoniX, Jon Cobb of Stratasys, and Derek Mathers of Worrell for a stimulating panel discussion with Mike and the audience.  What amazing potential to improve lives.  The seminar then turned to tech commercialization concepts for bringing ideas out of the lab into the marketplace, led by Toby Nord and Carla Pavone, both faculty members at the Carlson School.